0:00:00.000,0:00:03.795 NARRATOR: In a unique period from the early '60s to the early '70s, 0:00:03.795,0:00:07.220 a group of social scientists conducted a series of experiments, 0:00:07.220,0:00:09.900 examining the nature of human behavior and 0:00:09.900,0:00:13.880 its relationship to social conventions and situations. 0:00:14.350,0:00:16.980 PATIENT SEATED IN DENTAL CHAIR: In this setting, I allow things to be done to 0:00:16.980,0:00:18.920 me that I wouldn't allow in any other context. 0:00:18.920,0:00:23.280 The dentist is about to put an electric drill into my mouth. 0:00:24.710,0:00:30.440 MAN SEATED IN BARBER SHOP: In this setting, I willingly expose my throat to a man with a razor blade. 0:00:32.060,0:00:36.880 NARRATOR: Stanley Milgram, one of the most influential social psychologists of the time, 0:00:36.880,0:00:39.460 was particularly fascinated with the dangers of 0:00:39.460,0:00:42.745 group behavior and blind obedience to authority. 0:00:42.745,0:00:45.760 STANLEY MILGRAM: What is there in human nature that allows 0:00:45.760,0:00:49.020 an individual to act without any restraints whatsoever, 0:00:49.020,0:00:52.780 so that he can act inhumanely, harshly, 0:00:52.780,0:00:57.380 severely, and in no way limited by feelings of compassion or conscience? 0:00:57.380,0:01:02.700 These are questions [INAUDIBLE]. MAN PARTAKING IN EXPERIMENT: But he might be dead in there. EXPERIMENTER: The experiment requires that you continue, please. 0:01:02.700,0:01:06.440 MAN PARTAKING IN EXPERIMENT: Three hundred and thirty volts. 0:01:06.440,0:01:08.810 NARRATOR: The experiments that Milgram and others conducted were 0:01:08.810,0:01:15.010 controversial and for ethical reasons may never be conducted again. 0:01:15.010,0:01:18.770 Yet the results of those experiments remain groundbreaking, 0:01:18.770,0:01:22.130 profoundly revealing about the tensions between the individual and 0:01:22.130,0:01:26.630 society and increasingly relevant to contemporary life. 0:01:31.770,0:01:37.800 In 1962, Stanley Milgram shocked the world with his study on obedience. 0:01:37.800,0:01:39.740 To test his theories, 0:01:39.740,0:01:44.800 he invented a new [INAUDIBLE] that would become a window into human cruelty. 0:01:46.280,0:01:50.040 In ascending order, a row of buttons marked 0:01:50.040,0:01:54.000 the amount of voltage one person would inflict upon another. 0:01:55.720,0:02:00.940 Milgram's original motive for the experiment was to understand the unthinkable— 0:02:00.940,0:02:05.880 how the German people could permit the extermination of the Jews. 0:02:08.570,0:02:12.750 STANLEY INGRAM: When I learn of incidents such as the massacre of millions of men, 0:02:12.750,0:02:16.310 women, and children perpetrated by the Nazis in World War II, 0:02:16.310,0:02:18.190 how is it possible, I ask myself, that 0:02:18.190,0:02:21.970 ordinary people who are courteous and decent in everyday life, 0:02:21.970,0:02:24.730 can act callously, inhumanely, 0:02:24.730,0:02:27.710 without any limitations of conscience? 0:02:27.860,0:02:30.940 Now there are some studies in my discipline, 0:02:30.940,0:02:35.180 social psychology that seem to provide a clue to this question. 0:02:36.750,0:02:39.840 The problem I wanted to study was a little different. 0:02:39.840,0:02:42.960 It went a little bit further. It was the issue of authority. 0:02:42.960,0:02:45.440 Under what conditions would a person obey 0:02:45.440,0:02:48.680 authority who commanded actions that went against conscience? 0:02:48.680,0:02:53.150 These are exactly the questions that I wanted to investigate at Yale University. 0:02:54.590,0:02:57.530 PRESENTER: It is May 1962, 0:02:57.530,0:02:59.450 an experiment is being conducted in 0:02:59.450,0:03:02.810 the Elegant Interaction Laboratory at Yale University. 0:03:02.810,0:03:04.710 The subjects are 40 males 0:03:04.710,0:03:08.330 between the ages of 20 and 50 residing in the Greater New Haven area. 0:03:08.330,0:03:12.510 EXPERIMENTER: Psychologists have developed several theories to explain how people learn. 0:03:12.510,0:03:14.230 One theory is that people learn things 0:03:14.230,0:03:16.660 correctly whenever they get punished for making a mistake. 0:03:16.660,0:03:20.490 NARRATOR: Forty years later, Milgram's infamous experiment, "Obedience", 0:03:20.490,0:03:23.575 is still taught in classrooms around the world. 0:03:23.575,0:03:27.570 EXPERIMENTER: Would you open those and tell me which of you is which, please? 0:03:27.570,0:03:29.375 TEACHER: Teacher. LEARNER: Learner. 