Obedience

Sometimes, people are willing to go against their personal standards and obey commands that may result in harm. This form of social influence is called obedience—following orders or requests from perceived figures of authority.

For example, during one original field study—in a natural hospital setting—an alleged doctor, in this case the authority, ordered nurses over the phone to administer an “unknown” drug, one that was not on the officially approved list, and, exceeded the maximum safe daily dose. In reality, the drug was a placebo.

The nurses—at least 95% of them—proceeded to honor the “doctor’s” orders, even though it was against protocol and doing so could have resulted in fatality of the patient.

Interestingly, in the control group, nurses were simply asked what they would do in a similar situation. The same percentage, 95%, said they would NOT obey with the orders given.

Thus, when people are placed in the actual situation, they may act against their own better judgment.