What did Milgram find when he decreased the distance between the teacher and the learner,placed subjects in three-person groups,and varied the authority's social power?

Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments, conducted in the 1960s, are among the most famous psychological studies ever performed. The original experiment was designed to measure the willingness of participants, or "teachers," to obey an authority figure who instructed them to administer electric shocks to a "learner," who was actually an actor and not really receiving shocks. The study aimed to understand the influence of authority on obedience, particularly in the context of the atrocities committed during World War II.

Milgram found that a significant proportion of participants were willing to administer what they believed to be painful and even dangerous electric shocks to the learner when instructed by an authority figure. However, Milgram didn't stop there; he conducted several variations of the experiment to explore different factors that might influence the level of obedience.

When Milgram decreased the distance between the teacher and the learner, making the consequences of the teacher's actions more directly observable, he found that obedience rates dropped. For example, when teachers had to physically place the learner's hand onto a shock plate, their compliance decreased. This suggested that the physical and emotional closeness to the victim made it harder for participants to detach from the consequences of their actions and thus reduced their obedience to authority.

In another variation, Milgram placed subjects in three-person groups. In this setup, two of the teachers were actually confederates (actors working with the experimenter). These confederates would refuse to continue administering shocks at a certain point, leaving the real participant to decide whether to continue alone. The presence of dissenting peers significantly reduced the level of obedience, showing that social support and peer influence could counteract the pressure to obey authority.

Lastly, when Milgram varied the authority's social power by conducting the experiment in a less prestigious location or having the authority figure give instructions over the phone rather than in person, he found that obedience rates decreased. This demonstrated that the perceived legitimacy and presence of the authority figure played a crucial role in how likely individuals were to follow orders.

Overall, Milgram's variations on his original experiment revealed that several factors could influence the degree of obedience, including the proximity to the victim, the presence of dissenting peers, and the perceived legitimacy and immediacy of the authority figure. These findings have had a profound impact on our understanding of social psychology and the dynamics of authority and obedience.