Situational variables

• were in the same room the obedience rates dropped from 65% to 40%
• Touch proximity variation


  • The teacher had to force the learners hand onto the shock plate
  • Obedience then dropped to 30%
• Remote intrusion proximity


  • The experimenter left the room and gave instructions via telephone
  • Obedience dropped to 20.5%
• Prestigious university setting


  Obedience dropped to 47.5%
• The setting effects obedience
• Grey lab coat


  Shows authority
• Baseline study


  1. Experimenter left the room to take an inconvenient phone call

  2. Role of the experimenter replaced by an ordinary member of the public

  3. Obedience levels dropped to 20%