Assignment 9 - Blog and Read Obedience to Authority

Chapter 1: The Dilemma of Obedience

This chapter sets up a broad overview of the experiment. It defines obedience as “the psychological mechanism that links individual action to political purpose. It briefly explains the various excuses that people give for their immoral actions. They want to be polite and keep their promise to the experimenter or they just don’t want to go through the awkwardness of confronting authority and withdrawing from the experiment. They become immersed in the technicalities and push off responsibility to the authority. Ironically history shows that authority pushes the responsibility off to the person you commits the final act of atrocity. I am interested to see how I would have responded in such a situation. I also wonder how different it would be as an experiment compared to a wartime scenario.

Chapter 2: Method of Inquiry

The second chapter focuses on the details of the experiment. It reminds us that simplicity is key because psychological matters can get very complicated. There moral standard occurred through this universal concept: “One should not inflict suffering on a helpless person who is neither harmful nor threatening to oneself”. The details that they convered included how they obtained participants, who were the participants, the procedure, what the victim had to learn, information about the shock generator, the sample shock, instructions given to the participant on when/how to shock the victim, the feedback from the experimenter, special prods, feedback from the victim, and how the participants were debriefed. They had to experiment with the victim’s feedback to get correct results. This need for change revealed that subjects would obey authority to a greater extent than the first anticipated.

Chapter 3: Expected Behavior

It was interesting to see how people would predict themselves and others to act in such an experiment. If I’m being honest, I would have predicted the exact same thing, which is why I really want to know how I actually would have responded to such an experiment. However, I was surprised by how high in voltage some would predict that they would go especially when they say they would stop there because they would have compassion, empathy, or a sense of justice. Their predictions assume that people are by and large decent human beings, that “the individual is preeminently the source of his own behavior”, and that they would act in the same way as their decision. All of these assumptions are wrong. That helps me to understand the mispredictions.

Chapter 4: Closeness of the Victim

Surprisingly to me, there were almost no participants who disobeyed authority when the victim had no vocal complaint. So, the experiment was changed to include 4 scenarios. In the remote feedback variation , the victim had no vocal complaint and was put in another room. The second experiment was called voice-feedbcak where the victim was still in an opposite room but vocal protests could be heard. The proximity case included the victim in the same room as the particioant. The last case was called touch-proximity, which had the participant force the victims hand onto the shock plate. As would be guessed, obedience decreased with each test. I was extreamly surprised that the percentage of definance only increased by 2.5% between the first and second tests. I would think that if the participant knew the desires of the victim, they would comply to them.

Chapter 5: Individuals Confront Authority

This was probably the most interesting chapter so far since it actually shed light on particular individual’s actions during the experiment. It was scary to read about the first reaction where there was absolutely no hesitation or tension.  In the others it was curious to see how each individual dealt with the conflict differently. Some would just be sad, others would follow the experimenter, one transferred his idea of an authority figure from the experiment to the victim, and the industrial engineer just flat out said no. Again, this begs the question of how I would act in that same circumstance.

Chapter 6: Further Variations and Controls

How does mention to a heart condition not lead to a greater disobedience? That is really scary to see those statistics and what it means about humanity. It was also interesting to note that the appearance of the experimenter or victim did not effect the outcome. However, removing the experimenter from the room greatly increased disobedience. Other areas that were looked at included women as subjects, limits on the victim's contract, and looking at institutional context. Thankfully another experiment was done which removed the experimenter and revealed that most people do not select high voltages when they are free to choose the values.

Chapter 7: Individuals Confront Authority II
This chapter continues to relate various stories of how subjects reacted in the experiment. For many of them it sounded like they had dual personalities. They wanted to stop, but couldn't. I was getting stressed out just reading the reports of what they had to go through. However, I then came across the account of Gretchen Brandt who restored my faith in humanity by being firm in her decision to stop applying voltage. It made me wonder what was different about her compared to the other subjects. The last subject brings up the idea of obedience in warfare - how is it different from obedience in the lab?

