10 Psychological Experiments You Would Never Believe Happened

Summary

This video explores ten groundbreaking psychological experiments that reveal profound insights into human behavior. From the Asch conformity test highlighting the power of social influence to the Stanford Prison Experiment uncovering the dark side of authority, each experiment provides a unique perspective on how we conform, obey, and react under various social pressures and conditions. These studies, ranging from the marshmallow test on self-control to Dr. Cameron's controversial 'beneficial brainwashing,' challenge our understanding of human nature and the impact of external factors on our actions.

Takeaways

• 🧠 The Asch conformity test revealed that people tend to conform to group opinions even when they are clearly wrong, with 37 out of 50 subjects choosing the incorrect answer.
• 🍭 The marshmallow experiment by Walter Mischel demonstrated that children who could delay gratification by waiting for a second marshmallow had higher success rates in adulthood.
• 🍻 Carlsberg's social experiment showed that people are creatures of habit and fearful of the unknown, as observed when couples faced a room full of bikers at a cinema.
• 🏕 The Robbers Cave experiment illustrated how competition and conflict between groups can be resolved through cooperation when faced with a common challenge.
• 🦍 The ape and child experiment by Winthrop Kellogg suggested that human children can learn animal behaviors, highlighting the importance of environmental influences on development.
• 🧠 Dr. Cameron's 'beneficial brainwashing' or 'psychic driving' aimed to reprogram the brain for health by forcing new patterns of thinking, but was deemed unethical.
• 👁️‍🗨️ Jane Elliott's class divided experiment taught students about the harmful effects of racism and discrimination by assigning superiority based on eye color.
• 🗣️ The Monster Study by Wendell Johnson showed the detrimental effects of negative reinforcement and the benefits of positive therapy on speech impediments.
• ⚡️ The Milgram experiment revealed the extent to which people will obey authority figures, even to the point of causing harm to others.
• 🏫 The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo demonstrated how quickly people can adopt abusive roles when given power in a simulated prison environment.

Q & A

What was the main finding of the Asch conformity test?

The Asch conformity test showed that a significant number of people are willing to conform to a group's opinion even when it is clearly wrong, demonstrating a human tendency to go along with the majority.

What did the marshmallow experiment by Walter Mischel indicate about patience and future success?

The marshmallow experiment indicated that children who were able to wait longer before eating a marshmallow tended to have higher success rates in adulthood, suggesting that patience and delayed gratification are correlated with future achievements.

How did the Carlsberg social experiment demonstrate human behavior in unfamiliar situations?

The Carlsberg social experiment showed that people are creatures of habit and fearful when approaching the unknown, as many couples were daunted by a crowd of bikers in a cinema and only a few dared to claim their seats, which was met with applause and rewards.

What was the purpose of the Robbers Cave experiment, and what did it reveal about group dynamics?

The Robbers Cave experiment aimed to see how different groups work together to solve conflicts. It revealed that adversity and combined suffering can bring even the most hostile groups together, demonstrating the human psyche's ability to cooperate under common challenges.

What was the 'Ape and the Child' experiment, and what did it attempt to prove?

The 'Ape and the Child' experiment was an attempt to see if an ape could be taught human behaviors and communication. It aimed to prove that animals could learn civilized ways of mankind, but it also showed that human children could easily emulate animal behaviors.

What was Dr. Cameron's approach to treating schizophrenia, and what was it called?

Dr. Cameron's approach to treating schizophrenia involved forcing patients to listen to recorded audio messages on a loop, which he called 'psychic driving.' He believed this could reprogram the brain to be healthier.

What was the main takeaway from Jane Elliott's class divided experiment regarding racism and self-perception?

The main takeaway from Jane Elliott's class divided experiment was that the perception of others plays a significant role in self-development. When children were labeled as inferior, their academic performance suffered, and when they were labeled as superior, they performed better.

What was the 'Monster Study' and why was it considered unethical?

