80% of the population does not have the psychological or moral wherewithal to defy authority - Stanley Milgram

Hello, I am Stanley Milgram, a psychologist known for my experiments on obedience to authority. One of my most famous studies demonstrated a striking reality about human behavior: “80% of the population does not have the psychological or moral wherewithal to defy authority, no matter how illegitimate the orders and rules may be.” In essence, people follow the herd, often without questioning the morality or legitimacy of the directives they are given. When I conducted my experiments in the 1960s, the backdrop was the aftermath of World War II and the atrocities committed under authoritarian regimes. The question was simple: How could ordinary people commit such horrors under orders? The results were sobering. In my study, participants were instructed to administer what they believed were painful electric shocks to another person. Despite hearing cries of pain, the majority continued when urged by an authority figure. They chose obedience over critical thinking and moral responsibility.