A classic series of experiments by Stanley Milgram demonstrated the profound effect of

A) altruism.
B) persuasion.
C) obedience.
D) attraction.

Milgram's experiments focused on obedience, specifically how people will comply with authority even when it goes against their own beliefs and values. Participants were asked to administer electric shocks to a "learner" when they answered questions incorrectly, with the shocks increasing in intensity for each incorrect answer. The learner was actually a confederate of the experimenter, and did not receive any shocks, but participants were unaware of this. Despite the learner's increasingly distressed cries and protests, many participants continued to follow the experimenter's orders to administer shocks, demonstrating the power of obedience to authority.