<p>There is a 2009 article by Burger that reportedly reviews the Milgram experiment and all known replications. You might want to read through the replications carefully to see whether any such studies were performed in an eastern  cultural context. Possibly even a close reading of the studies might suggest how much results vary across settings.</p>

<p>I found one study by Shanab (1974) which was conducted in Jordan, although that's not exactly an eastern culture.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Using S. Milgram's (1974) paradigm, 48 Jordanian college students were
  tested for obedience. Results show experimental Ss gave significantly
  more shocks than the control Ss. Unlike the experimental Ss, the
  controls were free to either give or not give shock. No difference in
  obedience rate occurred between male and female Ss. In terms of
  overobedience, 62.5% of the experimental and 12.5% of the control Ss
  continued to deliver shock to the end of the shock scale.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So on the face of it, I could not find a replication of the Milgram experiment in an Eastern context.</p>

<h3>References</h3>

<ul>
<li>Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today?. American Psychologist, 64(1), 1. <a href="http://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/Psyc591Readings/Blass1999.pdf" rel="noreferrer">PDF</a></li>
<li>Shanab, M. E., &amp; Yahya, K. A. (1978). A cross-cultural study of obedience. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-21T23:40:01.327Z
2013-08-21T23:40:01.327Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>While I don't know of the Milgram studies being replicated cross cultural there's an older, less severe conformity study by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments">Asch</a>. Those use less authoritarian and more group conformity pressure. </p>

<p>Eastern cultures showed higher conformity and western showed falling conformity over time.</p>

<p>Bond, R. &amp; Smith, Peter. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch's (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. <em>Psychological Bulletin</em>, <em>119</em>(1), 111-137. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.1.111</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-21T00:59:36.203Z
Thanks for the response! However, I am not sure how to interpret this with respect to my question. If I understand correctly, this essentially says that collectivistic cultures tend to have higher group conformity than western cultures.
asheeshr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-21T01:01:30.457Z
Yes, that's what it says. It's probably the closest you'll get to cross cultural Milgram experiments. They weren't done in the first round and they've just recently started doing them again.
John
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-21T22:52:14.447Z
@AsheeshR In case this answer doesn't fully answer the question or you need further clarification, you are more than encouraged to discuss this in the comments here. You also don't need to accept it if the question is unanswerable as it stands, however you could consider 'no such studies currently exist' also to be an answer.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-20T17:35:19.157Z
2013-08-20T17:35:19.157Z
John
<p>I found the review made in 2012, which has India results among others:<br />
<a href="https://sci-hub.se/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00417.x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Blass, T. (2012). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Studies of Obedience Using the Milgram Paradigm: A Review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(2), 196–205. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00417.x</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DfE2l.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DfE2l.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>But it is from 1983. I failed to found any East culture Milgram's experiment replications after 2000.</p>
<p>The last known replication was made in Polland in 2015:<br />
<a href="https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617693060" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Doliński, D., Grzyb, T., Folwarczny, M., Grzybała, P., Krzyszycha, K., Martynowska, K., &amp; Trojanowski, J. (2017). Would You Deliver an Electric Shock in 2015? Obedience in the Experimental Paradigm Developed by Stanley Milgram in the 50 Years Following the Original Studies. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(8), 927–933. doi:10.1177/1948550617693060</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-04T16:32:07.777Z
Great answer! +1
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-04T12:33:49.330Z
2020-07-04T12:33:49.330Z
banderlog013
<p>When the Milgram Experiment was performed in the 1960s and replicated multiple times up until the 1980s, it was performed in Western cultures. When it was replicated in 2006, it was again performed in the USA. One of the interesting observations that was made, was that the subjects in most cases, agreed to continue the shock treatments if they were reassured that they cannot be held  responsible for anything that happens and cannot be sued*. </p>

<p>This to me, sounds to be an individualistic reaction to the experimenter's command as opposed to a collectivistic response where subjects would not only try to protect their self interests but would also act to protect the confederate being shocked from ill treatment**. Is this an accurate assertion?</p>

<p>As we know, Western cultures are known to emphasize on individualism whereas Eastern cultures are known for inculcating collectivism. So, would the experimental results differ if the experiment were replicated today in an Eastern culture (Japan, for example)?</p>

<p>Have any such studies been conducted in the East?</p>

<p><sub> *Mentioned in Burger, Jerry M. (2008). "Replicating Milgram: Would People Still Obey Today? and also a video clip was featured on ABC News’s January
3, 2007, broadcast of Primetime.
</sub></p>

