The Dark Side of Societal Compliance
The year was 1946. A myriad of unimaginable crimes, including the gruesome mass murder of millions of Jews came to light. The Holocaust allowed “officials” to commit legally mandated crimes under the instruction of a single man. When questioned about the reason for their inhumane behaviour, the officials had the same answer — they were simply following orders.
With the unearthing of all that happened during this time followed important questions for the future of the human race — to what extent will we go to obey a person in power?
This formed the base of a pillar of social psychology called destructive obedience. In definition, it is the compliance to an authority which may be harmful to people or institutions. For several decades, numerous studies have taken place to investigate people’s behaviour when instructed by an authority.
The Milgram Experiment
The most infamous study on destructive obedience was by Stanley Milgram. He was a Yale psychologist, conducted a series of experiments in the 1960s to examine how far a person would go while obeying orders. In the experiment, the participant was told that he would be taking part in a study about punishment and learning. He was then introduced to another individual (a trained actor).
In this experiment, the participant would be given the role of a “teacher” and the actor a “learner”. The learner was put in a different room than the teacher and told to answer a series of questions. For each incorrect question, the teacher had to administer an electric shock of increasing voltage (these shocks were false but the participant was led to believe that they were real).
As the voltage of the shocks increased, the learner would cry out in pain and request to leave the study. If the teacher continued administering the shocks, the learner would stop responding entirely. Through the process, when the teacher hesitated, the experimenter would give verbal prods encouraging him to continue. The study ends when the participant outright refuses to go on.
When asked to guess the results of this study, the most common answer was a maximum of 3% of all participants would administer the highest level of shock. The actual results were baffling — 65% of participants gave the learner the maximum shock!
This study simply reiterated the fact that people tend to obey authority — even to the extent that it conflicts their moral compass.
Post this study, many institutional changes have been made to prevent an authority from having supreme power. A notable policy is ‘whistleblowing’ or reporting superiors suspected of misconduct.
Learning To Say No
As a student, an employee, or anyone else facing pressure to perform unethical tasks by an authority, it is important to remember the magnitude of their jurisdiction. This could include:
- Questioning their legitimacy.
- Reaching out to an ally.
Because a higher ranking does not entitle an authority to have unparalleled power and we as a society must establish this. Obedience to the right instructions can build a society.
However, when obedience becomes destructive that it could uproot the basis of humanity. This is why it is so important to learn when to say no.
When is it ok to refuse superiors?
An obligation to obey an authority is a common problem, but an easy one to overcome. A simple analysis might be beneficial -
- Observe and Reflect: Understand how the task makes you feel. Does it conflict with your virtues? Are you uncomfortable with the task at hand? Questioning yourself will help in making a sound judgement.
- When In Doubt, Clarify: If you are unable to decide with the initial information provided, ask questions. Comprehend the task and then make your decision.
- Be Assertive: Be direct and firm in your response.
This is an important skill to preserve personal well-being. In the long run, it has the potential to sustain our humanity.
Sources
Written by — Adhithi
Edited by — Malini Srikrishna
