Milgram Experiment real footage
Summary
TLDRThe 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
🔬 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.
😲 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.
🤯 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Experiment
💡Authority
💡Obedience
💡Electric shocks
💡Learner
💡Punishment
💡Conscience
💡Legitimate authority
💡Discomfort
💡Responsibility
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
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