Psychology / Unit 10: Social Psychology
10.3 Obedience
Notes
Obedience is following the direct commands of an authority.
- Stanley Milgram (1960s) found that about 65 percent of participants gave what they believed were the highest-level shocks when told to continue by an experimenter. No one was actually harmed. His study led to stronger ethical rules for research.
- Obedience is higher when the authority is close, seems legitimate, wears a uniform, and when the victim is distant. It drops when others refuse.
- Zimbardo's Stanford prison study (1971) suggested people can adopt harsh roles, but the study has been heavily criticized for poor methods.
- Takeaway: ordinary people can act against their conscience under pressure from authority, but people can resist.
Practice
In Milgram's studies, what percent of participants gave the maximum shock?
Roughly two-thirds went to the highest level.
Which factor makes obedience less likely?
Seeing others disobey makes resistance easier.
Milgram's research is important to ethics in psychology because it:
The stress participants experienced led to stricter ethical rules.
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