... of obedience were surprisingly high, 63% shocked to the maximum level. This can be explained by the closeness of the experimenter as source of authority, and highlights the participants desire to avoid the experimenter's disapproval. Thus the other aspect of proximity that affected levels of obedience was closeness to the source of authority, in this case, the experimenter. Both aspects of proximity create conflict in opposite directions. When Milgram increased immediacy further by placing the victim in the same room as the participant, numbers of individuals willing to shock to the maximum level fell to 40%, and the mean level of shock fell from 370 to310 volts. The variation, showing highest proximity between victim and participant, involved participants placing the victims hand on the shock plate. Not surprisingly, maximum shocking fell to 30%. As proximity was increased, the participants were able to empathise with the victim's suffering, and the negative ...

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