Psychology Commons^™

Compliance: Film About A Real-Life Milgram Experiment, Christina J. Taylor, Ryan Bushman, Lori Gwilliam, Michael Novis, Johanna Tiarks

Psychology Faculty Publications

The film, Compliance, tells the story of a real-life Milgram experiment in which strip-search scams were perpetrated in USA fast-food restaurants. A pilot study was carried out to explore the appropriateness of the film for classroom instruction about the psychology of obedience to authority. Participants with more knowledge about Milgram's research were significantly more likely to endorse use of the film than the less knowledgeable participants. Results suggest that substantive instruction on obedience to authority is a prerequisite to using Compliance in the classroom.