Chapter 8: Role Permutations
In this chapter, the experiment is again repeated but varies the appearance of authority of the victim and the experimenter. I'm surprised that they have been able to complete so many experiments without being questioned about their ethics yet. The first way that they changed the experiment is where the learner demanded to be shocked. Then, they changed how much authority the experimenter had by replacing him with the appearance of an ordinary man. Experiment 13a created the subject to be a bystander when they finally disobeyed. What was really interesting is when they created two authority figures who contradicted each other.

Chapter 9: Group Effects
In the previous chapter, they increased the number of experimenters and so for this chapter they increased the number of participants.Adding in this component allows them to evaluate between conformity and obedience. The participants conform based on hierarchy, imitation, and explicitness. They had one experiment where there were two peer rebels and another where a peer administers the shock.

Chapter 10: Why Obedience? - An Analysis
They try to answer this question first with a comparison to evolution and survival of the fittest. However, they then were able to re-explain it through a cybernetic viewpoint. The combination of these two explanations really helped me to understand the concept. This chapter also talked about hierarchical structuring, variability, and the agentic shift.

Chapter 11: The Process of Obedience: Applying the Analysis to the Experiment
Questions addressed in this chapter include: what conditions will a person move from an automonous to an agentic state?, Once the shift has occured, what behavioral and psychological properties of the person are alterd?, and what keeps a person in the agentic state? (135). Some antecedent conditions of obedience include family, institutional setting, and rewards. Some properties of the agentic state include tuning, redefining the meaning of t situation, loss of responsibility, and self image.

Chapter 12: Srain and Disobedience
Some ways in which people reduce the feelings of strain are avoidance, physical conversion, dissent, and disobedience. Depending on which action is executed probably relates directly with how much stress the participate is feeling. These feelings normally stem from conflicting beliefs of morals, social norms, or self image.

Chapter 13: An Alternative Theory: Is Aggression the Key?
This short chapter covers the effect aggression has on the experiment. This is defined as the flow of destructive tendencies. The Freudian view illustrates that everyone has destructive forces, but they do not always fin ready release. The experiment creates an environment where it is okay to cause harm and actually is for the cause of science. The conclusion was that the key to the subjects behavior did not lie in their inner anger, but with their relationship to authority.

Chapter 14: Problems of Method
In this chapter, the author addressed the criticisms that other people have stated about this experiment. The main ones that he countered included that the people studied were not typical, that they didn't believe they were administering shocks to the learner, and that it is not possible to generalize from the laboratory to the larger world. These are founded concerns and questions. So, I'm glad that Dr. Milgram incorporated this chapter into his book.

Chapter 15: Epilogue
This chapter demonstrates that atrocities done in Germany could be demonstrated still today. It specifically talks about the war in Vietnam. It was interesting to read the account of the soldier. What he did was wrong, but in a military environment the stakes for disobedience are a lot higher. Questioning authority or disobeying it could result in the loss of your life or the death of the whole platoon. You also don't have all the information that your superiors have. So, I would be much more lenient about giving grace to soldiers verses people doing a volunteer experiment. I really don't think they should compare the two scenarios as equal.

