The Explanatory Value of Milgram's Obedience Experiments

A Contemporary Appraisal

Bibliographic Data

ID10219951
AuthorsArthur G Miller (Miami University, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume70
Issue3
Pages558-573
Publication date2014-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4537 • E-ISSN: 1540-4560
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/josi.12078
OpenAlexW2141596650
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited45

A contemporary appraisal of the explanatory value of the obedience experiments is presented, focusing upon a sample of recent generalizations linked to Milgram's theoretical interpretation. Processes emphasized include justification, the agentic shift, dehumanization, and resistance. These constructs have helped explain diverse phenomena in business ethics and corporate corruption, harmful obedience in legal practice, and whistleblowing, in addition to genocide. The major legacy continues to be the situational thesis that serious harm may be perpetrated upon protesting victims by ordinary, good people under the influence of authority. However, this thesis is still limiting and problematic in the view of many scholars, particularly with respect to the Holocaust. Unanswered questions are discussed. Individual differences in obedience (or disobedience) were noteworthy in Milgram's research, and convincing explanations for these differences remain unaddressed. An empirically validated theory, accounting for Milgram's entire set of observations, is needed, which would facilitate generalizations to relevant contexts

Criminology · Dehumanization · Epistemology · Harm · Interpretation (philosophy · Milgram experiment · Obedience · Political science · Situational ethics · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Law · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social Psychology · Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment

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