I think most people have at least heard of Stanley Milgram's famous experiment whereby he tested people's obedience to authority. The experiment is fiendishly clever. The subject is led to believe that they are the 'teacher' in an experiment about human memory. The 'student' is an actor. The 'experimenter' instructs the teacher to administer successively more powerful electric shocks to the student on each missed or wrong answer. Out of the thousands of people so tested, quite a few went all the way up to 450 volts. The experiment shows that people's obedience to authority supersedes their personal morality.



The book describes the experiments, and the many many variations conducted and outlines a theoretical framework for the development and affects of authority. How is it that some people project an aura of authority and some do not. Why do the teachers obey the authority of the experimenter but not the student? The conclusions shocked a generation but these days seem quite natural.



The book has some interesting tips on how to personally stand up to authority and here is its true value. This should be required reading at schools.