Meeus, W. H., & Raaijmakers, Q. A. (1995). Obedience in modern society: The Utrecht studies. Journal of Social Issues, 51(3), 155–175.

Abstract

The Utrecht Studies on Obedience, a series of 19 experiments, demonstrated that obedience is extremely high when the violence to be exerted is a contemporary form of mediated violence, and remains high even when the subjects receive detailed information about the task in advance. Observation of the subjects and analysis of data from questionnaires and the debriefing show that the subject’s attitude to the experimenter’s commands is critical to very critical, and that they found it unpleasant and stressful to carry out the task. This stress was not, however, sufficient to make the subjects disobedient. They attempted to hide their stress from the victim and to act as if nothing was wrong, displaying the behavior of an official. The explanation for the high level of obedience should not be sought in the inability of the subjects to resist the scientific authority (see the results of the condition of Legal Liability), but in their attitude to social institutions and their distant relationship with fellow citizens. Active role playing offers an attractive opportunity for ethically acceptable obedience research.