Obedience. That some people readily follow direction from their superiors, even when this challenges what they consider is right action, has been a source of puzzlement for half a century. Obedience literature emphasizes that legitimate authority is a powerful and compelling force. This is particularly evident in Milgram's (1963, 1974) famous experiments where participants systematically shocked a helpless victim at the bidding of an experimenter. Asch (1951, 1955, 1956) also showed conformity in his line judgment task in which one in three participants yielded to group pressure. This book...