Milgram’s Obedience to Authority: Its Origins, Controversies, and Replications

Milgram’s study of obedience to authority has been the center of a debate over research ethics in the social and behavioral sciences since it was first published fifty years ago. Most learn about the study and its ethical problems through required tutorials for the responsible conduct of research. But these tutorials do not describe the origins of the study and the subsequent controversy surrounding it. This paper presents a detailed historical account of both. Written from a social behavioral science rather than a philosophical perspective, the paper will shed a different light on both Milgram and his chief critic Baumrind. For example, Milgram attempted to follow the somewhat ambiguous 1953 apa ethical standards, and Baumrind realized that revising research ethics was a normative process. Replications include a 1966 study that involved hospital nurses following doctors’ order to administer a drug and a 2009 truncated replication that was carried out with irb approval. A real-world incident took place at a McDonald’s in 2004 in which a supervisor followed the orders of someone claiming to be a policeman investigating a stolen purse. Future research should explore how this type of behavior occurs and how a person can act altruistically to prevent bullying and hazing.