<p><sub>**Personal argument/reasoning</sub></p>

<social-psychology><cross-cultural-psychology>
Would the Milgram Experiment results be replicated in Eastern cultures?
asheeshr
# Would the Milgram Experiment results be replicated in Eastern cultures?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-08-20)

When the Milgram Experiment was performed in the 1960s and replicated multiple times up until the 1980s, it was performed in Western cultures. When it was replicated in 2006, it was again performed in the USA. One of the interesting observations that was made, was that the subjects in most cases, agreed to continue the shock treatments if they were reassured that they cannot be held responsible for anything that happens and cannot be sued\*.

This to me, sounds to be an individualistic reaction to the experimenter's command as opposed to a collectivistic response where subjects would not only try to protect their self interests but would also act to protect the confederate being shocked from ill treatment\*\*. Is this an accurate assertion?

As we know, Western cultures are known to emphasize on individualism whereas Eastern cultures are known for inculcating collectivism. So, would the experimental results differ if the experiment were replicated today in an Eastern culture (Japan, for example)?

Have any such studies been conducted in the East?

\*Mentioned in Burger, Jerry M. (2008). "Replicating Milgram: Would People Still Obey Today? and also a video clip was featured on ABC News’s January
3, 2007, broadcast of Primetime.

\*\*Personal argument/reasoning

**Tags:** social-psychology, cross-cultural-psychology


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-08-21. Score: 6

There is a 2009 article by Burger that reportedly reviews the Milgram experiment and all known replications. You might want to read through the replications carefully to see whether any such studies were performed in an eastern cultural context. Possibly even a close reading of the studies might suggest how much results vary across settings.

I found one study by Shanab (1974) which was conducted in Jordan, although that's not exactly an eastern culture.

> Using S. Milgram's (1974) paradigm, 48 Jordanian college students were
> tested for obedience. Results show experimental Ss gave significantly
> more shocks than the control Ss. Unlike the experimental Ss, the
> controls were free to either give or not give shock. No difference in
> obedience rate occurred between male and female Ss. In terms of
> overobedience, 62.5% of the experimental and 12.5% of the control Ss
> continued to deliver shock to the end of the shock scale.

So on the face of it, I could not find a replication of the Milgram experiment in an Eastern context.

### References

* Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today?. American Psychologist, 64(1), 1. [PDF](http://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/Psyc591Readings/Blass1999.pdf)
* Shanab, M. E., & Yahya, K. A. (1978). A cross-cultural study of obedience. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-08-20. Score: 6

While I don't know of the Milgram studies being replicated cross cultural there's an older, less severe conformity study by [Asch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments). Those use less authoritarian and more group conformity pressure.

Eastern cultures showed higher conformity and western showed falling conformity over time.

Bond, R. & Smith, Peter. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch's (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. *Psychological Bulletin*, *119*(1), 111-137. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.1.111

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the response! However, I am not sure how to interpret this with respect to my question. If I understand correctly, this essentially says that collectivistic cultures tend to have higher group conformity than western cultures.  
> **username_2**: Yes, that's what it says. It's probably the closest you'll get to cross cultural Milgram experiments. They weren't done in the first round and they've just recently started doing them again.  
> **username_3**: @AsheeshR In case this answer doesn't fully answer the question or you need further clarification, you are more than encouraged to discuss this in the comments here. You also don't need to accept it if the question is unanswerable as it stands, however you could consider 'no such studies currently exist' also to be an answer.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-04. Score: 4

I found the review made in 2012, which has India results among others:  
[Blass, T. (2012). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Studies of Obedience Using the Milgram Paradigm: A Review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(2), 196–205. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00417.x](https://sci-hub.se/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00417.x)

> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/DfE2l.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/DfE2l.png)

But it is from 1983. I failed to found any East culture Milgram's experiment replications after 2000.

The last known replication was made in Polland in 2015:  
[Doliński, D., Grzyb, T., Folwarczny, M., Grzybała, P., Krzyszycha, K., Martynowska, K., & Trojanowski, J. (2017). Would You Deliver an Electric Shock in 2015? Obedience in the Experimental Paradigm Developed by Stanley Milgram in the 50 Years Following the Original Studies. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(8), 927–933. doi:10.1177/1948550617693060](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617693060)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Great answer! +1  

---