Book Overview:
This experiment was really interesting to read about because it the results did not correspond with the predicted outcomes. This then raised many interesting questions about humanity, morality, and obedience. At first I was surprised that people followed authority more than their morality. However, as I continued reading, I realized there were a lot more factors that went into that decision besides just authority. Even so, it makes me scared that meaningless fears of self image can trump what someone believes in. I was also surprised to see how long the experiment lasted and how many variations of it were conducted especially since many people think it was ethically questionable. The most interesting chapters in this book were the ones that gave a word for word account of what people said during the experiment. It helped to remind me that even if they did go to the end of the experiment, most participants at least spoke up in some way to the experimenter that what they were doing was wrong. Some people just have a stronger backbone of confronting people. I think that our society focuses a lot on tolerance and making sure not to offend others. So, I wonder if this experiment was conducted of solely Americans or solely people in Germany, would the results be different. This topic was briefly covered in chapter 14, but it would be interesting to have a more in depth study of it. (Howdy! if you have read through all of this for every one's blog, I am thoroughly impressed and you deserve a medal.) Psychology is such an interesting field because no two people are the same, but there can be generalizations. For example most people went through with the experiment, but they all had varying reactions to it. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and being able to see how people interact with each other especially since I have never had a psychology class. However, as it got towards the end, I began to loose interest because I for some reason saw it as repetitive. Relating this book to computer science, it is scary to think that a computer that is giving instructions could have the authority to produce the same outcomes. What happens if there is a bug in the code? Will the user still execute the order even if they think it is wrong? Or will they think that the computer is wrong and go look for the human programmer to double check? This has a lot of interesting food for thought.

Assignment 8 - Blog and Read Gang Leader for a Day

Chapter 1: How Does it Feel to be Black and Poor?

It was interesting to see how Sudhir first interacted with the gangs. He was either fearless and bold, or just completely unaware of the danger that he was entering. I agree with Sudhir when he explains that the studies and seminars in the academic world seem “cold and distant, abstract and lifeless”(3). This can be seen by comparing his awkward questioning with his hang outs with JT. Being submerged into the culture helps immensely in understanding exactly where that group is coming from.

Chapter 2: First Days on Federal Street

I was surprised that JT enjoyed having Sudhir around as much as he did, but I guess it makes sense if you look at it as JT having a pet that follows him around and who he can show off. I liked being introduced to Ms. Mae as it seems she has a good understanding of her surroundings at yet truly desires to help the people around her. This was starkly contrasted by Sudhir’s witness of the beating of C-Note. Part of Sudhir’s naivety was finally shattered, and he began to understand a little better of what he got himself into and how JT is able to lead the BKs.

Chapter 3: Someone to Watch Over Me

With the beating of C-Note Sudhir finally realized that he is witnessing a lot of illegal actions. He struggles with the idea of whether he should call the police or not. However, he knew if he did this that his connections inside of the BKs would probably be cut off. It took me by surprise that a gang would get involved in politics and how the structure was so similar to corporate companies with a hierarchy and rivals. In regards to these rivals, Sudhir is forced to pick sides and decided if he is with Autry or if he is with JT.

Chapter 4: Gang Leader for a Day

I think the name of this chapter and the name of the book is very misleading because Sudhir barely did anything in regards to leading the Gang. However, it did give him a better perspective of what the day to day jobs are and how JT goes about solving conflicts within his gang. When they realized that one of the members were selling diluted crack, JT asked Sudhir what he would do, and he responded that he should be kicked out of the gang. JT’s response surprised me in that he doesn’t want to belittle the members thought process of obtaining more money, but he does need to learn that diluting crack is not the way to go about it.

Chapter 5: Ms. Bailey’s Neighborhood

Ms. Bailey is scary. It is almost as if she is in control of her own little gang and yet still is connected to the BK. On the surface, it looked as if she really was helping out the people in the community, but it turned out that she was very biased in who she helped. You could tell that her motives were not to help the people in the projects, but to make a profit for herself by any means necessary. Sudhir had a rude awakening when he got taken advantage of by Clarisse. Ms. Bailey proceeded to inform him of the consequences that could be produced because of it. In addition to this, Sudhir again proceeded to break the correct way to perform an ethnography by kicking Bee-Bee.

Chapter 6: The Hustler and the Hustled

How did he just now think about consulting a lawyer? Whatever the reason, he finally realized in this chapter that he is a hustler just as much as the people in the BK. This was highlighted by his mistake of revealing personal financial information to Ms. Bailey and JT. Through this mistake many of the tenants stopped talking to Sudhir. Sudhir plays this off as he just didn’t know, but I think he knew completely what he was doing. He was just to consumed by the information that he disregarded the effects that it would create.