The 'Monster Study' was an experiment where orphans with speech impediments were either constantly belittled or given positive therapy. It was considered unethical because the negative reinforcement group was subjected to harmful psychological abuse, leading to lifelong damages.

What was the Milgram experiment, and what did it reveal about obedience to authority?

The Milgram experiment was a series of studies that tested the obedience to authority by asking participants to administer shocks to a volunteer when they answered questions incorrectly. It revealed that people are willing to obey authority figures even when their actions are morally questionable.

What were the key findings of the Stanford Prison Experiment, and why was it terminated early?

The Stanford Prison Experiment showed that normal people can engage in abusive behavior when given power and authority. The guards became sadistic, and the prisoners lost their sense of self. The experiment was terminated early due to the disturbing and unethical nature of the abuse that occurred.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Asch Conformity Test & Marshmallow Experiment

The Asch conformity test from the 1950s demonstrated humans' tendency to conform to group decisions even when they are obviously incorrect. In this experiment, actors intentionally gave wrong answers to a simple question, and 37 out of 50 subjects followed suit. The Marshmallow Experiment by Walter Mischel in 1972 showed that children who could resist eating a marshmallow for 15 minutes received a second one, and those who waited longer tended to have higher success rates in adulthood, suggesting patience and self-control are linked to future success.

05:00

🍻 Carlsberg Social Experiment & Robbers Cave Experiment

Carlsberg's social experiment involved a marketing stunt where couples were intimidated by a room full of biker-clad actors, and those who bravely sat in the middle received applause and beer, highlighting human reactions to unfamiliar situations. The Robbers Cave Experiment from 1954 studied how preteen boys in two groups, initially kept apart and made competitive, could work together when faced with shared challenges, showing that adversity can unite even hostile groups.

10:02

🐒 The Ape and the Child & Dr. Cameron's Brainwashing

In 1931, psychologist Winthrop Kellogg adopted a chimpanzee to study if animals could learn human behaviors. The ape, Guha, and his son Donald were raised together, with Guha outperforming Donald in some tests, but the experiment was halted due to concerns over Donald's speech development. Dr. Ewen Cameron's 'beneficial brainwashing' in the 1950s-60s aimed to 'reprogram' the brain for health by forcing new patterns of thinking through repeated audio messages, but his methods were later criticized.

👁️‍🗨️ Jane Elliott's Class Divided & The Monster Study

Jane Elliott's experiment post-Martin Luther King's assassination divided a class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups to study the effects of perceived superiority and inferiority, leading to immediate behavioral changes and highlighting the impact of expectations on performance. The 'Monster Study' by Wendell Johnson in 1939 involved orphans, where one group received negative reinforcement for speech errors, worsening their condition, while the other received positive therapy, showing the lasting effects of reinforcement on self-development.

🔋 Milgram Experiment & Stanford Prison Experiment

The Milgram experiment explored obedience to authority by having participants administer shocks to 'volunteers' who answered questions incorrectly. Despite the volunteer's distress, most participants continued due to the authoritative figure's commands, revealing the potential for evil under obedience. The Stanford Prison Experiment simulated a prison environment with random assignment of roles, leading to abusive behavior by guards and submissiveness by prisoners, demonstrating how normal people can commit atrocities given the right circumstances.

Keywords

💡Conformity

Conformity refers to the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. In the video, the Asch conformity test is highlighted, where subjects often chose the incorrect answer to match the group, demonstrating the powerful influence of social pressure. This concept is central to understanding how individuals can be swayed by the majority, even when it contradicts their own judgment.

💡Patience

Patience is the ability to tolerate waiting, delay, or frustration without becoming agitated or upset. The Marshmallow Experiment mentioned in the video illustrates the correlation between a child's ability to delay gratification and their later success in life. This concept is pivotal in the video's discussion on self-discipline and its long-term benefits.

💡Social Conditioning

Social conditioning is the process by which social influences from society, family, and institutions shape an individual's behavior and attitudes. The video references Jane Elliott's experiment, where students were conditioned to believe one eye color was superior to another, leading to immediate behavioral changes. This keyword is crucial for understanding how societal structures can influence individual beliefs and actions.

