At a prestigious metropolitan research hospital, the head of department, Professor Sterling, wearing a formal clinical suit and security badge, instructs several nursing interns during a clinical trial. He directs them to administer a double-dose of an experimental compound to a patient, which exceeds the standard safety limits listed on the chart. When one intern, Clara, hesitates and states that the dose is too high, Professor Sterling replies firmly, “The experiment requires that you continue; I will assume all clinical and legal responsibility for any adverse effects.” The interns look visibly distressed and one is sweating, yet they proceed to administer the dose. In a post-trial debrief, Clara remarked, “I felt sick doing it, but he is the director and I had to follow his instructions.”
Outline one reason why the nursing interns 'complied with the instructions even though they felt uncomfortable'. Support your answer with evidence from the source.
128 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Responses to people in authority, covering Milgram (1963): Obedience and Bocchiaro et al. (2012): Disobedience and whistle-blowing. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.