Obedience lite

Am Psychol. 2009 Jan;64(1):32-6. doi: 10.1037/a0014473.

Abstract

Jerry M. Burger's partial replication of Stanley Milgram's (1963, 1965, 1974) classic experiments on obedience to authority is considered from the viewpoint of a contributor and witness to the original obedience experiments. Although Burger's replication succeeded in terms of gaining the approval of his local institutional review board, it did so by removing a large portion of the stressful circumstances that made Milgram's findings so psychologically interesting and so broadly applicable to instances of real-world destructive obedience. However, Burger has provided an initial demonstration that his "obedience lite" procedures can be used to extend the study of certain situational and personality variables beyond those examined by Milgram.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Behavioral Research / ethics
  • Behavioral Research / methods*
  • Dominance-Subordination*
  • Ethics, Professional
  • Humans
  • Personality / physiology*
  • Psychological Theory
  • Punishment / psychology*
  • Research Design
  • Research Subjects / psychology*
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology*