Was Stanley Milgram's Study of Obedience Unethical

One of the primary concerns a psychologist must address when preparing to carry out an experiment are the effects, both short and long term, of the experiment on the subjects. Some experiments positively affect the subjects and need not be debated, but those that have the possibility to create negative short or long-term effects in the subjects must be reviewed thoroughly. There are several general guidelines that have been set to determine whether an experiment …

…did regret being involved with the experiment and most likely underwent some degree of emotional distress after the study shows that the study could and to some degree did cross over an ethical line. Milgram was lucky that a larger number of people did not undergo such lasting distress. The experimental design was not unethical, but Milgram's decision to continue the experiment despite a probable chance of long-term negative effects on the subjects was unethical.