💡Obedience to Authority

Obedience to authority is the tendency to comply with the orders or commands given by an authority figure. The Milgram experiment, as discussed in the video, demonstrates the extent to which individuals will obey authority figures even when it involves causing harm to others. This concept is central to the video's exploration of the darker aspects of human nature and the potential for cruelty under certain social dynamics.

💡Stress and Coping

Stress and coping refer to the psychological and physiological responses to pressures or demands placed upon a person. The Stanford Prison Experiment, featured in the video, shows how participants under the stress of their roles as guards or prisoners exhibited extreme behaviors, highlighting the impact of stress on human behavior and the coping mechanisms individuals employ in response to challenging situations.

💡Imitation

Imitation is the act of copying the behavior of others. In the 'Ape and the Child' experiment, the video discusses how a child's interaction with a chimpanzee led to the child imitating the ape's behaviors, indicating the strong influence of imitation in early development and learning.

💡Group Dynamics

Group dynamics are the behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group. The Robbers Cave experiment, as mentioned in the video, explores how group dynamics can lead to both conflict and cooperation, showing how groups can be manipulated and how shared challenges can foster unity.

💡Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a psychological principle where a positive outcome increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. The 'Monster Study' discussed in the video demonstrates the detrimental effects of negative reinforcement and the benefits of positive reinforcement on speech development in children, underscoring the importance of encouragement in shaping behavior.

💡Brainwashing

Brainwashing refers to the manipulation of an individual's beliefs or attitudes through persistent persuasion, often involving isolation from dissenting viewpoints. Dr. Cameron's 'beneficial brainwashing' experiment, as described in the video, aimed to reprogram patients' thinking patterns but was criticized for its ethical implications and the potential for manipulation.

💡Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is an individual's overall sense of self-worth or personal value. The Asch conformity test, highlighted in the video, suggests that individuals with lower self-esteem may be more likely to conform to group opinions, even when they are incorrect, to gain acceptance and validation from others.

💡Behavioral Modification

Behavioral modification is the process of changing an individual's behavior through the use of various techniques, such as reinforcement and punishment. The video's discussion of the Stanford Prison Experiment touches on how the environment and role expectations can rapidly modify behavior, with participants adopting extreme roles as guards or prisoners.

Highlights

Asch conformity test demonstrated the human tendency to conform to group opinions even when they are clearly wrong.

37 out of 50 subjects in the Asch test chose the incorrect answer due to group pressure.

The marshmallow experiment showed that children who could delay gratification had higher success rates in adulthood.

Children who waited for the second marshmallow in the experiment were more likely to do better on SATs and be intellectually competent.

Carlsberg social experiment revealed human fear of the unknown and the courage to face unfamiliar situations.

Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that adversity can bring even the worst enemies closer together.

The ape and the child experiment explored the possibility of teaching civilized behavior to animals.

Dr. Cameron's beneficial brainwashing aimed to reprogram the brain for healthier thinking patterns.

Jane Elliott's class divided experiment highlighted the rapid effects of negative conditioning on self-esteem.

The monster study showed the detrimental effects of negative reinforcement on speech development.

Milgram experiment revealed the extent to which people would obey authority figures, even to the point of causing harm.

Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrated how quickly people can adopt abusive behaviors when given power.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was terminated early due to the severe psychological effects on participants.

These psychological experiments provide insights into human behavior, conformity, obedience, and the impact of social dynamics.

