The study examined the effects of social intelligence on the Milgram (1963) paradigm. 24 male subjects were commanded by the experimenter to administer electric shocks (simulated to appear real) to a confederate. Social intelligence as measured significantly mediated the degree to which subjects were prepared to obey the experimenter's commands and inflict suffering on another. The finding was interpreted as suggesting that broader personality differences relating to obedience-disobedience and altruistic acts, such as alleviating the plight of a suffering victim, are more likely to be found in the realm of cognitive abilities than with traditional temperament traits.
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