Stanley Milgram’s experiment on Obedience is one of my favorites. The results are, no pun intended, very shocking. Stanley Milgram was able to essentially prove that under the right circumstances, good people can do very bad things. I think that one of the reasons I like this so much is because it’s easy to say “I wouldn’t do that” or “that wouldn’t work on me.” The fact is though – you at least have to entertain the thought of whether or not you would take the electrical shock to 450 volts. Me personally, I don’t know what I’d do. I would like to think that I could identify what’s going on in my head quick enough to differentiate right from wrong vs following or not following orders – but the fact is I have never been in that situation so I don’t know. The best experiements make you questions your own behaviors and morals, and Milgram did just that. Stanley Milgram found that one of the universal constants of human behavior is obedience to authority and demonstrated this with his infamous 1962 experiment on obedience. He was able to get ordinary good people to engage in very destructive, almost evil, behavior against another human being.

Milgram set to answer the question of why the individual soldiers of Nazi Germany carried out the heinous acts of the Holocaust

Shortly after the start of trials for Nazi war criminals, a common question emerged. Could it be that these men were simply “following orders?” Many German officers were claiming what would come to be known as the Nuremberg defense. Basically, they were following orders from a superior officer and not doing so was illegal. So the question came about of is it possible for people to commit heinous acts because they are being told to. Milgram set out to answer that exact question.

Participants were asked to administer dangerous electric shocks to another person

The experiment was set up with a learner and a teacher. The volunteer was given the role as ‘teacher.’ What the volunteer didn’t know was that the ‘learner’ was in on the experiment. After an initial meeting where the accomplice explains that he has a heart condition, the part of the learner was recording played back to the teacher. When the learner got a question wrong, the teacher was to administer an electric shock ranging from 50 to 450 volts. The volunteer was under the impression that they were actually administering an electric shock to another person. After shocking the other people, the volunteer would hear screams and crys to end the experiment.

People have a natural desire to obey authority

Although the experiment had it’s fare share of controversy, the outcome was groundbreaking. Milgram had demonstrated that he can take everyday, normal people from their daily activities and have them administer great pain to another individual simply by the power of authority. The visual cues of the lab coat and the prestigious Yale University combined with confidence of the instructor enabled the volunteers to continue shocking others when they normally wouldn’t do so. The Milgram experiment shows that you and I have a natural desire to obey authority.

Now I’m not advocating for a Timothy Leary-esque outlook on authority. There is value though in understanding our desire to obey those who have power. Whether it’s in the workplace or in social settings, think of how many times you’ve agreed with something only to think to yourself immediately what a bad ideas it is. Quite often right? Especially in the workplace. It’s hard to tell your boss that you disagree with them even if that is exactly what they want you to do.

What does it mean and how do we apply it? How can we use this knowledge to better ourselves?

Identify and avoid those situations where agreement feels too natural

It’s important to be able to tell if you’re agreement is truthful or if you’re simply obeying an authority figure because it’s natural, or easy. This is especially true if you’re in a leadership position and others depend on you. It’s true both ways as well. In other words, you need to avoid the natural desire to obey your boss while being able to identify when those who you supervise are simply obeying you. That’s the bigger trap.

Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience can’t be repeated due to ethical reasons. Apparently we can’t mislead people into thinking that they killed someone anymore. The wild west of Social Psychology experiments is over. Others have reproduced the experiment under modern ethical circumstances and come to the same conclusion. Stanley Milgram was right, we all have an innate desire to obey authority.

It’s important to know why your ‘gut feeling’ exists. In a lot of cases dealing with authority, our gut feeling is to follow along. There are a lot of resources that have shown success comes to those who are comfortable stepping outside the normal constraints of behavior. Whether it’s in a group setting or a face to face conversation, going against your gut feeling isn’t always easy.

Thanks again for reading!

Photo: Billy Wilson