Milgram Experiment real footage

Summary

The transcript describes a 1962 experiment conducted at Yale University, where participants were instructed to administer electric shocks to a learner as part of a study on the effects of punishment on learning. Despite the learner's protests and the apparent pain, many participants continued to deliver higher shocks under the command of an authority figure. The study, which revealed unsettling truths about obedience to authority, highlighted the tendency of people to follow instructions even when it conflicts with their moral conscience. The results raised questions about human nature and authority's power over individual actions.

Takeaways

• 👨‍🔬 The experiment was conducted in May 1962 at Yale University, involving 40 male participants aged 20 to 50 from the Greater New Haven area.
• 📢 Participants were recruited through newspaper advertisements and direct mail, with varying occupations from corporate executives to plumbers.
• 📚 The experiment aimed to explore the effects of punishment on learning, focusing on how individuals respond to mistakes and punishment in teaching and learning scenarios.
• ⚡ The 'teachers' were instructed to administer electric shocks to the 'learners' when incorrect answers were given, with increasing voltage for each mistake.
• 🙈 The teachers were unaware that the learners were actually accomplices, and no real electric shocks were administered, but the teachers believed they were real.
• 👨‍⚕️ Despite predictions from psychiatrists that very few subjects would administer the maximum shock, 50% of the participants followed instructions to the highest level of 450 volts.
• 😨 Some participants expressed distress and concern about the effects of the shocks, questioning the ethics and responsibility of continuing the experiment.
• 🔌 The experimenter insisted on continuing, telling the teachers that they must proceed regardless of the learner's reactions, leading to internal conflict among participants.
• 👥 The study revealed disturbing insights into obedience to authority, showing that people are willing to inflict harm on others when directed by an authoritative figure.
• ⚖️ The results raised serious questions about human nature, authority, and morality, suggesting that individuals may act against their conscience under pressure from a legitimate authority.

Q & A

What was the main purpose of the experiment conducted in May 1962 at Yale University?

The experiment aimed to study the effects of punishment on learning, specifically how people react to punishment during the learning process and how they follow commands from authority figures.

How were the subjects for the experiment recruited, and what was their background?

The subjects were 40 males between the ages of 20 and 50, residing in the Greater New Haven area. They were recruited through newspaper advertisements and direct mail solicitation. Their backgrounds ranged from corporation presidents to plumbers, with varying levels of education, including some with doctorate degrees.

What role did the 'teacher' play in the experiment?

The 'teacher' was responsible for reading word pairs to the 'learner' and administering electric shocks whenever the learner gave an incorrect answer. The teacher was instructed to increase the intensity of the shocks with each wrong answer.

What was the role of the 'learner' in the experiment?

The 'learner' was actually an accomplice of the experimenter. Their role was to pretend to be receiving shocks and to respond to the 'teacher’s' instructions, although no real shocks were administered.

How did the experimenter instruct the teacher regarding the shock levels?

The experimenter told the teacher to administer higher levels of shocks each time the learner answered incorrectly. The teacher was urged to continue increasing the shocks despite the learner's apparent discomfort and protests.

How did the teacher feel about administering shocks, especially at higher levels?

Many teachers expressed discomfort and reluctance to continue administering shocks, especially as the voltage increased. They voiced concerns about the learner's well-being but were urged to continue by the experimenter.

How many of the subjects administered the highest shock level despite the learner’s protests?

Contrary to predictions that only a small fraction would go to the highest shock level, about 50% of the subjects obeyed the experimenter’s commands fully and administered the maximum 450-volt shock.

What predictions did psychiatrists make about the behavior of subjects in the experiment?

Psychiatrists predicted that only a little more than one-tenth of one percent of subjects would administer the highest shock on the board. This was significantly lower than the actual results, where 50% of subjects complied with the commands to deliver the maximum shocks.

What does the experiment suggest about human nature and authority?

The experiment suggests that a substantial proportion of people are willing to obey authority figures, even when it involves harming others. This highlights concerns about how individuals may follow commands from legitimate authorities without questioning the morality or consequences of their actions.

