http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.htmlI

I have today been considering the pressure that a staff member (call him 'S') may have felt when having to stand up to a demand from a person (call him 'C') (possibly with some authority) who wanted s to break a company rule.

The question was around whether s really was under sufficient pressure to make the wrong decision or whether he made it without c exerting any pressure.I have inserted the url above which is an article which just outline's Milgram's work, in case you aren't familiar with it.The other question was - could C really be described as having authority over S, (to the extent that the outcome of Milgram's experiment might be witnessed) and, if so, why.It is really interesting to consider why s would make a wrong decision and break an important rule just because it suited C at the time.

I have raised this phenomenon as a possible mitigating factor in an investigation to the rule breaking incident.Has anyone else ever come across a situation where Milgram's " obedience" phenomenon might have come into play in causing someone to make a morally unsound choice?

I'd be really interested to know, and also if anyone has any opinions about coming across this phenomenon in everyday life.

Thank you.

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Replies

  • Alison - just been mulling this over and it could link back to my discussion about Power Sources.

    Potentially C could have legitimate power  over S ( C believed S had the right to make the request and C had the obligation to comply) OR Expert power (C believed S had special knowledge about the best way to do something).

    Just a thought

    Jill

  • Hi Alison

    Really interesting topic! I studied Milgram at 6th Form & Uni. It's actually quite scary the lengths people will go to under the name of obedience!  However it is actually quite common.

    I suppose the question is not necessarily if C could be described as having authority over S but whether S perceived there was authority. I think in some situations someone who has more experience than yourself or is older or has been at the company longer than you could be perceived to have some sort of authority. What has S said about the whole thing?  Have they said there was undue pressure put on them by C?

    I came across a situation recently in which a company Director asked one of the HR team to do something that wasn't right & went against our policies & procedures. My colleague felt that she had to do it because of who was requesting it but she knew it was wrong & it went against her personal values too.  I'm pleased to say that after discussions with myself & a few others in the team she made the right choice and escalated her concerns to someone senior who could deal with it appropriately and could challenge the Director more easily.  It can be really difficult to stand up to someone.

    Let me know how the investigation turns out.

    Jill

    • Crikey Jill. So it does happen in other places as well. It is great that your colleague enlisted the team support.

      In my example it was a decision acted upon within minutes and there was no-one for S to check with. C applied pressure along the lines of "i do this all the time at other places" and "i need to get on with it, i have other jobs to do and i'm on my way if you don't let me do this my way".

      That kind of thing.
      • It does seem like C is exerting pressure on S by the sounds of it.  However S could of challenged C if they thought it wasn't the right thing to do...

        • You're right Jill. S did challenge but C went on insisting it was fine.

          S then agreed to conform with Cs wishes, and, in so doing, acted upon a wrong decision.

          My interest is in whether the relationship between S and C was such that other similar members of staff in that position would also have crumbled. (in accordance with the results of Milgram's experiments).

          C was the external "expert" doing the job, S was accompanying him, partly to learn from him and also to make sure he had what he needed etc.

           

           

           

          • Ahh right i see! Ok well I suppose I can kinda see why S went along with it if C was an "expert". 

            Hmm it's difficult isn't it because people should be responsible & accountable for their own actions so S should take the consequences of his actions but at the same time if C is an expert & has authority over S then it would be hard to confidently challenge & stick to your guns.

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