Obedience: Type of social influence where somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority. (1) The person who receives the order may also respond in a way that they would not have done without the order. (1)
Aim: To investigate if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure even if this led to negative consequences.
Method: Lab experiment at Yale university
Sample: 40Americanmales aged 20-50
Procedure:
Milgram placed an advert in a newspaper seeking volunteers for an experiment researching memory on learning - were paid $4.50
Participant was introduced to another 'participant' (confederate). They drew lots which were rigged so the participant was assigned the role of a teacher and the confederate was always the learner
The teacher's job was to administrate a learning task and deliver electric shocks to the learner in another room if they got the question wrong
The shocks began at 15 volts and increased 15 volts until they reached a maximum of 450 volts
The experimenter delivered prompts if the teacher refused to carry on giving shocks (tested their obedience):
"Please continue"
"The experiment requires that you continue"
"It is absolutely essential that you continue"
"You have no other choice, you must go on"
Findings: All participants went to at least 300 volts, 12.5% stopped at that point. 65% of participants continued to 450 volts
Conclusion: Ordinary people are obedient to authority when asked to behave in an inhumane way, they are not necessarily evil but are just obeying orders