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| Other Researchers Using Milgram's Paradigm All following citations, unless otherwise noted are from Thomas Blass, 1991. Using a lower ranking military personnel, Shalala (1974) found that when a private served as the experimenter in the place of a higher-ranking officer, there was a significant drop in obedience. Yet, if the experimenter was high-ranking, yet was de-legitimized in other ways, obedience levels remained the same. In the United States, Rosenham (1969) and in Germany, Mantell (1971) adjusted one of the conditions so that the experimenter was found to be an undergraduate rather than a professional: their findings were similar at 53% and 52% respectively giving the maximum shock. While a bit lower than Milgram's, it is not a significant difference. Costanzo (1976) added the variable of the possibility of future retaliation by the recipient of the electric shocks. Participants were told that after going through the experiment once, they would switch places with the learner. Interestingly, anticipated retaliation had no effect on obedience. She found that 81% of her participants went on to give the maximum shock. Some cultural differences have been found, with studies in Austrualia finding the lowest indicidence of obedience. It is believed that as it is a culture built upon questioning authority, they are less likely to obey without a desire to do so themselves. |
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