Nicole Guedes
ENC 1102
Martinez
Preliminary Genre Analysis
Genres are types of texts, recognizable to readers and writers, which meet the needs of
the rhetorical situations in which they function. According to Charles Bazerman (quoted by Anis
Bawarshi, a genre theorist), “genres are the familiar places we go to create intelligible
communicative action with each other, and the guideposts we use to explore the unfamiliar.” This
definition explains how genres are helpful resources when wanting to communicate with others
and learn new information about a group. Every discourse community is different; the genres
within each one are unique. When we approach a genre, we are entering that “familiar place”,
one of certain features, and this helps us gain understanding and knowledge of the community it
belongs to. The thoughts of Bazerman and Bawarshi affirm that the study of genres can help us
get an insight on the communities’ goals, beliefs, ideas, etc.
Since genres reveal useful information regarding the values and goals of discourse
communities, I will be using the genres found in psychology, the major I plan to enter, to get an
insight of how to communicate with that group. I will be analyzing three articles, which discuss
the topic of experimental ethics and the Milgram experiments, looking specifically at the genre
settings, participants, features, subjects and patterns, in order to determine appropriate methods
of communication for the group.
Setting:
The articles I have chosen all pertain to the field of Psychology, specifically to the subject
of experimental ethics. I located each of my articles through the UCF Library Database under the
psychology section. This led me to a series of basic databases, from which I chose PsycInfo
(EBSCOhost), which contains materials from more than 1,300 journals covering scholarly
literature in all aspects of psychology and related fields (1887-current). I accessed the articles by
using the keywords “Milgram experiments” and “experimental ethics” and then chose the three
articles from the results given.
Participants:
Writers of this genre range from psychologists to university professors. The author of my
first article “Sciences, Fallacies and Ethics”, Lewis W. Brandt, worked in the University of
Saskatchewan Regina Campus, and has written several journals on different subjects within
psychology such as phenomenology, psychoanalysis and behaviorism. H. Kaufmann, the author
of my second article “The Price of Obedience and the Price of Knowledge”, was a psychology
professor in the University of Toronto and has written works ranging from psychiatry to
neurology. Ian Freckelton SC, the author of the third article, a book review of “Behind the Shock
Machine: the Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments, by Gina Perry”,
is a full-time practicing barrister and a part-time professor of law, forensic psychology and
forensic medicine in the Monash University in Australia, who has received various grants and
awards in relation to his research. Each of the authors is well respected within their own field for
the amount of research and effort they have put into their works, establishing their knowledge
and credibility.
These articles are typically read by people involved in the study of social sciences.
“Milgram's experiments have been the subject of extensive and divisive debate amongst
psychologists, sociologists and ethicists” (Book Review—“Behind the Shock Machine: the
Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments”). From this statement we can
infer that a wide range of scientists may be interested in this topic and these articles. Readers
should have some background knowledge of the Milgram experiments or should at least have an
interest in the controversies of experimental ethics.
Subject:
The three articles discuss the topic of experimental ethics, particularly those of the
Milgram experiments on obedience to authority figures (a series of experiments which measured
the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform
acts that conflicted with their personal conscience). They all analyze the Milgram experiments,
describing the procedures and results, while maintaining present the question of ethic and
deception of man. “How much discomfort is it legitimate to inflict?” (“The Price of Obedience
and the Price of Knowledge”) was one main issue relevant to ethics which each of the articles
addressed. More specifically, Brandt addresses this issue by creating some ethical guidelines,
explaining in great detail the principles of which the experimenters and subjects should act if
choosing to work with human subjects.
The authors also target the controversy that was created with these experiments; since
using human subjects a discussion of legitimacy emerged arguing whether ethics were being
followed. Brandt responds to this discussion by stating that “experiments with human subjects
are shown to be undemocratic and unnecessary,” meaning that there are certain experiments
where the subject’s behavior can be predicted from the experimenter’s behavior, and he
continues by asserting that “psychological experiments with human subjects are frequently based
on faulty assumptions which may lead not only to erroneous conclusions but also to warped
ethics.” Kaufmann and Freckelton also agree on Brandt’s assumption that whenever humans are
involved “warped ethics” will always be a problem.
Since this is such a controversial topic, there is a battle of whether these experiments are
actually beneficial in learning new information or if we disregard them because they are deemed
unethical. Kaufmann states: “The social theory of evil may be distressing and humiliating to the
stature of man, but then, learning to know oneself is seldom a gratifying experience, yet one
which few of us would forgo.” He is referring to the costs and benefits of these experiments,
whether we just succumb to the “evil” that is performed or let ourselves overcome it and gain
new knowledge.
Features:
Although the lengths of the three articles vary, they each present the information the same
way. In an essay format, the authors all start out by introducing the Milgram experiments:
explaining what they are, the procedures and the results. Already having given the reader the
basic information on the topic, the articles then begin to touch upon the controversies these
experiments have created and their ethical dilemmas. We notice that each author only uses
factual information, constantly referencing Milgram's works, and avoiding including any type of
opinion. For example, Kaufmann (author of “The Price of Obedience and the Price of
Knowledge”) incessantly writes “according to Milgram” or “referring to Milgram’s experiments”
which affirms that what Kaufmann is saying is indeed fact. This helps to objectify the articles,
allowing the reader to learn the facts, and letting him form his own assessment. The language in
these articles is pretty basic; some special jargon is used (like when mentioning “contra
hominem” in Brandt’s and Kaufmann’s articles), but overall the articles are accessible for anyone
to read and understand. Aside from referencing Milgram's works, the authors also refer to works
others have written on the same subject (Kaufmann, the author of one of my articles “The Price
of Obedience and the Price of Knowledge” is referenced in my other article “Science, Fallacies
and Ethics”), and this just helps to provide more details and information for the reader. We can
also notice, when referring to the topic of controversial ethic, the authors always include both
sides of the argument, again, to present more information to the reader. At the end, a works cited
list is common to the articles, where all the sources used are presented.
Patterns:
From the features I have discussed, I can conclude that, within this genre, objective
information is imperative, as is providing details from various viewpoints. This delivers a wide
range of information to the reader, which seems to be the main goal of the genre. The common
informative tone helps the reader understand the topic, and by being presented with different
arguments and questions, the reader himself can form an opinion. Also, by approaching the
content of the articles in an unbiased manner, the authors help make their work more credible.
The patterns in this genre simply revolve around the goal of making the reader more
knowledgeable of the facts. The authors basically try to turn a controversial topic into a neutral
set of information, letting the reader use and interpret the information anyway he wishes.
References:
Brandt, L. W. (1971). Science, fallacies and ethics. The Canadian Psychologist, 12(2), 231-242.
Kaufmann, H. (1967). The price of obedience and the price of knowledge. American
Psychologist, 22(4), 321-322.
Freckelton, I. (2012). Book review- "Behind the Shock Machine: the Untold Story of the
Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments, by Gina Perry". Psychiatry, Psychology
and Law, 19(3), 448-450.