Following the results of probably the most famous study in the history of social psychology (The Milgram study), Milgram developed his own theory of why people will obey a malevolent authority.According to Milgram, at any particular time a person is in one of two psychological states: Autonomous state In this state individuals make decisions based on their own ideas, beliefs and experiences. Agentic State In this state individuals give up their own responsibility, deferring to those of higher status.

Stanley Milgram (1961) was interested in why millions of Germans blindly obeyed orders that resulted in the mass slaughter of millions of Jews during WWII. One theory at the time was that Germans were different to people of other nationalities in that they were more likely to have a personality type that makes them defer to those of higher authority (the Germanic Personality). Milgram tested his technique by carrying out a pilot study in the US. He advertised in the newspaper for volunteers to take part in a “study on memory”, for which he would pay them $4.50 for travel to the university, they would be paid no matter what happened when they got there. I.e., even if they refused to take part in the study or wished to withdraw at any point. 37 participants took part (Hence Peter Gabriel's song: "We Do What We're told (Milgram's 37)" see video clip below), from a range of occupations, including postal clerks, school teachers, salesmen, engineers and labourers. They came from the full range of educational backgrounds.