Through the years many psychologists have studied how human beings follow authority or a group over their own conscience in many cases. Yet, people have also shown that they can go against authority and do what they feel right. Is being obedient wrong? In many cases obedience is necessary to live communal lives. Yet, if this obedience makes you go against your own conscience and harm another human being you should not obey. Another question posed is if performing experiments on obedience is harmful?

In an experiment performed by Stanley Milgram, how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person if ordered to by an experimenter was tested. The study took place in a laboratory at Yale University where people were randomly selected off the street and paid to be part of the study. The study consisted of a learner who was read word pairs and asked to remember them. The teacher was to read off the word pairs and then ask the learner to pair the words correctly. If the learner answers incorrectly the teacher would give the learner a shock. As the

Baumrind shows that these types of experiments do not accurately show how people behave in the real world and that this type of test may be harmful to its subjects. Although, Lessing believes that we should use these experiments to teach ourselves when not to be obedient Milgram's study is not significant to how humans react in the real world.

learner answered more questions incorrectly the shock voltage would increase. Each teacher received a sample shock of 45 volts to show the authenticity of the machine. Yet, in reality the learner did not receive any shocks and he was really an actor. As the voltage increases the actor or learner begins to complain of pain and at 150 volts he demands to be released. Through the experiment many become tense and ask the experimenter to stop but are urged to continue. About 60% of the people drawn from every stratum of New Haven were fully obedient to the experimenter (Milgram, 351). When the teachers had to forcibly push the learners hand onto the shock plate 30% were willing to deliver 450 volts (Milgram, 352). Also, when the experimenter was communicating by phone o

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