What was the primary focus of Stanley Milgram's shock experiment?

Stanley Milgram's shock experiment primarily focused on testing compliance with authority figures by having participants administer electric shocks to another individual, who they believed was a fellow participant in the study. The experiment was designed to investigate how far people would go in following orders given by an authority figure, even when the instructions involved inflicting harm on another person.

Milgram found that a significant number of participants were willing to proceed with administering what they believed were dangerous shocks, demonstrating a strong tendency to obey authority, even when their actions conflicted with personal conscience. The study revealed profound insights into human behavior, particularly regarding the influence of authority on ethical decision-making.

This focus starkly contrasts with the other options. The first option pertains to altruistic behavior in distress situations, while the third option involves decision-making under stress, neither of which were the primary concerns of Milgram's research. The last option deals with group behavior in ambiguous situations, which is not relevant to the individual compliance dynamics that Milgram was investigating. Thus, the study's design and findings are correctly encapsulated by the focus on compliance with authority.