The Effects of Deception and Level of Obedience on Subjects' Ratings of the Milgram Study

Subjects read one of four versions of the Milgram (1964) obedience experiment. Both the degree of obedience and the amount of deception depicted in the descriptions were varied in a 2 X 2 design. Results showed no effects associated with deception in the subjects' ratings, nor any significant interactions between deception and obedience. However, subjects who read versions with a high level of obedience rated the experiment as more harmful to those who volunteered than subjects who read versions with a low level of obedience. It is suggested that the general public's judgment of the ethicality of psychological research may be in part determined by the results of that research.