WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some things never change. Scientists said on Friday they had replicated an experiment in which people obediently delivered painful shocks to others if encouraged to do so by authority figures. Seventy percent of volunteers continued to administer electrical shocks — or at least they believed they were doing so — even after an actor claimed they were painful, Jerry Burger of Santa Clara University in California found.
“What we found is validation of the same argument — if you put people into certain situations, they will act in surprising, and maybe often even disturbing, ways,” Burger said in a telephone interview. “This research is still relevant.” Burger was replicating an experiment published in 1961 by Yale University professor Stanley Milgram, in which volunteers were asked to deliver electric “shocks” to other people if they answered certain questions incorrectly. Milgram found that, after hearing an actor cry out in pain at 150 volts, 82.5 percent of participants continued administering shocks, most to the maximum 450 volts.
The experiment surprised psychologists and no one has tried to replicate it because of the distress suffered by many of the volunteers who believed they were shocking another person.
“When you hear the man scream and say, ‘let me out, I can’t stand it,’ that is the point when the real stress that people criticized Milgram for kicked in,” Burger said. “It was a very, very, very stressful experience for many of the participants. That is the reason no one can ethically replicate the experiment today.”Burger found no differences among his volunteers, aged 20 to 81, and carefully screened them to be average representatives of the U.S. public.
“if you put people into certain situations, they will act in surprising, and maybe often even disturbing, ways,”
No shit. We are animals and if you corner an animal, it will lash out. Even a dainty little females.
#1,
MAKE a bet?
This is why I didnt get MANY of the jobs I applied for..
Q: do you believe there is a reason to STEAL?
A: YES.
#2, yes we will..
ANIMALS at heart.
And if you dont SIT down and talk to us, as your PET, and tell us WHY we were FIRED..WE MAY come back with a GUN and SHOOT YOU..
And YES we can be trained. But as with ANY pet, you start EARLY and are consistent..
This remind you of our educational facilities??
AND I HATE DUMB PETS
Sounds to me like another opportunity for reality TV. “American Dungeon”. Someone trademark that, send me a check.
Just in time for the holiday season. BTW the more consumer goods one can purchase directly determines your quantitative self-worth ratio.
The other 30% don’t need to be ordered? They just do it for kicks?
The Milgram experiment is standard fare in ethics research as an example of really bad, deceptive, research. Replicating this is terribly stupid, and likely a violation of federal human subjects research standards.
#7 – in other words, you never read or studied the original work by Milgram.
Having lost two relatives who stayed in the war zone “because these are our friends who would never harm us” (simplified translation of their own words), just to never be seen again after being taken to the “safe area” (read: concentration camp at the local soccer stadium), I tend to believe this research and not “general human kindness”.
I’m surprised. ONLY 70%.
More shocking than a willingness to hurt other people is the unbounded willingness of 50% of the Americans to hurt THEMSELVES by voting Republican.
Appeal to wish fantasy and propaganda. Not as strong as desire to hurt other people.
The technical figures don’t make sense. It takes just a few milliamps of current to induce arrythmia in the heart and cause death. People have been killed with as little as 30 volts. Wouldn’t the people being tested realize this?
[Comment deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
#11 – in the test, no one was actually hurt. The test subjects were actors – they were told to act like they were being shocked.
It was the people that were administering the shock that were the “real” test subjects. When they talk about the experience being stressful, they are referring to the people administering the shocks who genuinely thought they were shocking people – and yet did it anyway.
Why is torture bad?
Bobbo’s been torturing us for months and he wasn’t even asked to.
#14 Phantom Limb Syndrome
Of course. Similarly, 68% of people questioned would willingly work for the government in any capacity whatsoever, happily make people’s lives miserable, exert as much power over others as possible, take no responsibility for their actions, retire early with full medical care, and feel no remorse whatsoever. In fact, the ability to feel entitlement is a plus for these particular superior people. Closely related to this group are the folks willing to receive Government funding or welfare.
Bush and Chaney have been sanctioning tortue for years. I wish I had my chance on them.
#6 – Bob
>>The Milgram experiment is standard fare in
>>ethics research as an example of really bad,
>>deceptive, research.
How so? I’ve heard it criticized for being mean to the shockers, when they realized they would virtually electrocute their fellow students if they were ordered to do so by a perceived authority figure.
I’ve never heard anyone criticize the experimental design though, or question the results of Milgram’s study.
I saw a film of it in psych class in college (where the “obedience to authority” experiment was discussed in some detail), and it was quite compelling, with Stanley Milgram sternly saying to the dupes “Investigator, shock the subject!”.
>>Replicating this is terribly stupid
Why? No one has ever tried to replicate it, they just talk about it all the time. Now it’s been replicated. And it also debunks the notion that people in the early 60’s were more susceptible to “authority figures” than they are today What’s stupid about that.
>>and likely a violation of federal human
>>subjects research standards.
Obviously not. The experiment was approved by an institutional review board, by the college, and was published in a peer-reviewed journal (the official journal of the American Psychological Association, in fact).
Fantastic! The Milgram experiment, along with the Stanford “prison simulator” experiment were standard fare in psychology classes back when I was in school (early 80s). At that time, the consensus was that, out of concern for the subjects, nobody would ever attempt to repeat them.
But the lessons learned are absolutely invaluable. Deep down, people are rotten, cruel, vindictive, self serving pigs.
And #11, I don’t see where it says how many amps (or miliamps) were supposedly administered, only volts. As anyone who has ever gotten stung by a car ignition coil can tell you, while volts may sting, you can take a few thousands without any lingering effects. Add some amperage, and of course, you are the next best thing to Ethyl Rosenberg.
I forgot to add that it is interesting that the results were so similar to Milgram’s, as one would have thought that 45 years worth of the 1960s social revolution, the exposure of hundreds of cases of unbelievable misuse of authority, and a much greater emphasis on individuality might have changed things.
But I guess sheep are sheep!
#2 “if you corner an animal” ?? Who got cornered?
Why are you wasting precious electrons commenting, if you don’t even read the articles?
This experimeent teaches us that the responsibilty for torture lies at the highest levels of command – the “authority figures”, not at the “foot soldier” level.
Blind, unquestioning obedience to the Ultimate Authority is an inherent part of most religions. It’s just lucky for humanity that people claiming to be oracles of the Creator have never misused their position to accomplish their own ends.
No one has to ask me to torture the sheep around here. I enjoy it.
Happy holidays.
#24 – GtDI
>>Blind, unquestioning obedience to the
>>Ultimate Authority is an inherent part of
>>most religions.
Blind, unquestioning obedience to authority is an inherent part of human nature 70% of the time.
This has nothing to do with religion. Save your believer-bashing for a thread where it makes some sense.
Talking about authority and its abuses has EVERYTHING to do with religion. Thanks for your input.
#28 – GtDI
>>Talking about authority and its abuses has
>>EVERYTHING to do with religion.
Maybe in your hate-filled little mind, where every believer is fueled on meth and man-ass, but not for regular people.
You really ought to get out more. Not everything is as it’s portrayed on dvorak dot org slash blog.
Mister Mustard, I must have touched an uncomfortable note for you to respond with such vitriol. Perhaps your god can help you work through it in the spirit of the season.
If Madoff’s the test subject, I’d fry him to a cinder…
#30 – GtDI
>>Mister Mustard, I must have touched an
>>uncomfortable note for you to respond with
>>such vitriol.
Not at all, Dangerous. Anyone who spends any time in dvorak dot org slash blog knows that this place is like ancient Rome for Christians (or most other religions); they try to feed us to the lions. Atheism is really the only politically correct belief in this den of iniquity.