The Milgram Experiment

Written by Crystal Kong and Chloe Chern, Founders of Code of Cures BioEthics Blog

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In the early 1960s, at a time when the world was experiencing mass atrocities from the Nazi, Stanley Milgram sought to answer a chilling question: How far would ordinary people go when told to obey? 

He conducted his experiments, known as the Milgram experiment, to explore the extent to which individuals would follow orders from an authority figure, even to the point of inflicting pain on others.

Milgram’s obedience-to-authority experiments involved three people: a supervisor, a learner, and a teacher. The supervisor and learner were actors who were employed and trained. The teacher was an individual who responded to an advertisement to assist in a study. The uninformed teacher was told that the purpose of the experiment was to determine whether punishment in the form of electrical shocks would promote learning. 

The teacher was instructed to give the learner a multiple-choice test, and for each incorrect response, the teacher had to administer a shock, increasing the voltage for each wrong answer. The learner/actor would react with growing screams. However, when the teacher wanted to stop this punishment, the supervisor would command them to continue. The experiment continued until the supervisor’s commands did not stop the teacher from refusing to continue. 

Ethical Implications

Milgram’s Obedience Experiment raised serious concerns when examined through the lens of bioethical principles.

• Autonomy: Participants were deceived about the study's true purpose. Although they could technically stop, the experimenter used authoritative pressure, compromising voluntary choice. 

• Non-Maleficence: Participants experienced severe psychological distress.

• Beneficience: While the research produced important knowledge, the participants did not benefit. 

• Justice: Although a vulnerable population was not targeted, participants were placed in morally conflicting situations without full transparency. 

Outlook for the Future

Ultimately, Milgram’s experiment highlighted the powerful influence of situation over individual morality as ordinary people were revealed to commit harmful acts in the face of authority. While ethical implications exist, the study remains essential for understanding obedience and preventing future abuses of power. Moving forward, it reinforces the need for strong ethical guidelines in research and greater awareness of how authority can shape human behavior. 

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Works Cited

“Milgram Experiment | EBSCO.” EBSCO Information Services, Inc. | Www.ebsco.com, 2024, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/milgram-experiment.

Yale, and Yale. “Yale Alumni Magazine: The Milgram Experiments (Jan/Feb 07).” Yalealumnimagazine.com, 2025, archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2007_01/milgram.html.