Transcripts

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number ten Asch conformity test

- conformity test was conducted in the

early 1950s and showed the human

tendency to stick with a mob even though

it is clearly wrong in this experiment

one person the unknowing subject is

placed in a room full of actors the

conductor the experiment held up a piece

of paper with three lines on it and

asked for the crowd to identify the

longest line the actors all showed the

wrong answer on purpose to see whether

the subjects would disagree using their

own logic or go with everyone else's

answers simply because there is strength

in numbers 37 out of a sample size of 50

chose the incorrect answer even though

it was very easy to identify the correct

option this test proved how much people

are willing to conform to others ideas

this day psychologists still

passionately debate whether this comes

from a need to be accepted or from

serious issues with self-esteem number 9

the marshmallow experiment I've heard

the expression patience is better but

its fruit is sweet yeah us neither till

we had to google it for this video

perspective this experiment proves how

this really is the case apparently

jean-jacques rousseau a French thinker

the 18th century was really on to

something when he said this Stanford

University remembers Walter Mischel

conducted an experiment in 1972 to test

just how true this was children aged

four to six were taken into a room and a

marshmallow was placed before each one

the administrators then left them alone

in a room and they were told that if

they could go for 15 minutes without

eating it then they would get a second

one as a reward dominoes record how long

each child go before succumbing to

temptation and they further record how

each child fared later on in life and

the results were surprising all those

who had waited longer before giving in

eating the marshmallow we reported to

have a higher success rate in adulthood

a small minority of the 600 children

sampled stuff to their faces immediately

but a third of them were able to wait

long enough to earn the second

marshmallow in the extensive research

conducted over the span of those child's

lives it was found that the children who

waited patiently in

gratification longer we're more likely

to do better on the SATs and we're more

intellectually competent in comparison

to their peers so even though being

patient and waiting really is better try

to be more mindful of it and the results

in the end are worth it

number eight Carlsberg social experiment

Carlsberg a Danish beer brewing company

conducted the social experiment and then

turned into a successful marketing

gimmick they tricked innocent couples of

cinema and Brussels to test how gutsy

humans can be when faced with an

unfamiliar situation at the cinema a

hundred and forty a man dressed as

bikers filled the entire stadium and

only two seats available were right in

the middle

Carlsberg representatives were present

to record the exchange that took place

many of the couples have walked in and

were shocked to see the crowd and some

of them even responded by saying that

this wasn't what they had paid for many

couples were daunted by the bikers and

turned away whether this happened the

bikers showed no reaction however every

time a couple awkwardly shuffled between

the bikers and claiming the two seats in

the middle

everyone broke out an applause and

offered the pair a bottle of Carlsberg

beer the reactions of the couples were

of genuine shock and pleasure this is

just another experiment to show that

humans are creatures of habit and are

fearful when approaching the unknown

number 7 robbers cave experiment this

experiment took place in the summer of

1954 a group of preteen boys were used

to see how different groups work

together to solve conflicts Mazar and

carolyn sheriff as well as their

research team at the University of

Oklahoma were responsible for finding 24

boys who were well-adjusted socially and

physically in their communities and

invited them to a seemingly ordinary

summer camp what these kids didn't know

was that the counselors were actually

psychologists and they were the

unknowing subjects of a psychological

experiment the two groups were split

randomly and the boys within each group

were encouraged to bond with each other

however the two groups were kept apart

at all times and the counselors did

little things to reinforce

competitiveness between the two groups

after instilling competition and some

hostility between them the counselors

held tournaments in which the winners

were awarded and the losers were made to

feel bad this led to a whole new level

of anger and resentment between the

groups finally as the last step to this

experiment the psychologist introduced a

stimulus that was

bad for both groups the first one was a

shortage of water and surprisingly they

found that the two groups were willing

to work together to solve the issue this

sparked the curiosity of the

psychologists who had set up a few more

of these tasks more stimuli such as lack

of food were introduced into the study

which led to even greater cooperation

between the groups by the end of the

experiment they were working comfortably

with each other and all the initial

hostility was long forgotten this study

is famous for showing a lot about the

human psychic many gang movies in even

high school sports movies will tell you

the same thing

adversity and combined suffering tends

to bring even the worst of enemies

closer together number six the ape and

the child believe it or not a fair

number of human beings have being raised

in the wild by animals therefore

scientists craved the chance to see if

animals could be taught the civilized

ways of mankind

in 1931 psychologist Winthrop Kellogg

decided to see what would happen if he

adopted a 7 month old female chimpanzee

named Guha

zone son Donald was only in ten months

old at the time

Donald Guha became fast friends and did

everything together

Kellogg took it a step further and even

tested their development shockingly

enough

Guha did better on many of these tests

however the Kellogg's were disappointed

that Guha had not acquired the ability

to communicate through words and they

were horrified to discover the Donald's

speech cognition was also suffering when

he imitated Goa's hunger bark the

Kellogg's decided that Donald need to

spend more time around other humans

goooooo was shipped off to a primate

center where she died a year layer due

to a fever

this experiment is not well known

because this is odd to think the humans

find easier to emulate animals than

vice-versa there's a real theory out

there that cats and dogs tend to act and

even behave like their owners over time

there's so much about the human animal

relationship that is wildly fascinating

for researchers and with lack of

concrete information there is a much

much room for growth

number five beneficial brainwashing dr.

