A Level Psychology Revision List 2027

A junior office worker is instructed by her manager to shred a folder of documents that she privately suspects might be needed for an ongoing audit. Despite her doubts, she shreds them. Using Milgram's baseline procedure and findings, explain why the worker might have obeyed.

1. Note that Milgram found a majority of participants, 65%, obeyed an authority figure to the most severe level, even when it conflicted with their own judgement.
2. Identify the parallel: the manager, like Milgram's experimenter, holds a position of legitimate authority within an institution that the worker recognises and defers to.
3. Note that in Milgram's study the experimenter used firm verbal prods, such as 'the experiment requires that you continue', rather than direct threats, showing that verbal pressure backed by perceived authority was often enough to secure obedience.
4. Apply this to the worker: a similarly worded instruction from her manager, with no explicit threat, could be enough to override her private doubts about the documents.
5. Note that Milgram's participants often showed visible signs of tension while still obeying, showing that obedience and personal discomfort can coexist.
6. State the final answer: the worker likely obeys because the manager's legitimate authority, reinforced by a firm instruction, generates pressure to comply similar to that documented in Milgram's baseline study, even though she privately disagreed.

At which university did Milgram carry out his baseline obedience study?

Yale University.