- Teacher and learner were in the same room obedience levels dropped to 40%
- Teacher held learner’s hand onto the shock plate obedience dropped to 30%
- Experimenter giving instructions over the phone obedience dropped to 21%
Location
- Study was conducted at Yale University
- This gave the participants confidence in the integrity of the study
- Milgram moved the study to a run-down office
- Obedience dropped slightly to 48%
Power of uniform
- In the original baseline study, the experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority.
Milgram carried out a variation in which the role of the experimenter was taken over by an 'ordinary member of the public' (played by a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat. The obedience rate dropped to 20%, the lowest of these variations.
