AUTHORITY EFFECT: Milgram Experiment

Yevhenii Shapovalov. Themis (fragment), 2017

Blind submission to someone else’s authority diminishes a person to nothing; there is already too much idol worship in the world

Somerset Maugham

Why does blind faith in authority make us obey against our own knowledge and common sense? What’s the catch?

hen a recognized authority — say, a leading medical expert, a financial analyst, or even your boss — gives direct instructions on what to do, you may mentally understand that their recommendations are ineffective, mistaken, or even harmful, yet you still follow them.

Why? Because you’ve fallen under the influence of another cognitive bias — the authority effect: this is when you give more weight to the opinion of someone whom you perceive to be more competent than you in the given matter.

The distortion lies in the fact that you don’t actually know whether they are truly competent. They might be talking complete nonsense — but they’re a doctor or a professor, after all! One could say that the authority effect is also the urge to trust people of higher status as quickly as possible.

TELL ME ABOUT THE LIBRARY

Let’s conduct a simple experiment. We ask the subject to undress and tell us about the library. They do start talking, but since they’re in their underwear, it doesn’t sound very convincing. We allow them to get dressed. In clothes, it’s more pleasant to listen: if we trust them, we might as well hear them out. And if not — why bother listening?

Now we dress the person in a doctor’s white coat. They suddenly become much more persuasive. Let’s go further: place them in front of some test tubes, with a wall full of certificates and diplomas behind them — preferably in English. Now their speech might sound scientifically credible.

That’s exactly how the cognitive bias known as the «authority effect» works… But in fact, things are much more serious.

Obedience is one of the basic elements in the structure of social life. A certain system of authority is a necessity in all human interactions, and only a person living in isolation can afford not to react (either through disobedience or submission) to the orders of others

Stanley Milgram

THE PIONEER OF THE EFFECT

American social psychologist and educator Stanley Milgram (1933–1984) experimentally proved this deviation in human perception back in 1961. He was one of the first to study human obedience in the setting of a scientific laboratory.

Milgram’s interest didn’t come out of nowhere. He was reflecting on how easily Germans obeyed the Nazi authorities, who openly discriminated against Jews. And also on how those same Germans had, in fact, allowed Hitler to carry out the «final solution to the Jewish question».

A young Jewish man himself, Milgram asked: could the Holocaust happen again — in his own country? The overwhelming majority believed such a thing was impossible in the United States. Milgram had his doubts… Charles Snow, an English writer, once remarked: «More crimes against humanity have been committed in the name of obedience than in defiance of it».

Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist and educator, best known for his experiments on obedience to authority and his study of the «small-world phenomenon» (the six degrees of separation theory) / bostonglobe.com

THE EXPERIMENT ITSELF

But let’s return to the experiment itself. It took place at Yale University. In the study conducted in 1961, participants ranged in age from 20 to 50. The key figures were: the experimenter, the test subject («teacher»), and an actor («learner») positioned in a room behind a wall.

The experimenter explained that the study was about memory and learning ability. The «teacher» was to test the «learner» on word pair recall and administer an electric shock whenever the «learner» answered incorrectly. The shock switches were labeled by strength — «slight», «moderate», «strong», «very strong», «intense», «extremely intense», «danger: severe shock».

With each incorrect answer from the «learner», the shock voltage was to increase step by step (from 15 to 450 volts). Even as they heard the «learner» scream and groan, participants continued inflicting pain by raising the voltage. In reality, no shocks were being administered at all.

Stanley Milgram and his students with the shock generator. 1961. Photo: Yale University / technologynetworks.com

This raises a question: why didn’t the person flipping the switch stop when they heard the suffering behind the wall? Surely not all participants were sadists! The answer lies in obedience to the authority of the experimenter, who reassured them there was no danger to the «learner’s» health — and that it was necessary to complete the experiment.

In front of our eyes, grown «teachers» turned into obedient schoolchildren, unable to exit the situation without the permission of the «instructor». And here’s the striking part: did any of the «teachers» go into the other room to check if the «victim» was okay — especially when the voltage approached 450V, which could pose a serious health risk? Milgram was once asked that question. His reply was shocking: «Not a single one! Not once!»

The main takeaway of the experiment is this: how does an ordinary person behave when a legitimate authority figure essentially instructs them to inflict harm on another person? After all, not every authority is legitimate — and not every form of power is fair, moral, or lawful…

This is the central lesson of our study: the most ordinary people, simply doing their job and harboring no hostile intentions, can become instruments of a terrifying, destructive force

Stanley Milgram

THE POWER OF AUTHORITY IN THE REAL WORLD

In many areas, the authority effect influences decision-making — and can sometimes lead to serious consequences. Take healthcare, for example. Researchers studied the overprescription of antibiotics by doctors. They asked medical interns: on what grounds do you prescribe antibiotics to a patient with a viral infection? The interns, without much hesitation, replied that since their supervisors prescribed antibiotics, they did the same. Essentially, they were relying on authority — even though they knew that antibiotics would hardly help in a viral case.

Preparing for the experiment. The «learner» is hooked up to the electrodes of the shock machine. Photo: Yale University / technologynetworks.com

The authority effect also surfaced in tourism. Researchers studied mountain accidents where groups of hikers were caught in avalanches. The results showed that most groups tended to select an informal leader, who then led the climb. Some of these leaders had special training, but others were chosen simply because they were older (and thus seemed more experienced) or appeared confident. However, «being older» doesn’t necessarily mean «being more prepared». Groups led by untrained leaders were undoubtedly in more danger than those without a leader at all.

CLEVER ADVERTISING

Dr. Matthias Rath from Germany — a businessman and vitamin salesman — promotes his so-called «cellular medicine» (dietary supplement programs) by placing a photo of Louis Pasteur next to his own. His advertisements claim that Pasteur discovered ways to save humanity from infectious diseases — and that Dr. Rath’s system (which is in no way related to Pasteur or his discoveries) will cure a range of other common illnesses.

Or take another example: in toothpaste commercials, an actor in a white coat with a dazzling smile tells you the toothpaste is «recommended by all the best dentists». And who exactly are these «best dentists»? Do you know them by face? In business, the authority effect shows up as greater trust in the opinions of highly paid individuals. This leads employees to assign maximum value to ideas coming from better-paid managers.

Matthias Rath — doctor, businessman, and vitamin salesman — claims that his supplement program, which includes compounds he sells, can treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. These claims are not supported by any credible medical research / nutraingredients.com

WHO TO TRUST — THE AUTHORITY OR YOURSELF?

So, we’ve learned that the authority effect is a widespread phenomenon. It can arise when we assume an expert’s opinion is absolutely correct — without considering their background, skills, knowledge, or biases. And that raises concerns about poor decisions being made. But there’s good news: the negative effects can be neutralized if we carefully analyze all the factors behind an expert’s decision — especially if you’re a strong professional in that field yourself.

And we are strong. Our personal opinions matter. Even though the great and incomparable Bernard Shaw beat us all to it. After the premiere of his play Arms and the Man, which was a big success, Shaw came out for a bow. Someone from the audience shouted, «Idiot!» Shaw replied, «Absolutely agree with you — but what can the two of us do against this crowd?»