Obedience is an act in which a person is in compliance with a serious if orders or requests by law or authority. Authority figures thrive on individuals that follows orders from an authority, because individuals like these are easy to have control over in social environments. In the early 1960s a social psychologist for Yale University named Stanley Milgrim, orchestrated a series of obedience experiments to obtain direct empirical data to support his belief that a persons character shouldn’t be a determination of how a person’s behavior changes once being influenced by an authority figure.
Social psychology utilizes scientific methods to determine how and why an individuals thought process, feelings and behavior can be influenced by another human being. A number of topics are analyzed in social environments including group behavior and leadership. Social psychologists like Milgrim engross themselves in social environments and group interactions, and how they have an affect on attitudes and behaviors of an individual. The behavior of an individual is a reflection of that persons morals, it consists of how a person conducts him or herself as well as rationalizes situations. Social psychologists believe that once an individuals are placed in a group setting their behavior is subject to change. Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders mirror the role of dictators. Auttocratic leaders are independent thinkers that gain control over a group of individuals, influence their beliefs to a group of people, and dictate precise rules and guidelines for tasks to be acted out.
In 1961 Stanley Milgrim began an experiment on obedience and how people respond to authority. The project consisted of a shock generator with levels ranging between 30 and 450 volts and two participants, the learner who on board with
