"Shock the Monkey"

Peter Gabriel is a musician from Chobham in Surrey. He was a founder member of Genesis. He left the band in 1971 and began a successful solo career. His hits include Games without Frontiers, Biko, and Sledgehammer.

Peter Gabriel has promoted 'World Music' is responsible for Womad and is a human rights activist. In 1986 he released the album So. This album featured a track called We do what we're Told (Milgram's 37).

Before the album was released and people had heard the song Gabriel decided to conduct a little psychological study. He played the song to the audience at a gig. He told the audience to clap their hands and sing the lines:

We do what we are told.

They did what they were told. They clapped their hands and sang:

We do what we are told.



Why? Use your knowledge of Milgram's research into obedience to authority studies to explain the behaviour of the audience. Provide two psychological explanations of why they obeyed Peter Gabriel's order.

The link below is to the Wikipedia page on the album So. Go to the bottom of the page and read the final section.

Why is the song called Milgram's 37?

Link to Wikepedia