Stanley Milgram

Stanley Milgram (1933–1984) was an American social psychologist whose experiments examined obedience to authority and whose research helped popularize the small-world phenomenon.

Milgram experiment: A 1961–1962 study in which participants believed they were administering escalating electric shocks to another person under an experimenter’s direction. This study established Milgram’s reputation by testing how far ordinary participants would obey an authority figure.
Agentic state: A proposed psychological state in which people see themselves as carrying out another authority’s wishes rather than acting autonomously. Milgram used this idea to explain why participants continued when an experimenter instructed them to proceed.
Solomon Asch: A Polish-born American social psychologist known for experiments on conformity and group influence. Asch’s conformity research preceded Milgram’s and helped frame questions about social influence.
Belmont Report: A 1979 U.S. report outlining ethical principles for research involving human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The ethical controversy surrounding Milgram’s methods formed part of the broader debate that shaped human-subject protections.
Conformity: A change in belief or behavior toward a group norm, often without a direct command from an authority. Milgram studied responses to an experimenter’s commands, unlike Asch’s focus on group consensus.
Small-world experiment: A 1967 study in which letters were routed through personal acquaintances toward named targets, estimating social network distance. It applied Milgram’s interest in social relations to the problem of how connected strangers are.
Obedience to authority: Compliance with commands issued by a person or institution perceived as having legitimate authority. This is the central behavior Milgram’s laboratory studies sought to measure.
Gina Perry: An Australian writer and researcher whose archival work examined the history and conduct of Milgram’s obedience studies. Her investigations brought attention to the studies’ records, procedures, and participants’ experiences.
Institutional review board: A committee that reviews research involving human participants to protect their rights and welfare. Milgram’s deception and participant distress remain relevant to the safeguards such committees assess.
Situational attribution: Explaining behavior by features of the circumstances rather than primarily by stable personal traits. Milgram’s work encouraged situational explanations, which critics argue can understate participants’ choices and beliefs.

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