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Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today?
1Deparment of Psychology, Santa Clara University, CA 95053-0001, USA. jburger@scu.edu
The American Psychologist
|February 13, 2009
Summary
This study partially replicated Milgram's obedience experiments, finding similar obedience rates today. Contrary to expectations, a refusing confederate did not lower obedience, but empathy and control desire influenced responses.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Ethics in Research
Background:
- Stanley Milgram's obedience studies are foundational in social psychology.
- Ethical considerations have evolved since Milgram's original research.
- Replicating Milgram's work requires careful attention to participant well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To partially replicate Milgram's obedience experiments with ethical modifications.
- To compare contemporary obedience rates with historical findings.
- To investigate the influence of a model's refusal and individual differences on obedience.
Main Methods:
- A partial replication of Milgram's Experiment 5 was conducted with 70 adult participants.
- Participants were tested up to the 150-volt level, where the learner first protests.
- A condition with a confederate refusing instructions was compared to a no-model condition.
Main Results:
- Obedience rates in the replication were only slightly lower than Milgram's original findings.
- The presence of a confederate refusing instructions did not significantly decrease obedience rates.
- No significant gender differences in obedience were observed.
- Empathic concern and desire for control showed some correlation with participant responses.
Conclusions:
- Obedience to authority persists at levels comparable to Milgram's era, even with ethical safeguards.
- Social modeling, in the form of a confederate's refusal, did not reduce obedience as hypothesized.
- Individual psychological factors, such as empathy and need for control, may play a role in obedience decisions.
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