Chapter 7: Black and Blue

This was the second recorded incident of a drive by shooting. The response was different because the attackers had “no business sense”. So, JT found the shooters, beat them up, and took their guns. Sudhir was also able to learn a lot more about why the people in the projects were scared of the police and never called them. He was able to see how corrupt they were. His perception of protective police officers was erased and replaced with a more realistic view which displays both sides of the coin.

Chapter 8: The stay-Together Gang

News of the demolishment of the Robert Taylor Homes had everyone scared. People had to start thinking of where they were going to live and what they were going to do. This area was one reason why JT was doing so well, and he knew with it gone that his leading the BK would be over. In this turmoil, some families were intent on staying together because of the network that they had already created with the Robert Taylor Homes. Dorothy took it upon herself to help these families stay together in order to survive in another neighborhood. It was interesting to see the sympathy that was created for these gang members and their troubles.

Book Overview:

This book was actually a really fun read that helped to spur ideas and questions to ask when doing our own ethnography. It was very enlightening to view gangs and gang members in this light. It reminded me of their humanity and their sad circumstances that they were born into. Given those circumstances, it is amazing how they have learned to survive in their own community. What would it look like if each and every neighbor helped each other out like the people in the Robert Taylor Homes did? Even though this wasn’t the main purpose of the book, it is one of the themes that I connected with. I believe that Sudhir’s main reason for writing this book was to persuade the benefits of being an ethnographer verses those in sociology who use quantitative and statistical techniques. He more than likely exaggerated his naivety in order to better support this point that he wanted to make as well as making it a better read. He also used this tactic in order to portray himself in a better light since he did act in morally questionable ways at some points. This can be observes in his process of gathering information. He broke many rules of an ethnographer and had to contemplate within himself how to correlate his actions with his moral compass. In addition to this, he witnessed how corrupt police officers could be. This was also a shock to me since I have grown up with a huge respect for them and their ability to protect the community. Obviously, the account of this book doesn’t mean all police officers are like that, but it did make me realize that there are a few out there and this in and of itself changed my viewpoint a lot. It was also interesting to note the different roles/positions that comprised of a life in the projects. You have the leaders like JT, T-Bone, Autry, or Ms. Baily. Then you have the other officers and the lower members who sell outside on the streets.  Outside of the gangs, but not free from them, there are squatters, prostitutes, and business stores. I think that Ms. Baily is almost the foil of JT in that her corrupt means of obtaining what she wants demonstrates how JT is a more sensible business man and cares a little more about his people even if he is also power hungry. Seeing this type of structure in a gang was very surprising for me to read about. I did not realize how it ran was so similar to a normal legitimate or shady business. It was also interesting to note how Sudhir was able to build relatively close relationships to everyone in the gang – even to the point where T-Bone gave him the Black Kings financial ledger. This obviously could never be obtained by the previous reporters that came in because they were associated to “be with” the police. Therefore, they were not able to understand the people and community as well as Sudhir came to know them. In the end, it was amazing to see how just demolishing a building could completely destroy the BK in that area. The chaos that it produces is good to remember whenever the government wants to supplant homes with some other project that they think would better help the community.

Assignment 10 on Ethnographies

It is hard to come up with types of groups that you have never been apart of. However, I can tell from past experience that there is an obvious differences in personalities and group dynamics at a LAN party than at a soccer practice. If people have never experienced this atmosphere I would strongly encourage them to try and join a group similar to this for their ethnography project.

A group that I think would be really interesting to hang out with and observe is a theater group or the corp. However, if we are suppose to actually be able to participate with them, there may be some issues in be allowed to do that. So, another group that crossed my mind is participating in a book club. No matter which group of people I observe, I will learn a lot because each activity draws a variety of different personalities.

