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Stanley Milgram

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Doctor

The Resume

    (August 15, 1933-December 20, 1984)
    Born in New York City, New York
    Social psychologist
    Best known for his 'obedience to authority' and 'small world' experiments
    In the obedience experiments, participants were ordered by an authority figure to deliver electrical shocks to a student (actually a confederate of the experimenter, who did not actually receive any shocks)
    In the small world experiment, people in Omaha were asked to send a package to a target in Boston; if they did not know the target directly, they were to send the package to an acquaintance that they thought had a better chance of knowing the target

Why he might be annoying:

    Harvard initially rejected his application to the PhD program in psychology since he had taken no psychology classes as an undergraduate.
    The American Psychological Association put his membership application on hold because of questions about the ethics of his research.
    He was denied tenure at Harvard partly over the controversy generated by his research.
    His finding that 65% of ordinary people were willing to give out potentially fatal electric shocks because someone ordered them to do it is pretty depressing.
    His 'small world' study has been dismissed as too flawed experimentally to derive meaningful results from.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His 'small world' study inspired the phrase 'six degrees of separation' and thus 'six degress of Kevin Bacon.'
    His obedience experiments were inspired by the trial of Adolf Eichmann.
    One of the participants in his obedience studies wrote to him that because of the experiment, he had decided to apply for conscientious objector status upon being drafted.
    His obedience experiments are studied in a mandatory psychology class at the US Military Academy, with a West Point instructor noting, 'One of the desired outcomes is that our future military leaders will be fully cognizant not only of their authority, but also of their responsibility to make decisions that are morally sound.'
    He inspired Peter Gabriel's song 'We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37).'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 30 Votes: 36.67% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 23 Votes: 43.48% Annoying