cameron believes the brain can be

reprogrammed to be healthier by simply

forcing a new pattern of thinking at the

time he thought he found a cure for

schizophrenia and used to force patients

to listen to record audio messages on a

loop for long periods of time he named

this psychic driving as according to him

the messages were being directly

received by the psychic causing the

media to dub is approach beneficial

brainwashing from the 1950s to the 1960s

many of Cameron's patients at the

Montreal Allen memorial clinic became

his test subjects and whether they

suffered from schizophrenia or not was

not taken into account each was injected

with barbiturates and forced to listen

to different reaffirming mantras such as

people like you and need you to check

the effectiveness of the program he once

played the instructions to his subjects

so that they must pick up a piece of

paper afterwards he drove him to a

nearby gym were oddly enough there was a

piece of paper in the middle of the room

he was convinced those methods were

working as all the subjects

instantaneously went to grab that one

piece of paper

the CIA heard of the good doctors work

and funded his research as they were

interested in the findings unfortunately

for them their investment did not pay

off as he had shut down the experiment

when the subjects later learned that the

CIA's involvement they pressed charges

but the matter was quickly solved out of

court for an undisclosed amount gulp -

even Cameron himself a mid-layer that

his research had been a step in the

wrong direction and that had been

focused on the wrong elements

number four a class divided blue-eyed

brown-eyed Jane Elliott started this

experiment at a local elementary school

after Martin Luther King was

assassinated in 1968 she divided her

students into two groups those with blue

eyes and those with brown eyes the first

day she deemed those with blue eyes a

superior group and started giving them

preferential treatment during playtime

in class time the changes she knows

within a day were significant almost

instantaneously the blue-eyed group

armed with their superiority started

doing better academically some of them

even started bullying the brown-eyed

kids and there was a fight between two

boys by the end of the day likewise the

brown-eyed kids did not do as well as

they normally did academically and fell

into the role of being inferiors the

second day she reversed the roles

between the two groups and said that the

brown eye kids were better the results

again showed the fast effects of

negative conditioning the brown eye kids

did so much better than they had before

and they returned to being more

confident and outgoing well they were

only children both groups learned the

horrible effects of racism and

interestingly enough when the class came

together again at a reunion each of them

are under the incident remark that made

them more conscious of the different

challenges that people have diversity

faced Jane Elliott became an advocate

for this experience and she was often

asked to give talks to different groups

and conduct the experiment with them as

well her results have always shown that

when people are expected to fail they

are more likely to undeniably the

perception of others does play an

important role in self development

number three the monster test this test

was called the monster study because of

how unethical was in its nature

however ironically this study shows the

importance of positive reinforcement for

the development of a healthy self in

1939 Wendell Johnson from the University

of Iowa selected 22 orphans and split

them randomly into two groups each group

had a number of children either

stuttered or had some sort of speech

impediment one group was constantly

belittled for every single mistake they

made and under the constant chastisement

of the psychologists the children in

this group actually worsened even more

shockingly the children who had

previously not had any speech impediment

developed verbal issues after being part

of this morally outrageous study on the

other hand those who were placed in the

other group were given positive therapy

their progress was highlighted

planted every step of the way this

greatly inspired the massive changes of

the took place and many of the orphans

developed greater fluency even those

with stutters are reportedly doing much

better and holding conversations in 2007

several the orphans who would have been

well in their early seventies press

charges against to study for the

lifelong damages that had suffered as

many of them had retained such issues

