---
title: "Stanley Milgram | Social Psychology"
description: "Stanley Milgram is the social psychologist known for obedience studies showing how ordinary people follow authority even when it conflicts with conscience."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Social Psychology"
unit: "Unit 7"
---

# Stanley Milgram | Social Psychology

## Definition

Stanley Milgram is the social psychologist famous for obedience experiments in Social Psychology. His work showed that ordinary people may follow authority figures even when the orders feel morally wrong.

## What It Is

Stanley Milgram is the name most Social Psychology courses use for the classic research on obedience to authority. When you see this term, think of a person whose experiments showed how strongly a situation can push people to comply with orders, even when those orders seem harmful.

His best-known study asked participants to act as teachers in a fake learning task. They believed they were giving electric shocks to a learner whenever the learner answered incorrectly. The shocks were not real, but the participants did not know that, and many kept going because an experimenter in a lab coat told them to continue.

That setup mattered because it separated obedience from simple agreement. Participants were not just copying the group, like in conformity, and they were not being casually persuaded, like in compliance. They were responding to a direct command from an authority figure, which is what makes Milgram so central to the topic of obedience.

The big takeaway from Milgram’s work is that situational pressure can be stronger than personal values in the moment. People often assume that only cruel or weak people would hurt someone else under orders, but Milgram’s findings challenged that idea. His research suggested that ordinary people can go along when the authority seems legitimate, the setting feels official, and responsibility feels shifted upward.

In Social Psychology, this term also carries an ethical lesson. Milgram’s studies sparked major debate because participants were stressed, deceived, and not fully informed. That makes the name useful for two different course ideas at once: how obedience works, and how psychologists think about research ethics when studying sensitive behavior.

A good way to picture Milgram is as a bridge between theory and real-life behavior. His work helps explain why people may follow commands in classrooms, workplaces, military settings, or any situation where an authority gives orders and the person feels pressure to comply.

## Why It Matters

Stanley Milgram matters because his research is one of the clearest examples of obedience in Social Psychology. If a question asks why someone went along with harmful instructions, Milgram gives you a way to explain the behavior as situational rather than just personal.

His work also helps you separate three related ideas that often get mixed up: conformity, compliance, and obedience. If there is no direct order, you are probably looking at conformity. If someone asks nicely or persuades you, that is closer to compliance. If an authority figure gives a command and you follow it, Milgram is the right reference point.

The term also shows how social roles and settings shape behavior. A lab coat, a scientific setting, and an authoritative tone can make a person feel that the command is legitimate, even when the command conflicts with conscience. That pattern shows up in class discussions, scenario questions, and readings about real-world authority.

Finally, Milgram is tied to Ethics in Psychology. His studies are often discussed when a course covers deception, informed consent, distress, and the limits of research with human participants. So the term is not just about obedience, it is also about how psychologists learned to study social behavior more responsibly.

## Connections

### Obedience

Milgram is the classic case study for obedience because his participants followed explicit instructions from an authority figure. When a question describes someone carrying out orders, even if they feel uneasy, you can connect that behavior directly to obedience rather than conformity or compliance. His work gives the concept a memorable real-world example.

### Ethics in Psychology

Milgram’s studies are often brought up when a class talks about how psychologists treat participants. The deception, stress, and lack of full informed consent made his work controversial, so the term connects behavior research with ethical limits. If a prompt asks about why a study could not be done the same way today, Milgram is a strong reference point.

### Social Influence

Milgram shows one of the clearest forms of social influence because a person’s behavior changes under pressure from an authority figure. The term helps you see that social influence is not just peer pressure from friends or groups. It also includes commands, roles, and settings that make people feel they should obey.

