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Are there any similar critiques of the Milgram experiment?

edit: Also, what the hell happened to HN comments sections lately?



Well, there are interesting follow-ups at least: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jopy.12104/abstra... (summarised at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-green-mind/201406/ar... )

Some nice quotes from the discussion (citations removed here for readability):

As expected, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness predicted the intensity of electric shocks administered to the victim. Second, we showed that disobedience was influenced by political orientation, with left-wing political ideology being associated with decreased obedience. Third, we showed that women who were willing to participate in rebellious political activities such as going on strike or occupying a factory administered lower shocks.

All these results suggest that situational context, even though a powerful determinate of behavior, does not necessarily overwhelm individual-level behavioral determinants. It is interesting to note that personality traits such as Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, which are widely related to positive outcomes such as better mental health, longevity, academic performance, parenting, reduced aggression, and prosocial behavior, may also have darker sides in that they can lead to destructive and immoral obedience.




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