What can mangers learn from the Milgram Experiment?
The Milgram Experiment was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience (in this case, giving a lethal electric shock to another person).In layman terms, Milgram showed in his experiment people’s tendency to conform to an authority figure. This experiment was mentioned in our Marketing class a week ago as a reminder of the power we, as managers, will have over people, meaning, especially consumers. If people will generally do what ever you tell them and will easily believe whatever you tell them, that means you have a power and responsibility. I especially enjoyed the discussion in class because just a few days before that I watched a Law & Order: SVU episode that dealt with the same experiment, featuring Robin Williams. In it, Williams plays a man who lost his wife bec
