Imagine this: A psychologist named Stanley Milgram did some experiments to understand why regular, decent people might do things that aren’t right. He wanted to see if being told what to do by an authority figure could make people go against their own beliefs and values.
In one experiment, there were teachers and students. The teachers were told to give electric shocks to the students if they got a question wrong. But, here’s the twist: the students weren’t actually getting shocked. Even though some teachers were worried, they kept shocking the students because they were told to do so by the person running the experiment. They kind of forgot about their own beliefs and just followed orders.
Later, after World War II, people were shocked that so many ordinary folks took part in terrible things like torturing and hurting others in death camps. Milgram thought that people’s willingness to obey authority figures, even when it’s wrong, might have played a big role in that terrible event.
In a way, we have a tricky situation. Sometimes, we mix up following rules and being ethical. We might think we have to do what we’re told, even if it doesn’t feel right. The Bible even talks about obeying authority, but it also says we should follow our values and God’s laws.
I think this idea is still around today. People might do things they know are wrong because someone in charge tells them to. Like, even though they know it’s bad, they still do it because they’re told to. This could happen at work or in other situations.
We’ve all probably done something we knew wasn’t right because someone important told us to. The important thing is to remember our values and stand up for what’s right, even if someone with authority says otherwise. It’s not easy, but it’s really important, especially for leaders.
Do you think this kind of behavior happens today? Can you think of any other examples of this happening?