### [Solomon Asch](/social-psychology/key-terms/solomon-asch)

Asch and Milgram are often compared because both show people changing behavior in social settings, but the pressure works differently. Asch is about conformity to a group majority, while Milgram is about obedience to authority. If a scenario involves a direct command from an experimenter or leader, Milgram fits better than Asch.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz or case-analysis question may give you a scenario with a boss, officer, teacher, or researcher and ask why someone followed harmful instructions. You would identify Stanley Milgram when the pressure comes from authority, not from peers. In a short answer, name obedience, explain the role of the authority figure, and mention that the person may feel less personally responsible because the order feels like it comes from above.

You may also be asked to compare Milgram with Asch or to explain why the study raised ethical concerns. A strong response usually mentions deception, stress, and the lesson that social settings can shape behavior more than people expect.

## Stanley Milgram vs Solomon Asch

Both names come up in social influence, but they focus on different pressures. Asch studied conformity, where people match a group’s answer or behavior, while Milgram studied obedience, where people follow a direct command from an authority figure. If the scenario involves peers, think Asch. If it involves orders from someone in charge, think Milgram.

## Key Takeaways

- Stanley Milgram is the Social Psychology term for obedience research showing that ordinary people may follow harmful instructions from authority figures.
- His famous shock experiment is memorable because it separates moral discomfort from actual behavior under pressure.
- Milgram’s work shows that situation and authority can shape action more strongly than people often expect.
- The term is also linked to ethics in psychology because the studies involved deception and participant distress.
- If you see a scenario with direct orders from someone in power, Milgram is usually the concept to use.

## FAQs

### What is Stanley Milgram in Social Psychology?

Stanley Milgram is the psychologist best known for studying obedience to authority. In Social Psychology, his name usually refers to the experiments showing that many people will follow orders even when those orders seem morally wrong.

### What did Milgram's experiment actually test?

Milgram tested how far people would go when an authority figure told them to continue shocking another person in a fake learning task. The point was to measure obedience under pressure, not intelligence or cruelty. The results showed that many participants kept obeying even when they seemed uncomfortable.

### How is Milgram different from Asch?

Milgram is about obedience, while Asch is about conformity. In Milgram’s work, a person follows a direct order from authority. In Asch’s work, a person changes an answer or behavior to match a group.

### Why do teachers and textbooks talk about Milgram's ethics?

Milgram’s studies are a major example of why research ethics matter. Participants were deceived and experienced stress, so the studies raised questions about informed consent and psychological harm. That makes the term useful for both social influence and ethics discussions.

## Related Study Guides

- [7.1 Types of Social Influence: Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience](/social-psychology/unit-7/types-social-influence-conformity-compliance-obedience/study-guide/Nxzcv2prIutK5WcY)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
- [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram#resource","name":"Stanley Milgram | Social Psychology","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:23:57.037Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Social Psychology Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram#term","name":"Stanley Milgram","description":"Stanley Milgram is the social psychologist famous for obedience experiments in Social Psychology. His work showed that ordinary people may follow authority figures even when the orders feel morally wrong.","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/stanley-milgram","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"Social Psychology Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is Stanley Milgram in Social Psychology?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Stanley Milgram is the psychologist best known for studying obedience to authority. In Social Psychology, his name usually refers to the experiments showing that many people will follow orders even when those orders seem morally wrong."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What did Milgram's experiment actually test?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Milgram tested how far people would go when an authority figure told them to continue shocking another person in a fake learning task. The point was to measure obedience under pressure, not intelligence or cruelty. The results showed that many participants kept obeying even when they seemed uncomfortable."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is Milgram different from Asch?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Milgram is about obedience, while Asch is about conformity. In Milgram’s work, a person follows a direct order from authority. In Asch’s work, a person changes an answer or behavior to match a group."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do teachers and textbooks talk about Milgram's ethics?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Milgram’s studies are a major example of why research ethics matter. Participants were deceived and experienced stress, so the studies raised questions about informed consent and psychological harm. That makes the term useful for both social influence and ethics discussions."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Social Psychology","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 7","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/unit-7"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Stanley Milgram"}]}]}
```