ABSTRACT
Even details can be of importance in Milgram’s procedure – it should be noted that subjects received money upfront for their participation in the experiment and were allowed to keep it, even if they decided, at some point, not to continue. One might argue that making the payment dependent on the execution of all commands should reinforce obedience even more, but one could also argue the opposite. It may be the case that the act of accepting the cash feels like a commitment taken on by the subject (I took the money – now I should meet my commitments), which, according to the rule of involvement and consequence (Cialdini, 1996), reinforces compliance. Therefore, we checked what happens if the subjects are not given all of the money upfront and instead receive instalment payments for each pressed push button.
