Group Conformity

• Asch- people will compromise their own best judgement in order to avoid being different.

• Milgram

  • 2/3rds went to kill level
  • Ethical issues
  • Conclusion: people will obey authority figures (& ordinary people) even if it violates moral values and normative standards.

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Yale University psychologist Milgram studied obedience and authority. The impetus behind this study and research at the end of WW II was justifications of genocide by Nuremberg War Criminals on the basis of obedience and following orders for their actions in the Holocaust..

While Milgram and subsequent researchers did discover a relationship between the legitimate power of an authority figure and obedience, a more profound and somewhat paradoxical relationship can take place and perhaps should take precedence. Responsibility within large scale organizations can be diffused to succeeding layers of authority. Hence the argument "I was only following orders" would serve well to absolve the individual or office of moral responsibility. However, philosophically, the argument can then be made that the responsibility for moral decisions lies, not within the soul of an organization, but within the heart of each individual. Thus, obedience to an immoral order is the moral decision of the individual; he or she cannot cede responsibility for his or her actions to the greater, stronger authority.