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Obedience to authority is classically demonstrated in a more famous series of social psychology experiments performed by Stanley Milgram. He was a social psychology professor at Yale who was influenced by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Eichmann’s defense for the atrocities he committed was that he was “just following orders.”

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment

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Published on: March 8, 2019

Reflections on "Replicating Milgram" (Burger, 2009).

Arthur G Miller¹

¹Deparment of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. millerag@muohio.edu

The American Psychologist

|February 13, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Jerry Burger's replication of the Milgram obedience experiment found similar high obedience rates. A defiant confederate did not significantly decrease obedience, highlighting enduring ethical complexities in obedience research.

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Behavioral Ethics

Background:

Stanley Milgram's 1960s experiments revealed disturbing levels of obedience to authority.
Ethical concerns and methodological challenges have largely halted contemporary research on destructive obedience.

Purpose of the Study:

To replicate Milgram's obedience experiment with modern ethical considerations.
To investigate the impact of a confederate's defiance on obedience rates.
To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of ethical modifications in obedience research.

Main Methods:

Jerry Burger utilized a modified Milgram paradigm, including the "150-volt solution" to ethically screen participants.
A condition with a defiant confederate was introduced to test its effect on obedience.

Main Results:

Burger reported a high base rate of obedience, comparable to Milgram's original findings.
The presence of a defiant confederate did not significantly reduce obedience levels.

Conclusions:

Burger's study demonstrates the potential for renewed research into behavioral obedience, despite ethical hurdles.
The study raises questions about the effectiveness and practicality of enhanced ethical safeguards.
Discrepancies in methodology between Milgram and Burger complicate direct comparisons, particularly in the modeled refusal condition.