What concerns did the results of the experiment raise for the experimenter?

The results were disturbing to the experimenter, as they raised the possibility that humans might not resist cruelty and inhumane treatment when directed by authority figures. This prompted questions about the potential for governments or other powerful institutions to command harmful actions from individuals.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 The Yale Experiment Begins

In May 1962, a psychological experiment is conducted at Yale University involving 40 male subjects from various backgrounds. The subjects are assigned the roles of 'teachers' or 'learners.' The experiment investigates the effects of punishment on learning, using electric shocks as the form of punishment. The 'teacher' administers shocks to the 'learner' when they make a mistake. The experimenter guides the 'teacher' on how to deliver shocks, and both the subjects and researchers are keen to observe how punishment affects learning.

05:03

😲 Unexpected Obedience in the Experiment

Despite predictions from medical experts that very few would deliver the highest level of shocks, the experiment reveals that 50% of participants obey the commands to administer the maximum shock. The 'teachers' express discomfort as the 'learners' protest in pain, yet they continue administering shocks at the insistence of the experimenter. This raises concerns about the level of obedience individuals exhibit even when they believe they may be harming others.

10:04

🤯 Disturbing Observations of Human Behavior

The final reflection on the experiment emphasizes the unsettling results. The subjects' obedience to authority, even in the face of moral discomfort, shows that ordinary people are capable of performing inhumane actions when instructed by a legitimate authority. This raises serious questions about how individuals might behave under government orders, given its even greater authority and influence over people’s actions.

Keywords

💡Experiment

An organized procedure carried out under controlled conditions to test a hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact. In this script, the experiment involves subjects administering electric shocks to a 'learner' to test obedience to authority and the effects of punishment on learning.

💡Authority

A figure or institution that holds power and commands obedience. In the video, the 'teacher' subjects obey commands to continue administering shocks, despite their discomfort, because they believe the authority of the experimenter is legitimate and should be followed.

💡Obedience

The act of following orders or complying with instructions from an authority figure. The core of this experiment tests how far individuals will obey orders, even when those orders cause harm to others, revealing the impact of authoritative power over personal conscience.

💡Electric shocks

A form of punishment administered to the 'learner' by the 'teacher' in the experiment. These shocks increase in intensity with each wrong answer, serving as a measure of how far the subjects will go in obeying harmful commands.

💡Learner

An individual in the experiment pretending to be shocked. The learner is actually an accomplice, but the 'teacher' believes they are a real participant. The learner's role is critical to the study, as their reactions test the subject's limits of obedience.

💡Punishment

The consequence administered for incorrect answers in the form of electric shocks. The experiment explores whether punishment is an effective motivator for learning and how it impacts behavior when enforced by authority.

💡Conscience

A person's moral sense of right and wrong. In the experiment, subjects struggle between their conscience, which tells them to stop the shocks, and the experimenter's commands to continue. The study examines how authority can override individual conscience.

💡Legitimate authority

Authority perceived as valid or lawful. The experiment shows that as long as participants view the commands as coming from a legitimate source, they are likely to comply, even when those commands conflict with their personal ethics.

💡Discomfort

A feeling of unease or distress experienced by the subjects. As the voltage of the shocks increases, subjects express discomfort with the situation but continue to obey. This emotional tension is central to understanding human obedience in stressful situations.

💡Responsibility

The duty to take care of something or someone. In the experiment, subjects express concern for the well-being of the learner but are reassured that the experimenter will take full responsibility. This shifts the moral burden away from the subjects, making them more likely to obey harmful orders.

Highlights

An experiment was conducted in May 1962 at Yale University, involving 40 male subjects from various occupational and educational backgrounds.

The subjects were recruited via newspaper advertisements and direct mail solicitation, with participants ranging from corporate executives to plumbers.

The purpose of the experiment was to study the effect of punishment on learning, a topic for which there was little scientific evidence at the time.

Participants were divided into teachers and learners, with teachers administering electric shocks to learners for incorrect answers.

The experiment involved increasing the intensity of shocks after each incorrect answer, with the learner receiving painful shocks that escalated to dangerous levels.

