Why Ordinary People Obey Even When It Feels Wrong

Milgram’s Obedience Experiments and the Psychology of Compliance

One of the most famous and unsettling studies of the 20th century was conducted by Yale social psychology professor Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s. His experiments sought to answer a haunting question raised by the Holocaust: How could ordinary people commit atrocities simply because they were “following orders”?

Milgram recruited volunteers to participate in what they believed was a study on learning and memory. Participants were instructed to act as teachers, administering an electric shock to a learner (an actor in on the experiment) whenever the learner gave a wrong answer. With each mistake, the shock level increased. From behind a wall, the learner cried out in pain, pleaded to stop, and eventually fell silent. Yet when participants hesitated, the experimenter, dressed in a white lab coat. calmly insisted they continue.

The results shocked the world. A majority of participants administered what they believed were dangerous, even lethal, shocks simply because an authority figure told them to. Milgram’s findings challenged the comforting belief that only cruel or abnormal people commit harmful acts. The studies showed that ordinary people can obey authority figures to the point of violating their own conscience.

This obedience often occurs because responsibility feels shifted onto the authority figure, reducing the participant’s own sense of guilt. People also comply to avoid conflict and preserve their status as cooperative group members.

Beyond that, the authority itself carries weight: from an early age, we are taught to respect teachers, police officers, doctors, and leaders. In Milgram’s study, a lab coat and a firm tone were enough to trigger obedience.

The relevance of Milgram’s work has not diminished. From corporate scandals to political movements, people often go along with harmful actions when sanctioned by institutions or leaders. In the digital age, the dynamics can be amplified by social media, where influencers and authority figures encourage behaviors that spread quickly through networks.

Obedience is not merely a personal weakness but a deeply rooted feature of social life.