Obedience to authority

In this paper I examine the issues surrounding the perception of authority, as studied by Hofling et al (1966) and Zimbardo et al (1971). The implications for society surrounding such experiments are discussed, along with the ethics of conducting such experiments.



Hofling and Zimbardo conducted experiments to investigate obedience and to show conformity to social roles of authority. Both experiments were conducted in environments in which people automatically associate with authority and explored the influence this had on human behaviour.



Hofling created a realistic study of obedience by carrying out research on the relationship between nurses and doctors within a healthcare setting (Hofling et al- 1966, Testing nurses obedience in a natural setting). This study was clearly shown through a series of straightforward prearranged experiments.



A group of nurses in a hospital were given a telephone request from a confederate doctor to administer a high dose of m...