Milgram’s experiment is an experiment into human behavior. Test subjects are instructed to administer shocks of up to 450 volts to a fellow human being. People’s reactions were shocking, because how far can you go when something is someone else’s responsibility? After the experiment there was a lot of criticism, but there was also reference to Hitler’s followers.
Experiment
The Milgram experiment is an experiment described in 1963 by psychologist Stanley Milgram. The experiment was conducted in the United States at Yale University. A group of participants and a group of actors took part in the study. A participant and an actor both received a card with teacher and student on it. This happened supposedly randomly, but the researcher made sure that the actor always received the card with student. The researcher then told the participant and the actor that the study would be about the influence of punishment on learning.
Deliver shock
The actor then had to take a seat in a room separate from the participant. The participant received a number of cards with questions to ask the actor. For each incorrect answer, the participant had to deliver a shock to the actor. Each time this shock was fifteen volts higher than the previous shock. This should continue up to 450 volts. He could not see the actor, but he could hear his screams. In reality, the actor was not shocked at all, but a tape recorder was attached to the shock generator. It played sounds that had been pre-recorded. This way it looked like the participant was hurting the actor a lot, but in reality nothing happened. After a while the actor starts banging on the door and shouting that his heart is bothering him. Finally, the participant no longer hears any sound at all from the room where the actor is sitting.
Responsibility
At this point, many participants stopped delivering shocks. They told the researcher they didn’t want to do it anymore. The researcher then encouraged people to continue anyway. Many participants asked if they were not responsible for the consequences of this study. When the researcher said he would take responsibility, many people continued with the research.
How far do people go?
A number of people were asked in advance how they thought the participants would react. They thought that only a few would go on to 450 volts. The result of the investigation was shocking. More than 65 percent of the participants continued to 450 volts. Not one participant gave up for the three hundred volts.
Criticism
Nowadays there is a lot of criticism of the experiment. It would create emotional tension and reduce people’s self-esteem. After the experiment, participants were asked what they thought about the experiment. This gave a completely different picture of the experiment: more than 85 percent thought it was a positive experience.
Hitler
Nowadays many people say they do not understand why no one stood up to Hitler and many Germans even helped him betray their fellow countrymen. This experiment shows that people are capable of a lot when they feel that the responsibility lies with someone else. The researcher had a kind of position of power and therefore people very easily did what he asked them to do. This shows that it is not that difficult to get people to agree with you, even if you are capable of very bad things. Hitler had many followers who probably thought like the people in the experiment.