Sixty-five years after Milgram’s groundbreaking obedience studies, a second wave of research on obedience to authority is unfolding in social psychology and beyond. This renewed engagement has produced methodologically innovative work, including archival re-analyses, ethically refined paradigms, and theoretical frameworks challenging interpretations of obedience as blind submission. At the same time, increased productivity has brought fragmentation: approaches diverge in their conceptualizations, operationalizations, and assumptions about the mechanisms underlying obedient behavior, and findings across paradigms are not always directly comparable. Yet fragmentation is accompanied by emerging points of convergence. Contemporary perspectives increasingly emphasize the inherently social nature of obedience and the central role of moral and social conflict when authorities demand transgressive action. Understanding how such conflict is processed – and how resistance is attenuated or overridden – remains a central challenge.
The EASP Meeting “Obedience to Authority: Milgram’s Legacy and Emerging Directions” brings together scholars from social psychology and related disciplines to critically examine this evolving landscape. By explicitly comparing theoretical assumptions, experimental designs, and levels of explanation, the meeting seeks to clarify foundational assumptions and foster a more coherent framework for future research. The conference is structured around four focal themes: (1) Convergence and divergence in conceptualizations of obedience, including (potentially) distinct psychological routes; (2) Differences in operationalization and underlying assumptions across paradigms; (3) Building collaborations across laboratories and disciplines to strengthen an emerging research network; (4) Interdisciplinary exchange with historians to situate psychological models of obedience within broader contemporary and historical contexts, in cooperation with the Center for Commemorative Culture at the University of Regensburg.
A field visit to the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial Site will provide space to reflect on societal implications for debates surrounding obedience, disobedience, and commemorative culture.
The meeting will take place from 9–11 September 2026 at the University of Regensburg (Germany).
We invite junior and senior researchers to submit an abstract (max. 250 words) and indicate their preferred presentation format (talk, blitz talk, or poster) by 30 April 2026. Submissions and inquiries: Felix J. Götz and Vanessa Mitschke, obedience@ur.de
Further information: https://sites.google.com/view/obedience-to-authority-network/start
Organizers: Felix J. Götz (University of Regensburg), Vanessa Mitschke (University of Göttingen), Megan E. Birney (University of Birmingham), and Emilie A. Caspar (Ghent University)