Obedience to Authority. Book Summary

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Stanley Milgram

What’s inside

Stanley Milgram’s ‘Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View’ investigates human obedience to authority through a series of experiments that involved participants administering electric shocks to others. The book discusses the ethical implications, the psychological mechanisms, and factors that lead people to follow orders, even when those orders could harm others. It is a profound exploration of the conflict between obedience and conscience and has significant implications for understanding authority and social behavior.

You’ll Learn

  • Insight into the psychological underpinnings of obedience to authority
  • Understanding of factors that lead to compliance in social situations
  • Awareness of ethical considerations in experimental psychology
  • Knowledge to better comprehend historical and contemporary events involving authority

Key Points

  • The setup of Milgram’s obedience experiments
  • Psychological conflict between obedience and conscience
  • Factors that increase obedience to authority
  • Role of situational variables in obedience
  • Ethical dilemmas raised by the experiments
  • Implications for understanding authority in social contexts
  • Relevance to historical events involving obedience

Who’s it For

  • Psychologists
  • Sociologists
  • Students of Social Sciences
  • Ethicists
  • History enthusiasts
  • Educators

About the author

Stanley Milgram was an influential American social psychologist known for his controversial and groundbreaking research on obedience to authority. His work has left a lasting imprint on psychology, ethics, and our understanding of human behavior.