Change Over Time in Obedience: The Jury's Still Out, But It Might Be Decreasing

摘要

Jerry M. Burger's (2009) partial replication of StanleyMilgram's (1974) obedience study shows both the influenceof culture and generations on behavior and the power ofthe situation. In Burger's data, disobedience has nearlydoubled among male participants since the 1960s, a shiftjust as large as the increase in Americans' body mass indexthat has been labeled the "obesity epidemic." Differencesin the ethnic composition of the two studies' samples,particularly the large numbers of Asian Americans inBurger's sample, may have suppressed what might havebeen an even larger increase in disobedience. Halting theexperiment at 150 volts may also have suppressed change.Nevertheless, situations have a strong influence on behav-ior; thus generational shifts would not be expected tocompletely eliminate the effect. Burger's results are con-sistent with documented changes in personality traits overthe generations, including increases in nonconformisttraits such as assertiveness, self-esteem, and narcissism.