Understanding the Milgram Obedience Studies and Burger's Replication
The Milgram experiment stands as one of psychology's most influential and controversial studies. Conducted in 1963 by Stanley Milgram (1963), this groundbreaking research explored how ordinary people respond to authority figures giving unethical commands. The study revealed disturbing insights about human nature and obedience that continue to resonate today.
The core question driving Milgram's research was deceptively simple yet profound: Under what conditions will people obey authority figures, even when commanded to harm others? This investigation was partly motivated by trying to understand how Nazi soldiers could commit atrocities during World War II while claiming they were "just following orders."
The experimental design was carefully crafted to test obedience limits. Participants were told they were joining a study about memory and learning, but this was actually a cover story. The true focus was on how far participants would go in following increasingly unethical commands from an authority figure.
Definition: Obedience in psychology refers to complying with commands from authority figures, even when those commands conflict with personal moral values or preferences.