Obedience to authority is a major topic in social psychology because people often follow orders even when those orders conflict with personal values. Stanley Milgram studied this after World War II to understand how ordinary people could participate in harmful actions under authority pressure. His experiment became one of the most famous and controversial studies in psychology.
It matters because it shows how social situations can strongly shape behavior.
Key Facts
- In Milgram’s original study, 65% of participants continued to the highest labeled shock level of 450 volts.
- The Teacher was the real participant, the Learner was a confederate, and the Experimenter was the authority figure.
- The shock generator increased in 15 volt steps, from 15 V to 450 V.
- Obedience increased when the authority figure seemed legitimate, calm, and responsible for the outcome.
- Obedience decreased when the Teacher was physically closer to the Learner or when the Experimenter was farther away.
- Obedience rate = number who obeyed fully / total participants x 100%.
Vocabulary
- Obedience
- Obedience is changing behavior in response to a direct order from an authority figure.
- Authority figure
- An authority figure is a person who is seen as having legitimate power to give instructions or make decisions.
- Confederate
- A confederate is a person working with the researcher who pretends to be a normal participant.
- Agentic state
- The agentic state is a mental state in which a person sees themselves as carrying out someone else’s orders rather than acting independently.
- Ethical safeguards
- Ethical safeguards are rules and procedures designed to protect research participants from harm, deception, or lasting distress.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Thinking the shocks were real, which is wrong because the Learner did not actually receive electric shocks and was acting from a script.
- Calling the study a test of cruelty, which is wrong because Milgram studied obedience to authority under social pressure, not whether people enjoyed harming others.
- Ignoring the role of the situation, which is wrong because the setting, lab coat, formal procedure, and repeated prompts all increased pressure to obey.
- Assuming the results prove everyone always obeys, which is wrong because obedience changed across conditions and many participants resisted or stopped.
Practice Questions
- 1 In a class simulation of Milgram’s data, 26 out of 40 participants obey fully. What is the obedience rate as a percentage?
- 2 A shock generator starts at 15 V and increases by 15 V each step. How many steps does it take to reach 450 V?
- 3 Explain why obedience might decrease if the Experimenter gives instructions by phone instead of standing in the room with the Teacher.