well into their adult life the courts

awarded 60s orphan children with nine

hundred and twenty five thousand dollars

as compensation for their abuse which

isn't all too much considering many of

them were permanently harmed

olá was a harsh and gruesome experiment

many of the reforms in our modern-day

educational system are based on the

findings that support positive

reinforcement over criticism number two

Milgram experiment the Milgram

experiment refers to a series of

experiments that were conducted by Yale

University professor Stanley Milgram

during the early 60s this test was

conducted soon after one of the nazis

who was put on trial in israel pled the

defense of simply following orders since

everyone was questioning how much of an

effect obedience has on people

professor Milgram and his team decided

to explore the theory of obedience to

Authority the experiment asked ordinary

people to ask a volunteer who was part

of Milgram scheme interrogated questions

and then administer shocks through a

machine if the volunteer answered

incorrectly the conductor the experiment

took the authoritative role and asked

unknowing subjects to increase the

voltage of the shock after each question

was incorrectly answered luckily

unbeknownst the shock administer the

shocks were completely fake and the

volunteer was a hired actor in order for

the test to be truly accurate the shock

administrator was led to believe it was

real

and each shock came at the series of

horrifying screams from the volunteer in

one case the UN told the subjects that

the volunteer had a heart condition

which they expected to awaken the

conscience of the subjects unfortunately

the results showed something horrifying

about human nature Milgram's team

expected the subjects to stop giving the

shocks after a certain number but almost

everyone kept going and obeyed the

commands of the authority figure without

taking into account the morality of

their actions the study makes it to the

top of a wacky psychological experiments

because it shows that there is a little

bit of evil within everyone and that all

it takes to emerge is the authoritative

command

number one Stanford Prison Experiment

this insane experiment was conducted in

the early 1970s and there have been

numerous reports and further studies

about it dr. Philip Zimbardo ethically

questionable experiments even inspired

an award-winning movie in 2015 the study

was conducted to explore the effects of

the prison system on inmates and guards

both the Navy in the general military

were interested in the findings as at

the time they wish to understand the

troubled relationship between inmates

and guards

Zimbardo his team enticed 24 males to be

part of the study by offering them a pay

of fifteen dollars per day

these males were further divided into

two groups either the guards or the

prisoners perhaps the freakiest element

of the study was that they were chosen

for these roles randomly no certain

characteristics could have predicted

these decisions the participants were

told to make the simulation as realistic

as possible the prisoners were told to

forget they had real names and answer

only to their assigned numbers their

clothes were stripped off them and they

were forced to wear uncomfortable prison

garb at the time the guards were given

power symbols such as batons and

sunglasses

soon after the experiment began the

guards became abusive due to the immense

power that they had and the prisoners

lost all sense of self and complied with

anything that they were told to do as a

study progressed his Umberto's team

discovered that the guards became more

sadistic over time and seemed to enjoy

inflicting pain on their underlings

within the first few days to the inmates

asked to leave the experiment one person

experienced a mental breakdown and the

other suffered an extreme body rash dr.

Zimbardo omits that he himself became

obsessed with the power that he had as a

prison warden and allowed the abuse to

go on until his girlfriend point out the

ethical issues of the program the study

was meant to go on for two weeks but

after just six days the disturbing

results forced Zimbardo to terminate the

experiment the results are so morbidly

fascinating because they show that

normal people are capable of doing

terrible things if they are provided

with the right environment as one of the

participants perfectly summed it up by

saying you don't know what you would do

unless you were in that situation if you

ever take up psychology in school you

will

definitely hear about this experiment

trust me I did

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