AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Collectively known as The Milgram Experiment, this groundbreaking work demonstrated the human tendency to obey commands issued by an authority figure, and more generally, the tendency for behavior to be controlled more by the demands of the situation than by idiosyncratic traits of the person.

Detailed explanation-2: -When the teacher and learner were in separate rooms and cannot be seen or heard, the highest level of obedience was observed, whereas the lowest level of obedience occurred when the subject was required to force the learner’s hand onto a shock plate (Milgram, 1974).

Detailed explanation-3: -Social psychologist Stanley Milgram researched the effect of authority on obedience. He concluded people obey either out of fear or out of a desire to appear cooperative–even when acting against their own better judgment and desires.

Detailed explanation-4: -The learner gave mainly wrong answers (on purpose), and for each of these, the teacher gave him an electric shock. When the teacher refused to administer a shock, the experimenter was to give a series of orders/prods to ensure they continued.