在1960年代,心理学家斯坦利·米尔格拉姆进行了一系列有关服从(obedience)于权威(authority)两个概念的研究。
他的实验包括:让受试者对另一个房间里的人进行高压电击,不过其实那边被“电击”的都是演员,他们会配合着电击进行尖叫,而随着电压逐渐升高,他们最终会停止尖叫(也就是假装死了)。那些电击都不是真的,不过受试者以为自己是真的在电击别人。
如今,米尔格拉姆的这个实验不管是在科学方面还是道德方面都饱受批评。但他得出的结论——人类生来愿意服从权威——则依旧留下了深远的影响。
我们先来详细讲一下那个实验的细节:
During the study, the learner was located in a separate room from the teacher (the real participant), but the teacher could hear the learner through the wall.
在实验中,他们把“学生”与“老师”分置在隔开的两个房里,不过老师依然能够隔着墙听到学生的声音。其中的老师就是实验的受试者。
The experimenter told the teacher that the learner would memorize word pairs and instructed the teacher to ask the learner questions. If the learner responded incorrectly to a question, the teacher would be asked to administer an electric shock.
实验者告诉老师说这些学生要记住一些单词组合,并让老师去问学生一些考题。如果学生的回答不对,老师就被要求施加一次电击。
The shocks started at a relatively mild level (15 volts) but increased in 15-volt increments up to 450 volts. (In actuality, the shocks were fake, but the participant was led to believe they were real.)
电击刚开始时是比较温和的15伏,不过之后会以15伏的阶梯一直升高到450伏。(事实上,这些电击都是假的,不过受试者自己以为是真的。)
Participants were instructed to give a higher shock to the learner with each wrong answer. When the 150-volt shock was administered, the learner would cry out in pain and ask to leave the study.
受试者被告知:每次学生答错,都得施加一个更高的电击。当电压达到150伏的时候,学生会发出痛苦的叫声并要求终止实验。
He would then continue crying out with each shock until the 330-volt level, at which point he would stop responding.
之后他们会继续尖叫,直到电压达到330伏;这时他们就会停止给予任何反应。
在这个过程中,每当受试者对是否继续实验感到犹豫时,研究者都会用越来越坚定的指令告诉他们继续,并在最后说:“你没有其他的选择,你必须继续。”("You have no other choice, you must go on." )
当一个受试者拒绝执行研究者的命令,或者当一个受试者施加了最高的450伏电击的时候,实验就结束了。
米尔格拉姆发现,受试者服从研究者命令的比例高得惊人:有65%的人最后都施加了450伏的电击。
那么,米尔格拉姆这个实验留下的遗产是什么呢?
Milgram’s interpretation of his research was that everyday people are capable of carrying out unthinkable actions in certain circumstances.
米尔格拉姆对自己的研究是这么解读的:每一个普通人在特定情况下都能做出让人难以想象的事情。
His research has been used to explain atrocities such as the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, though these applications are by no means widely accepted or agreed upon.
他的研究曾被拿来解释纳粹大屠杀和卢旺达屠杀等暴行,不过这些解读并没有得到广泛的认可。
需要注意的是,并不是所有的受试者都完全服从了实验者的命令,所以这个实验也展现了人们反抗权威的一面。
事实上,社会学家马修·霍兰德就曾经写到:我们或许能从那些不服从的受试者身上学到些东西,他们采取的策略能让我们在面对一个不人道的情境时做出更好的反应。
米尔格拉姆的实验表明人类天生很容易服从权威,但它也表明这种服从并不是不可避免的。
下一篇: 学会尊重生命的价值
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