Topic > Milgram and Zimbardo Experiments: Controlling People's Behavior

People who work in organizations tend to have their behaviors influenced slightly or drastically to achieve the organization's goals. This situation is shown in the experiments of Milgram and Zimbardo. The Milgram experiment took place at Yale University, where forty male volunteers were selected to be "teachers". The "student" who was an actor was seated in an electric chair and had to learn a list of word pairs. An experimenter, who was also an actor, asked the teachers to test the student by telling him a word and asking him to name the pair. If the student made a mistake, the teacher was told to give him an electric shock and to increase the level of the shock each time. The Zimbardo experiment took place at Stanford University where 24 male students were chosen from 75 volunteers to confirm the roles of prisoners and guards in a prison simulation (Zimbardo, PG, 1971). The Zimbardo experiment was stopped as early as the sixth day, because the students took their roles too seriously, to the point that the experience became dangerous. Indeed, the guards began to behave sadistically towards the prisoners, who became increasingly submissive. This shows us how organizations can cause perfectly healthy people to act immorally and do things they would not have done under normal circumstances. First we will discuss how those experiments are just reproductions of situations that actually happened in the past and are still happening today. Secondly, using experiments, we will analyze the reasons for the change in people's behavior within organizations and, finally, discuss how this can be used to make management in companies more efficient. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Milgram and Zimbardo's experiments are simply replications of what happens quite often in life as we know it. Indeed, those experiments confirm once and for all that organizations and groups can lead humans to commit evil acts. Indeed, several examples illustrate this fact. For example, extremist political movements such as communism in the Soviet Union or Nazism in Germany during the 20th century. Indeed, thousands of psychologically stable and seemingly normal men began killing and torturing innocent people and claimed that they were simply "following orders" when asked about it. Numerous cases like these were evaluated during the Nuremberg Trials. The Milgram experiment volunteers used the same reason to justify their heinous actions. In both cases, in fact, they seem to think that obeying someone's orders distracts them from their actions. Another example could be sects or extremist religious groups. One may be the Japanese extremist religious cult, Aum Shinrikyo, best known for being responsible for the sarin gas attack on five crowded Tokyo subway trains on March 20, 1995, which killed 13 people and injured more than 6,300 (Reader, I . 2000). This could be linked to Zimbardo Stanford's prison experiment where members or participants became so immersed in groups, their norms, rules and goals that they forgot their personal morality and completely lost their sense of identity, which leads them to act in ways that they would not be capable of individually. Another example would be men who join the army during wars. InIndeed, war can transform ordinary men into killers who take radical action to survive and fight for their country's prosperity. Propaganda would also brainwash people into believing sometimes ethically wrong ideologies such as racism and antisemitism because they are convinced it is for the well-being of society and their country (Encyclopedia Britannica). For example, ordinary people reported Jews to the Gestapo. People would also denounce opponents of communism to the KGB during the communist regime of the Soviet Union. Therefore, multiple reasons and factors cause people to act differently despite being part of an organization, as demonstrated by experiments. First of all, people must believe that the cause they work for is legitimate. For example, in both experiments, participants said they thought they were acting for the benefit of the experiment and therefore for the common good. This depends on how the project is presented to them and by whom. In fact, because all humans have been raised to obey an authority figure they trust, when they receive orders from someone they deem important and genuine, they will be more likely to do what they are told without question. Indeed, children obey their teachers, employees obey their bosses, and so on. This is what happens in Milgram's experiment when the experimenter, who is actually an actor, asks volunteers to administer an electric shock to the "student". The volunteers listen to him because they think he is important and they should obey him. After all, he presented himself as a figure to be trusted. He also wore a uniform that felt professional and legitimate and that made the volunteers trust and obey him. A variant of the same experiment was conducted in which the experimenter was not wearing a uniform: the level of obedience decreased by 20% (McLeod, SA 2007). People also tend to want to listen to someone they find charismatic or a person they like or admire. Receiving a reward can also influence people's behavior, especially if they believe the person offering the reward is legitimate and trustworthy. For example, if a manager offers a promotion to his employees, this can motivate them to work harder. In fact, volunteers in Milgram's experiment were paid $4.50 to participate (McLeod, SA, 2007), and volunteers in Zimbardo's prison experiment were paid $15 per day (Zimbardo, PG, 1971) . The influence on people's behaviors is that participants like to be part of a group. In fact, they enter a state of deindividuation because they become part of the group and lose their individual identity. They simply follow the actions of other group members without thinking about what they would normally do and their personal freedom and morality. People like to feel part of something important and enjoy feeling included and wanted. For example, during the Zimbardo experiment, the selected participants began to lose their individual identities, in part because they were all wearing the same uniforms. In fact, the "prisoners" talked mainly about prison and not about their life on the outside and the guards thought they had to maintain order in the prison and prevent the prisoners from escaping at all costs. Everyone started acting as if they had forgotten that the experiment was just that: an experiment. Finally, people need to believe that they and what they are doing matter. Organizations have the power to control people's conduct if group leaders can convince members that they are working for a noble cause andthat what they are doing is useful. In fact, when the Milgram experiment volunteers were asked what they did and why they continued to do what the "experimenter" told them to do, they said it was because he said it was for the experiment. A similar situation occurred during the Zimbardo experiment: the further the experiment progressed, the more the volunteers thought that what they were doing was important and that they had a real mission to accomplish even if it meant being violent towards others. People must be convinced that what they work for is beneficial to society and also to the world. They must think that they are serving an important purpose. In fact, leaders will make every member of the organization believe that they are needed and that they are an essential component of the group. As seen in both experiments, giving someone importance and power they didn't have before can dramatically change their behavior because humans crave them. If it is human nature to experience such a change in behavior while being part of organizations and be so influenced by groups, then we can ask whether it is possible to make these types of situations have a positive outcome and get people to act to do good and make the world a better place. Since a business is a type of organization, managers, CEOs, or other types of leaders can use it to make employees more efficient and generate more profits. Indeed, if the manager is respected and appreciated by his employees because he has a lot of knowledge or is an expert in his field, he is more likely to be listened to. He will be perceived as more reliable by his employees. In fact, they will work harder to satisfy and make someone they admire proud and therefore be more productive, which will make the company more successful. Leaders can also make employees' work environments more pleasant and enjoyable. In fact, if managers treat them well, they will want to be more diligent and more efficient. It is also within the power of managers to offer raises and promotions that can make employees more obedient. The physical working environment itself can strongly influence employee well-being and efficiency. For example, the high-tech company Apple will have a new, much greener campus and will be able to accommodate 13,000 employees (Konbini, 2017). They will have better, more modern offices with amazing views of the natural environment. As has been said before and demonstrated by the Milgram and Zimbardo experiments, for any organization to function properly and achieve its goals, its members must believe that they are fighting for a noble cause. Indeed, the manager or CEO must convince his employees that what they are doing and the company's goals are important to the world. Indeed, if employees believe that the company can improve certain aspects of technology, society, or another important area, they will want to take part in this improvement. The manager can also convince each employee that his role and the function he performs is essential to the success of the entire company or branch. For example, Steve Jobs could easily convince his employees to work harder, for example by completing long tasks in a short amount of time (Isaacson, W. 2012). However, when managers use these techniques, they must keep the workplace healthy and not ignore business ethics by practicing corporate social responsibility. In fact, they must not abuse their authority and mistreat their employees. The way the manager distributes promotions or gives sanctions to staff members should always be sound, rational and fair. Furthermore, it should not force them to perform unethical actions for success.