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To explore the limits of obedience, Stanley Milgram conducted several variations of his original experiment. These modifications involved altering specific situational factors to observe their impact on participants' willingness to continue administering shocks.

Variations of the Milgram Experiment

Milgram's follow-up studies revealed that obedience decreased significantly when situational factors were altered. For instance, moving the experiment to a less prestigious off-campus office building reduced the maximum shock rate to 48%. Increasing the victim's proximity—by having them in the same room (40%) or requiring physical contact (30%)—also lowered obedience. Furthermore, diminishing the experimenter's authority, such as by giving orders over the phone, resulted in an obedience rate of 23%.

Situational Factors Affecting Obedience in Milgram's Variations

The results from the variations of the Milgram experiment demonstrate that obedience is heavily influenced by situational factors. Specifically, obedience tends to decrease as the perceived humanity and proximity of the victim increase. Conversely, obedience also diminishes when the perceived authority and presence of the person giving commands are reduced.

Influence of Proximity and Authority on Obedience

In a foundational study on obedience, participants were instructed by an authority figure in a lab coat to administer what they believed were painful electric shocks to another person in an adjacent room. Considering the various modifications made in follow-up studies to test the limits of obedience, which of the following changes to the original procedure would be predicted to cause the *largest* drop in the rate of full obedience?

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