Final answer:
The main answer to the student's question on Milgram's research goal is b) to investigate the power of authority. Milgram's study revealed that individuals could be driven to obey orders even when those orders conflicted with their moral judgments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The real goal of Stanley Milgram's research was to investigate the power of authority. Participants in the Milgram experiment were instructed to administer what they believed were electric shocks to others when answers were incorrect, under the direction of an authority figure. The main answer to the student's question is option b) Investigate the power of authority. Milgram's study was designed to understand how much obedience individuals would show when instructed to perform actions conflicting with their moral compass by an authority figure. The experiment found that a significant majority of participants were willing to administer what they believed to be painful and potentially lethal shocks.Milgram's interest was sparked by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, where the defense 'just following orders' was used to justify atrocities during WWII. The results of the experiment showed that obedience to authority was more prevalent than previously thought, and personal conscience could be overridden by the perceived obligation to obey authority. In conclusion, the Milgram experiment demonstrated a disturbing level of obedience to authority, challenging preconceptions about the nature of human behavior and the power of situational forces.