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Originally posted by MaggieL
But Jag, since the experiment happened in the early 1960's, the events of WWII were by then irrelevant history...does that argument sound familar?
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Actually, the experiment in question was inspired by the Nuremberg trials, although there was a 15-year gap...perhaps Milgram was in deep thought.
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And since the experiments happened four decades ago, they're probably not relevant to today's world either...Seriously, though, it would be interesting indeed to see these experiments repeated today...I bet you wouldn't get the 65% response of the 1961 experiment. It would especially be interesting to repeat them in different cultures. I doubt you'd get the same result in , say, Iraq or China, that you'd get in Switzerland.
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Of course, the chances of them being repeated in this country are nil.
The experiment was repeated in several countries over the course of 25 years in Europe, South Africa, and Australia. That percentage hit 85% in Germany.
I have to disagree with you on the response rate though...I might have agreed with you pre-9/11, but I think today in the US, you could easily hit that 65% marker.
I think the heart of that experiment is the "responsibility" factor. The experimenter took responsibility for the actions of the "teacher," thereby reducing the dissonance that one might feel in giving someone a 450 volt jolt. It's practically carte blanche. Given that we still seem to have a large section of our society that doesn't like to take the blame for their actions, it's a perfect fit.
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Oh, and just for accuracy's sake; I've read many accounts of these experiments, but never heard anyone say the subjects thought the apparent subject were killed. I think you're overboard on that one.
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The last two switches were simply marked "XXX" (435 and 450 volts). Some accounts refer to them as "lethal shocks."
Although, the reaction of one Fred Prozi (a "teacher" in one of the experiments) could lend
credibility to Jag's statement.