About the lecture

In this lecture, we introduce the obedience experiments conducted by the researcher Stanley Milgram in the 1960s, focusing in particular on: (i) a general definition of obedience as a ‘form of social influence elicited in response to direct orders or commands’; (ii) Milgram’s experiments considered as an attempt to measure the levels of obedience shown by people in particular situations; (iii) how the study was set up, including the specific roles of experimenter, participant and confederate; (iv) the experimental procedure in which participants were ordered to administer electric shocks to others; (v) some key findings from Milgram’s classic study and what they can tell us about the ways in which people do or do not obey authority.

About the lecturer

Dr Stephen Gibson has been at York St John University since September 2005, before which he undertook his doctoral research in the Department of Psychology, Lancaster University. His research uses discursive and rhetorical approaches to explore a range of social psychological topics, including citizenship, national identity, dis/obedience and representations of peace and conflict.