ocial

sychology

American Soldiers Liberate A German Concentration Camp

1. What was the holocaust? Briefly describe how the world responded to the Holocaust.
What was the Nazi philosophy that led them to establish the concentration camps?
What did the Enabling Act permit Hitler's government to do?  What is the purpose of the C.A.N.D.L.E.S. organization?
2. Provide a brief biography of Adolph Eichmann. What happened to Eichmann?
3. Was Eichmann a monster or an ordinary person who engaged in monstrous deeds? Defend your answer.
4. Who was William Shirer and what was the name of his best selling book? What hypothesis did Shirer contribute to our discussion of why "ordinary" Germans willingly served in the concentration camps?
5. Who was Hannah Arendt? What was the name of the book that she wrote regarding the Eichmann trial? What was Hannah Arendt's hypothesis concerning who would commit extreme anti-social behaviors?
6. Describe in great detail the procedure and results of Milgram's baseline study.
7. Answer the following questions regarding Milgram's research by providing the results of experimental investigations:
    a) Is blind obedience to authority a distinctly American characteristic?
    b) Did the "teacher" enjoy shocking the "learner"?
    c) What is the effect of the status of the authority figure on obedience?
    d) Was the personality of the "learner" a factor in determining the level of shock delivered?
    e) Were the personalities of maximally obedient and rebellious participants different?
    f) What do most people feel is the moral way to behave in the Milgram study?
    g) Would most people expect the results of the Milgram study?  If not, why are Milgram's results
        surprising?
8. Here is a spectacular web page describing Milgram's work. Wasn't that one incredible web page?
9. What were the results of our simulation of the Milgram study in class? Why were the results of our simulation different from the results of the actual experiment? Defend your answer.
10. Do you believe that the Milgram study was ethical? Explain your answer.
11. Could investigations like those of Milgram be performed today?
12. What was the purpose of Unit 731?  When did it occur and who was General Shiro Ishii?
13.What happened at My Lai and when did it occur?
 

Eichmann-1940		General Ishii-1946	Calley-1969

14. Who are William Calley and Hugh Thompson?
15. Briefly summarize Pol Pot's life. Who are the Khmer Rouge? In what country are the Killing Fields?  When did the Killing Fields occur?
16. What happened at the secret prison S-21 and who was sent there?
17. Describe the genocide in Rwanda, indicating when it occurred, who was responsible, and who the victims were.
18. What is "ethnic cleansing" and where has the term been applied most frequently?
19. Describe the Stanford Prison Experiment. What were the roles of Zimbardo and Maslach in this study?
20. Describe Hofling et al.'s Astroten study, being sure to summarize both parts of the investigation. Do the nurses in the Astroten study remind you of anyone you know?
21. Give a very detailed description of the procedure and results of the Gamson, Fireman, and Rytina (1982) MHRC study.
22. List four similarities and three differences between the Milgram and Gamson investigations.
23. What do you think caused Milgram's and Gamson et al.'s participants to respond so differently to authority?
24.Describe Roger Brown's analysis of when increased numbers increase the likelihood of rebellion against authority.
25. What did Tilly conclude regarding collective rebellion and the political processes of Western countries? What did Levy find in his chronological examination of political violence in the US?  Describe Davies' assessment of the relationship of economic conditions to political violence.
26. Is it possible that a basically decent and moral person would willingly participate in a government sponsored program of genocide? Or is genocide only practiced by evil persons? Defend your answer.
27. Describe in great detail the French response to the Taliban.