Despite the learners' protests and visible discomfort, the teachers were instructed to continue the shocks by the experimenter.

The learners were actually accomplices of the experimenter, and the situation was rigged so that the teacher was always a naive subject.

A surprising result showed that 50% of the subjects obeyed the experimenter’s commands to administer the highest shock on the board.

Psychiatrists had predicted that only 0.1% of subjects would administer the highest shock, making the results unexpected and alarming.

The experiment demonstrated the power of authority in influencing individuals to commit potentially harmful acts against others.

Subjects expressed discomfort and moral hesitation during the experiment, questioning the responsibility for the learners' safety.

The experimenter's authority and insistence led many subjects to continue administering shocks, even against their personal judgment.

One subject raised concerns about the learner’s health, yet continued the experiment after being reassured by the experimenter.

The results raised disturbing questions about human nature and the potential for individuals to obey malevolent authority figures without conscience.

The experiment concludes with a reflection on how legitimate authority can compel ordinary people to perform brutal acts, emphasizing the ethical implications for society.

Transcripts

it is may 1962 an experiment is being

conducted in the elegant interaction

laboratory at Yale University the

subjects of 40 males between the ages of

20 and 50 residing in the Greater New

Haven area they were obtained by a

newspaper advertisement and direct mail

solicitation the subjects range in

occupation from corporation presidents

to good-humour men and plumbers and an

educational level from one who had not

finished elementary school two subjects

who have doctorate and other

professional degrees

I should like to tell both of you about

the memory project psychologists have

developed several theories to explain

how people learn various types of

material so the better-known theories

are treated in the book over there the

teaching and learning process by Cantor

one theory is that people learn things

correctly whenever they get punished for

making a mistake a common application of

this theory would be when parents thank

a child who does something wrong but

actually we know very little about the

effect of punishment on learning because

almost no truly scientific studies of

the made of it in human beings for

instance we saw how much punishment is

best for learning

now we don't how much difference it

makes it was giving the punishment what

an adult learns best from an older or a

younger person himself and many things

of this sort but what we're doing

project is bringing together a number of

adults of different occupations and ages

and we're asking some of them to be

teachers and some of you learners we

want to find out just what effect

different people have on each other as

teachers and learners and also what

effect punishment will have

learning the situation there fun glad I

wanted you to be the teacher here this

afternoon the other people learning this

machine generates electric shocks on

your press one of the switches all the

way down the learner gets a shock when

you release it the shock stops you see

like that the switch will remain in this

middle position after he released it to

show you which switches you've used on

the board of course if you were to press

any one of them again the learner would

get another shot all subjects are given

identical instructions and the sample

shock I'm going to ask you to close your

eyes and estimate the number of all to

receive in the sample shock do not open

your eyes until I tell you to do so

please close them now okay you may open

your eyes and using the voltage scale up

here would you estimate for me the

number of volts you receive please you

may also use the verbal designation

slight mutter so on so forth to help Sam

on a number please about 75 I'm actually

it was 45 here although it may it seems

stronger because of the electrode paste

which provides a perfect contact

all right let's go into our instructions

we will begin with this test you will

read each pair of words in this list

once to the learner until you read

through the entire list direct your

voice toward that microphone as the

rooms of partly soundproof after you

read through the list once you will go

on to the next page and here starting

from line hey you read the word in large

letters along with each of the other

words in the line for example the first

line you read blue boy girl grass hat

now after you read the four choices

learner pushes one of the switches on

the board in front of him and the number

he has selected a light up in this box

one two three or four now if he gives

the correct answer you say correct and

go on to the next line the correct

answers underlined is also indicated in

the right margin yeah if he were to

indicate the wrong answer you would say

wrong then tell him the number of volts

are going to give him

then give him the punishment and read

the correct word pair once and then go

on to the next line for example if he

indicated three for blue you would say

wrong 15 volts we press and release the

switch three blue girl and then go on to