Assignment 7

Walking with a camera on my head was a very interesting experience. However, this made me more aware of each action I made and the actions of people around me. I also had two different experiences that I could compare. The first route that we took was a walk into a shooting range, pick up our eye and ear protection, walked to the lane where there was a mutual friend that taught us how to shoot, and then we shot off 8 rounds. The second route started outside of spoons, and then we walked in and picked our ice cream toppings. For me, spoons actually spurred a greater awareness of my surroundings. I took note of where I was looking and I changed my focal point where I walked and why, my movement when making decisions, and how I responded to others. Focusing on gaze, I thought it was interesting where I was looking in when I was deciding what frozen yogurt I wanted. I first started by briefly gazing over all the flavors to see if there is anything new or interesting. Then I proceeded to look at each one of them for a longer period of time. So, I know all the flavors that are available. After all this data is collected, I can finally move from the spot that I have been frozen this whole time. Since there is a line in front of me, I steadily passed by each flavor making the final decision for each. I’m not really sure I have to go through this long process or what exactly it means about my personality, but I‘ll take a stab at it. Since I did not just walk up and pick one, you can tell that I tend to over think things and I’m not very sporadic.

You will also be able to observe how people mimic you in head nods, smile, and tone of voice. Another aspect that would be really interesting to observe on all the videos is to see where people look or what they do when they are waiting in line. These aspects will be able to help identify whether that person is a patient person or not. And the list could go on, but it would be easier to evaluate these aspects when you are watching these videos side by side. If I can identify these things without even watching the video, I am excited to see what the video will say about my personality and the people in my class. this will help a lot in our ethnography project.

Assignment 4- Blog and Read About Ethnographies

http://www.americanethnography.com/ethnography.php

This webpage was interesting to view because it displayed the different thoughts of what ethnography is. One viewpoint was that the goal was to “grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world”. Researchers use this information and data to discover the substance of the group’s happiness. This seems so subjective to me, and I am not sure how this is considered a science. Perhaps an art would better describe it. This also has to bring in a lot of psychology and terminology. It would be interesting to see how people define being happy. However, one of the references mentioned that ethnographies are meant to record the possible perspectives of life and another said it was to describe the culture to others. This seems more reasonable and realistic. The different viewpoints on how to conduct ethnography probably come from the two different aspects of it – the process and the product.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography 

In the beginning, it mentions that ethnography is meant to represent people’s nature graphically and in writing. However, there were no graphics on the page, and it did not explain how these graphics are created. So, I would like to know what they are supposed to look like. Through their explanation, it is easy to understand that it is really hard to obtain unbiased data. One reason to support this claim is that participation is better than observation. Every individual would interact with the group in a different way resulting in varying data. These experiments can be performed across many types of disciplines. The one discipline that I was surprised to be connected to it was economics. For some reason, that area never crossed my mind for this type of study. When performing ethnography, it is really easy to be deceptive and may not be completely ethical. Therefore, there has been an eight page code of ethics to help researchers respect the society that they have emerged themselves into. As mentioned earlier, there is no consensus on evaluation, but five criteria were mentioned in this article including substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, reflexivity, impact, and express a reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_Age_in_Samoa

Margaret Mead wrote this book, which focuses on adolescent girls in the Samoa islands. This is a really famous book in the field of anthropology. She poses the question, “Are the disturbances which vex our adolescents due to the nature of adolescence itself or to the civilization?” Her conclusion explained that the passage from childhood to adulthood was smooth among the girls in Samoan unlike in the United States where this transition is “marked by the emotional or psychological distress, anxiety, or confusion”. I can see how the adolescents in the United States experience this stress, but I have been blessed not to have experienced this. This makes me wonder what the percentage is of people in the Unites States who has struggled with this or if that percentage has changed over time. One reason that Mead gives for this anxiety is that the American girl is bombarded with different allegiances that she should be a part of but are incompatible with one another. Even though this is one of the more popular books regarding anthropology, it was not received well. Some claim that “Mead failed to apply the scientific method and that her assertions were unsupported”, but this has been refuted over the years. This makes me curious as to whether the anthropology community today still look at Mead’s book as great research or as something in the past.