exploratorium

Middle Ground

Don’t Push This Button

Try this:

  • Whatever you do, don't click the yellow button on the photo at right.

Do not push this button
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What's going on?

So…you don't always follow orders.

Society depends on people respecting its rules. But does the rule seem to have a good purpose? Who's enforcing it? Who else is following it?

Such questions, and others, affect whether people obey a rule or ignore it. Do you break rules? Which ones, and why?

Also, don’t look over here.

Further Reading

Solomon E. Asch (1956). "Studies of Independence and Conformity: A Minority of One Against a Unanimous Majority.” Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 70(9), 1–70. (abstract)

Stanley Milgram (1963). “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. (abstract)

John Greenwood (2018). “How Would People Behave in Milgram's Experiment Today? Behavioral Scientist (article)

 

 

National Science Foundation
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1713638. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.