10 Psychological Experiments You Would Never Believe Happened
Summary
TLDRThis 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
- π§ 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.
- π 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.
- π» 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.
- π The Robbers Cave experiment illustrated how competition and conflict between groups can be resolved through cooperation when faced with a common challenge.
- π¦ The ape and child experiment by Winthrop Kellogg suggested that human children can learn animal behaviors, highlighting the importance of environmental influences on development.
- π§ 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.
- ποΈβπ¨οΈ Jane Elliott's class divided experiment taught students about the harmful effects of racism and discrimination by assigning superiority based on eye color.
- π£οΈ The Monster Study by Wendell Johnson showed the detrimental effects of negative reinforcement and the benefits of positive therapy on speech impediments.
- β‘οΈ The Milgram experiment revealed the extent to which people will obey authority figures, even to the point of causing harm to others.
- π« 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
π§ 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.
π» 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.
π 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.
ποΈβπ¨οΈ 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.
π 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Conformity
π‘Patience
π‘Social Conditioning
π‘Obedience to Authority
π‘Stress and Coping
π‘Imitation
π‘Group Dynamics
π‘Positive Reinforcement
π‘Brainwashing
π‘Self-Esteem
π‘Behavioral Modification
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
[Music]
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
olΓ‘ 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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