Unveiling the Power of Authority: Milgram’s Obedience Experiments and Their Modern Impact

Why do people follow orders to harm others, even when their conscience screams to stop?

Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments, inspired by the Holocaust and Adolf Eichmann’s 1961 trial, tackled this question, revealing how ordinary individuals obey authority. Conducted in 1963 at Yale University, these studies showed that 65% of participants delivered potentially lethal shocks under orders, reshaping social psychology. Milgram’s goal was to understand Nazi population control methods to prevent future atrocities, not to enable authoritarianism (Milgram, 1974; Blass, 2004). Yet, his findings on obedience to authority have been adapted by governments, businesses, and advocacy groups to influence behavior, often raising ethical concerns about manipulation. This article explores Milgram’s experiments, their insights into situational forces in behavior, and how his work informs modern compliance strategies.