the next line nice now each time he

gives the wrong answer you move up one

switch on the shock generator and it's

important that you follow this procedure

exactly so to help you let me go through

it again very quickly I would suggest

you read the list and the test at a

brisk pace to keep it moving

the victim was an accomplice of the

experimenter the drawing was rigged so

that the naive subject was always the

teacher and the accomplice always became

a learner situation how many do you

think would just go right on to the end

and mr. wallace's mr. wallace were up

there and say mr. Williams for some

reason or others said keep going you're

asking me how many well firstly having

yeah one or two you'd be lucky forty

psychiatrists at a leading Medical

School were also asked to predict the

performance of one hundred hypothetical

subjects they predicted that only a

little more than one-tenth of one

percent of the subjects would administer

the highest shock on the board yet

actually 50% of the subjects obey the

experimenters commands fully and the

experiment depicted in this film

[Music]

continued please line

there's a lot of them heart condition -

I'm gonna go just continue please

sharp axe needle stick blade

ah

please continue

nealy and then I got a shot underneath a

said before the shocks may be painful

they I'm not leaning they're hollering

he can't stand it what if something

happened so on the experiment requires

that you continue to jail but I'm not

gonna get that man sick of that

I mean he's hotter than that I wasn't

learner likes it or not we must go on

until I don't know all the world tried

refused to take the responsibility I'm

getting hurt in that I'm not that I mean

he's under Hollerin it's absolutely

essential that you continue teacher

there's too many left here I mean Jesus

he gets wrong here that's too many of

them left I mean who's gonna take the

responsibility if anything happens to

that gentleman I'm responsible for

anything that happens here continue play

an excellent slow wrong answer is neck

free other bones tell you the next word

is green play green grass hi Inc Apple

if the learner doesn't answer in a

reasonable time about four or five

seconds consider the answers are wrong

and follow the same procedures you have

been doing for wrong answers say wrong

tell them the number of volts given the

punishments are in the correct answer

continue please man that nice and bold

dollar necklace moon paint sometimes

that I man in it you better check it out

I'm sorry you want to answer me or

nothing please continue come on please

you accept all the responsibility the

responsibility is mine

correct please the line great woman

soldier dog horse answer is woman owner

50 balls that's it now continue using

the last switch on the board please the

450 switch for each wrong answer

continue please no answer please

continue the next word is white I think

you should look in on oh please not once

we've started the Explorer what have

attacked or something that the

experiment requires that we continue go

on Donna don't the man's help mean

anything whether the learner likes it or

not we might be dead in there I mean

some people can't take this job sir

please you have to be ruled but I mean I

think you shouldn't look in on them

well I mean all you got to do is look at

the door I don't get no answer no noise

something might think it's happening to

the gentleman and there's that we must

continue go on please you know I can't

give them what 450 volts have you shot

now that's correct

continue the next word is white white

balls I'm actually short sentence movie

earth time I excuse me teacher we'll

have to discontinue the experiment I'd

like to ask you a few questions if I may

how do you feel I think about right but

I don't like what's happened that I've

fallen there he's been hounding we had

to keep giving him chat I didn't like

that one bit I mean he wanted to get out

and he just kept going kept her own

phone and 50 both I don't like that do

you want even look

well who was actually pushing this wish

I was but he kept insisting I told him

no but he said it gotta keep going I

told him it's time we stop though he got

up to 195 210 volts you won't let me I

wanted to stop many people not knowing

much about the experiment claimed that

subjects who go to the end of the board

are sadistic nothing could be more

foolish as an overall characterization

of these persons the context of their

action must always be considered the

individual upon entering the laboratory

becomes integrated into a situation that

carries its own momentum the results as

I observe them in the laboratory are

disturbing they raised the possibility

that Yuman nature cannot be counted on

to insulate men from brutality and

inhumane treatment at the direction of

malevolent Authority a substantial

proportion of people do what they are

told to do irrespective of the content

of the act and without limitations of

conscience so long as they perceive that

the command comes from a legitimate

Authority if in this study an anonymous

experimenter could successfully command

adults to subdue a 50 year old man and

force on him painful electric shocks

against his protests one can only wonder

what government with its vastly greater

authority and prestige can command of

its subjects