The psychology behind obedience

Mindmesh

In school there are plenty of rules and most times we follow them.

Even if we find a rule stupid or useless ,we still abide by it. But why is that so?

Well that was the same question Psychologist Stanley Milgram asked himself when thinking about how German soldiers during world war II had no problem executing heinous crimes and thus he decided to look into the psychology behind obedience.

Obedience involves a direct command or an order given by a person of higher authority than the person receiving the order. It involves a hierarchy of power and/or status. It is an essential concept of psychology, it is also essential in some aspects of life for example drivers who come to a complete stop at stop signs and a child who cleans their room when told to do so by parents.

There are two main types of obedience namely constructive and destructive obedience. Constructive obedience involves behaviours that promote social harmony and the greater good of society for example citizens who comply and go by government regulations to avoid fines. Destructive obedience involves accepting and performing an order from an authority figure that is immoral, harmful and illegal in some way. An example of this was demonstrated during Stanley Milgram’s experiment in the 1950s.

Milgram’s experiment proved that people will obey orders from an authorial figure even if it involves harming another individual. The study involves placing participants, who were given the role of being a ‘teacher’. in a room and being directed to administer electric shocks to the ‘learner’ located in another room. The ‘teacher’ would administer shocks to the ‘learner’ every time they would give an incorrect response to the task. The ‘learner’ was a confederate. A confederate is a person working with the researcher who pretends to be a participant in an experiment. Milgram found that 65% of the participants were willing to deliver the maximum level of shocks when pushed to follow orders by the experimenter. This study helped prove that people are willing to obey order from an authority figure even if it means harming someone else. 

Why obey when orders bring harm to another?

Milgram proposed that people operate in two models: an autonomous state and an agentic state. An autonomous state is when a person is taking personal responsibility over their own actions. An agentic state is when a person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out the orders of another, rather than an independent actor. Milgram suggested that we switch from an autonomous state to an agentic state, often experiencing a moral strain whilst doing so. 

Factors that impact obedience

Personality characteristics:

People with high agreeableness are cooperative and trusting, while people with high conscientiousness are dependable and orderly making both more likely to obey orders from authority figures.

Fear of consequences:

People may adhere to orders in order to avoid consequences and punishment such as loss of privileges and having to face authority figures.

One's own morals and values:

People with higher levels of moral reasoning are more likely to disobey orders that they perceive as harmful or immoral. 

Power of authority figure:

 The power of an authority figure significantly increases obedience rates by establishing legitimacy, often compelling people to act against their own morals or personal convictions.

 In conclusion, obedience is not inherently harmful, as it helps maintain social order; however, it becomes dangerous when individuals blindly obey orders that cause harm to others and/or are illegal.

References

al. (2019). Milgram et al. (1963).pdf. Google Docs. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EmeGBKJo_u64Gv8g_6V64EFooMmmQWnx/view?ref=studywithmehar.com

American Psychological Association. (2023). APA Dictionary of Psychology. Dictionary.apa.org. https://dictionary.apa.org/obedience

Cherry, K. (2023, August 28). What the Concept of Obedience Means in Psychology. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-obedience-2795894

McLeod, S. (2023, October 11). Obedience to Authority. Simplypsychology.org. https://www.simplypsychology.org/obedience.html

Moore, M. (2024, November 8). Understanding the Concept of Obedience in Psychology. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/obedience-psychology