Milgram's Experiment

 

Topics for a Debate: 

1. Ethical Considerations: Was it ethical for Milgram to conduct the experiment, given the emotional stress it caused participants? Should such experiments be allowed in the name of scientific progress?

2. Obedience vs. Personal Morality: To what extent should individuals obey authority figures, even when it conflicts with their moral values?

3. Relevance in Modern Society: Would similar results be observed today? Has societal awareness of authority and ethics changed since the 1960s?

4. Power Dynamics and Authority: What does the experiment reveal about power dynamics in society? How do authority figures influence behavior in modern contexts like workplaces or governments?

5. Cultural and Gender Differences: Would different cultures or gender groups react differently in the Milgram experiment? How do social and cultural backgrounds affect obedience to authority?

6. Responsibility in Obedience: Who is responsible for harmful actions carried out under authority: the authority figure or the individual carrying out the orders?

7. Comparisons to Historical Events: How do Milgram’s findings help us understand obedience in historical atrocities like the Holocaust? Can the experiment justify or explain such behavior?

8. The Role of Dissent: What factors enable some individuals to resist authority, as seen in the small number of participants who refused to continue? How can dissent be encouraged in oppressive systems?

Chapter 4. “Society and Social Interaction.”

1. Compare one typical school day of yours to the example. 

What is similar? What is different?

2. Again, what is Society?

3. Define Hunter-gatherer societies. 

4. Define Pastoral societies. 

5. Define Agricultural societies. Key concepts: rotation, 

commerce cities. 

6. How does the author define feudal societies?

7. Define Industrial society. Explain the concept. 

8. Explain the importance of the steam engine. 

9. How does the author define Information societies?

Explain the key concepts: production of information 

and services. Education. 

10. Explain the main components of Emile Durkheim’s 

social theory: functionalism, collective conscience, 

11. Society as a living organism, division of labor, and 

anomie. 

12.  Explain the main components of Marx’s social theory: 

base and superstructure, bourgeoisie and proletariat; 

revolution. 

13. Explain the concept of alienation in Marx, in its four specific types:

Alienation from the product of one’s labor; alienation from the 

process of one’s labor; alienation from others; alienation 

from one’s self. 

14. Explain the notion of false consciousness in Marx. 

15. Explain the Weberian concept of Rationalization. 

What does Weber mean by iron cage?

16. Explain the concept of habitualization (in Berger and Luckmann). 

Chapter 3 - “Culture.”

1. Define culture and society. Compare both concepts. 

2. What is a community?

3. What is the difference between material and 

non-material culture?

4. Define and explain the concept of Cultural universals. 

Debate # 1: Is music a cultural universal?

5. What is ethnocentrism?

6. Define the concept of Culture shock. 

7. What is Cultural relativism?

8. What is Xenocentrism?

Debate # 2: Overcoming cultural shock. 

9. Define the notions of Values and Beliefs. 

10. Define the concept of Norms. Compare Norms Vs. Laws. 

11. Define and explain the concept of Symbol. 

12. What is Language? Explain. 

13. Explain the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about language. 

14. Explain the difference between High culture and 

Low culture. 

15. What is a Sub-culture? Explain. 

16. Explain the notion of Counter-culture. 

17. Define the concept of Innovation. 

18. Define the notions of Diffusion and Globalization. 

19. Explain the three main theoretical perspectives on culture: 

the Functionalist perspective, 

20. The Conflict perspective, and

21. The Symbolic Interaction Perspective. 

Chapter 2

Chapter 2. “Sociological Research.”

1. Explain the definition of the scientific method given by the author. 

2. The “Question”. Explain. 

3. “Review of existing sources.” Explain.

4. “Hypothesis.” Independent and dependent variables. Explain. 

5. Debate # 3. Discuss the hypothesis mentioned by the author 

(Page 38). 

6. Explain the concepts of “reliability” and “accuracy.”

7. What does it mean to “operationalize” a concept?

8. “Draw conclusions.” Explain. 

9. “Report results.” Explain.

10. What is an “interpretive framework”?

11. Debate # 4. Critical Sociology. Theories can legitimate 

systems of social power or liberate. Discuss this idea. 

12. What is a “Survey” in Sociology? Explain the difference 

between Qualitative and Quantitative data. 

13. What is an “Interview” in Sociology?

14. What is “Field Research”?

15. What is “Participant observation”?

16. What is “Secondary data analysis”?

17. Why do ethical standards exist in sociological studies?

18. Debate # 5. The Milgram experiment.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1. “An Introduction to Sociology”. Questions.

1. Explain the concept of Sociology given by the author. 

2. Explain the difference between “micro-level” and the “macro-level”. 

Explore the example mentioned by the author.

3. What is culture, according to the author?

4. Explain the concept of Sociological Imagination, by Wright Mills. 

5. Explain the notion of Cultural Patterns. Explore the example 

mentioned by the author.

6. Explain the notion of Figuration.

7. Bringing about social change. Debate # 1. Discuss the example 

offered by the author on page 10. 

8. The sociological imagination and its origins: Philosophy. 

Synthesize the main points of the scheme developed by 

the author on pages 11-12.

9. August Compte and Positivism. Explain the main concepts. 

10. Martineau. Explain the main concepts.

11. Karl Marx. Explain the main concepts.

12. Herbert Spencer. Explain the main concepts.

13. Durkheim and Weber. Explain the main concepts.

14. Debate # 2. Should we raise the minimum wage? (Page 15).

15. Sociological Paradigms: Functionalism. Main Ideas and Criticism. 

16. Sociological Paradigms: Conflict Theory. Main Ideas and Criticism.

17. Sociological Paradigms: Functionalism. Main Ideas and Criticism.

18. Sociological Paradigms: Symbolic Interactionism. 

Main Ideas and Criticism.