How likely are we to blindly obey authority?

In Milgram’s experiment, the participants were presented with a conflict between the moral implications of the task they had (administered shocks as punishment and hurting another person), and obeying authority (listening to the orders given by the Experimenter if they would start to hesitate or refuse the task). Obedience was measured through the number of participants who went to the maximum intensity of shocks of 450 V.

Obedience varied significantly depending on the context. The lowest obedience of 10% was noticed when participants saw others disobeying the experimenter and questioning his authority. Also, obedience dropped when the symbols of authority weren’t present (such as the lab coat of the experimenter) and when the authority figure wasn’t close by but giving orders by phone. Another thing that had a lot of influence on lower obedience levels was having direct contact with the person getting shocked, making participants get their hands dirtier in the process. 

Some actions could be connected with understanding what authority means for each of us. Also, we can ask ourselves why we find it important to follow our authorities, what are the benefits of it and who our authorities are.

The next step is developing our critical thinking and understanding influence. One of the interventions that can really contribute to this field is leading by example: demonstrating behaviors we want to see in our environment.