Obedience Psychology And Changes Of Behavior

Authority and subsequent concepts of obedience and disobedience are typically considered fundamental elements in every social context. Humans generally exist in a hierarchical authority structure. Rules may be established for the greater good of a family, organization, or society. Still, the psychology of obedience can be nuanced and has been extensively studied, particularly the concept of destructive obedience, which can refer to following orders that may harm your own or others’ well-being. If you’ve noticed that you may be prone to destructive obedience, speaking with a licensed therapist may enable you to get to the root of this tendency and address it accordingly.

Change of behavior in obedience versus conformity?

Obedience can be defined as a social response to orders from an authority figure. The necessity of hierarchy for obedience may be important when distinguishing it from another type of social influence: conformity. 

Both conformity and obedience usually require amenability, or a behavioral change based on social influence. However, obedience normally entails changing one's behavior due to an order from an authority figure, while conformity typically refers to changing one's behavior, thoughts, or attitudes to align with the opinions and actions of other people or social norms. 

Social sciences and obedience

Obedience to authority has historically been an important topic of scientific investigation in social psychology and sociology. One of the first studies to empirically investigate obedience occurred in 1936. The researchers generally sought to identify the psychological structures that determined how dependent humans were on the rules of society.

Researchers mainly focused on obedience within family structures because the family is usually the first to introduce the concept of authority. They then extrapolated their findings to a larger social context, determining that obedience to authority has likely been a crucial part of success for most human groups throughout history. 

Obedience in ancient history

Before the scientific investigation of obedience, the concept was debated by philosophers throughout history. In antiquity, debates about obedience to authority appeared in the works of notable philosophers, including Plato's Crito and Apology. In those works, Plato describes the tale of his mentor, Socrates, who was unjustly convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to death.

Destructive obedience

Psychologist Stanley Milgram and destructive obedience

Following World War II, the social sciences generally saw an increased interest in destructive obedience. In 1963, an American psychologist from New York named Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment to search for conditions likely to lead to destructive obedience. The study established three roles: the teacher, the learner, and the experimenter.

Study participants were assigned as teachers, and the experimenter and learner were both confederates of the study, meaning they were placed to play specific roles. However, study participants believed that the experimenter and learner were both legitimate participants as well.

The purpose of Milgram's study was to observe how the participant (the teacher) reacted to the experimenter's commands, who was positioned as an authority figure. Milgram and his team theorized that most people would apply lower-level shocks at the experimenter’s behest, but few would apply the maximum electric shock, despite the experimenter’s pressure.

Psychological aspect of obedience through better-than-average effect

The study conducted by Stanley Milgram demonstrated that most people can be susceptible to the influence of a perceived authority figure. Contemporary research into obedience usually reinforces this finding and additionally identifies another layer of the psychological aspect of obedience through the better-than-average (BTA) effect.

The BTA effect states that most people believe they are better than the average person regarding certain abilities or traits. For example, in Milgram's study, the BTA effect indicates that most participants would likely consider themselves unwilling to comply with the authority figure’s instructions to administer harm.

Milgram’s obedience study design

Milgram's obedience experiments are not repeated today due to ethical concerns, as many participants were significantly distraught at the perceived torture. However, one 2012 study attempted to replicate the experiment by examining whether a person would disobey and become a whistleblower when encountering unethical behavior. 

The study involved two groups of participants. The first group of participants received a description of the study and were asked how likely it was that they would follow the unethical instructions of the experimenter.

The second group of participants went through the pseudo-experiment and had three choices: follow the unethical instructions of the experimenter, disobey, or disobey and report the actions of the unscrupulous research team. 

The results of the Milgram obedience study

The researchers compared the results of both groups. The first group established a baseline of perceived response to an unethical experiment, and the second group established what people would actually do.

In the first group, 96.4% of participants reported they would disobey or become whistleblowers. However, the second group demonstrated different behavior, as 76.5% of participants obeyed the experimenter, and only 9.4% became whistleblowers.

The BTA effect can illustrate an important concept in obedience. Most people have difficulty accurately assessing their obedience tendencies. As research into obedience continues, more light may be shed on the unique differences between individuals' tendencies to obey.

Are you prone to destructive obedience?

An online therapist can help

Behavior reinforcement and conditioning while learning from commands

Therapy may enable you to explore your relationship with authority and obedience, among other topics. 

Online therapy is often viewed as an increasingly popular way to avail psychotherapeutic services. You can avail of therapy from your home, and you can match with therapists outside of your geographic area. Those facing therapist shortages may turn to online therapy as a viable alternative.

Online therapists normally use the same evidence-based techniques as traditional therapists, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which can effectively improve many mental health concerns. A therapist can help you understand your relationship to obedience and authority and encourage you to change your life. Evidence indicates that when therapy is administered online, it can be just as effective as in-person therapy.