NCJ Number
124167
Date Published
1989
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The experiments of Stanley Milgram on obedience to authority have achieved a visibility that is without precedent in the social sciences.
Abstract
The subjects in the experiment, recruited by newspaper advertisement and mail solicitation, were 40 men, ranging in age from 20 to 50, and in socioeconomic circumstances from postal clerk to high school teacher. The stated purpose of the study was to examine the effects of punishment on learning. The delivery of punishment, in the form of electric shocks, occurred in the context of an interaction between the experimenter (authority), the teacher, and the learner. Milgram's experiment is unique in using verbal commands that blatantly contradict the subject's wishes. The major finding of this controversial study was that there was an obedience rate of 65 percent. Two unacceptable outcomes of the subjects' participation in Milgram's experiment were outlined as a shaken faith in authority and a threatened self-image. One of the most influential and lasting consequences of the obedience research has been a consciousness raising in terms of ethical issues in social research.