0:03:29.375,0:03:31.600 EXPERIMENTER: Now the next thing we'll have to do is set 0:03:31.600,0:03:34.650 the learner up so that he can get some sort of punishment. 0:03:34.650,0:03:36.180 DR. THOMAS BLASS: What inspired Milgram, 0:03:36.180,0:03:37.740 I would say there were a number of factors. 0:03:37.740,0:03:39.400 One of them is he was very ambitious. 0:03:39.400,0:03:41.980 He wanted to make a mark in social psychology, 0:03:41.980,0:03:44.580 and as he wrote to one friend, 0:03:44.580,0:03:48.690 he wanted to come up with the boldest experiment that he could think of. 0:03:48.690,0:03:51.520 EXPERIMENTER: Would you roll up your right sleeve, please? 0:03:51.920,0:03:56.320 This electrode is connected to the shock generator in the next room. 0:03:56.320,0:04:02.270 This electrode paste is to provide a good contact to avoid any blister or burn. 0:04:02.270,0:04:05.665 Do you have any questions now before we go into the next room? 0:04:05.665,0:04:09.185 LEARNER: About two years ago, I was in the Veterans Hospital in West Haven. 0:04:09.185,0:04:11.890 While there, they detected a heart condition. 0:04:11.890,0:04:15.485 Nothing serious, but as long as I'm having these shocks, 0:04:15.485,0:04:17.980 how strong are they? How dangerous are they? 0:04:17.980,0:04:19.830 EXPERIMENTER: Well, no, although they may be painful, 0:04:19.830,0:04:23.025 they're not dangerous. Anything else? 0:04:23.025,0:04:24.990 LEARNER: No, that's all. 0:04:24.990,0:04:27.290 EXPERIMENTER: Teacher, would you take the test and be seated in 0:04:27.290,0:04:29.310 front of the shock generator, please, in the next room? 0:04:29.310,0:04:31.760 NARRATOR: But the experiment was rigged. 0:04:31.760,0:04:35.130 PRESENTER: The victim was an accomplice of the experiment. 0:04:35.130,0:04:37.090 The victim, according to plan, 0:04:37.090,0:04:39.030 provided many wrong answers. 0:04:39.030,0:04:41.770 His verbal responses were standardized on tape, 0:04:41.770,0:04:46.055 and each protest was coordinated to a particular voltage level on the shock generator. 0:04:46.055,0:04:48.250 STANLEY MILGRAM: Now, as teacher, you are seated in front of 0:04:48.250,0:04:52.165 this impressive-looking instrument—the shock generator. 0:04:52.165,0:04:58.050 Its essential feature is a line of switches that goes from 15 volts to 450 volts 0:04:58.050,0:05:04.100 and a set of verbal designations that goes from slight shock to moderate shock, strong shock, 0:05:04.100,0:05:06.700 very strong shock, intense shock, 0:05:06.700,0:05:09.430 extreme intensity shock and finally, 0:05:09.430,0:05:12.560 XXX danger severe shock. 0:05:12.560,0:05:15.070 Your job, the experimenter explains to you, 0:05:15.070,0:05:17.440 is the word pair test. 0:05:17.440,0:05:19.360 If he gets each answer correctly, 0:05:19.360,0:05:21.375 fine, you move on to the next pair. 0:05:21.375,0:05:23.280 But if he makes a mistake, 0:05:23.280,0:05:25.740 you were instructed to give an electric shock, 0:05:25.740,0:05:28.415 starting with 15 volts. 0:05:28.415,0:05:33.245 You increase the shock one step on each error. 0:05:33.245,0:05:37.230 TEACHER: Incorrect. You'll now get a shock of 105. 0:05:38.090,0:05:44.535 Hard hit. Just how far can you go on this thing? 0:05:44.535,0:05:46.305 EXPERIMENTER: As far as it's necessary. 0:05:46.305,0:05:48.705 TEACHER: What do you mean "as far as is necessary"? 0:05:48.705,0:05:51.340 DR. THOMAS BLASS: Milgram was very much aware that 0:05:51.340,0:05:55.640 obedience is a necessary ingredient for society to function. 0:05:55.640,0:05:58.375 But he focused on the darker side of obedience. 0:05:58.375,0:06:04.070 TEACHER: Incorrect, 150 volts. Sad faced. 0:06:04.070,0:06:06.155 LEARNER: That's all. Get me out of here. 0:06:06.155,0:06:07.790 I told you I have heart trouble, 0:06:07.790,0:06:09.390 my heart's starting to bother me now. 0:06:09.390,0:06:11.710 EXPERIMENTER: It's absolutely essential that you continue. 0:06:11.710,0:06:13.425 You have no other choice, teacher. 0:06:13.425,0:06:15.525 TEACHER: Oh, I have a lot of choices. 0:06:15.525,0:06:19.530 My number one choice is that I wouldn't go on if I thought he was being harmed. 0:06:19.530,0:06:23.850 STANLEY MILGRAM: Now, this man makes disobedience seem a very rational and simple deed. 0:06:23.850,0:06:28.555 Now other subjects respond quite differently to the experimenter's authority. 0:06:28.555,0:06:33.290 TEACHER: Wrong. It's hair. 75 volts. [LAUGHTER] 0:06:33.720,0:06:37.635 EXPERIMENTER: Please continue. 0:06:37.635,0:06:40.670 DR THOMAS BLASS: Some psychologists were troubled by the ethics of it. 0:06:40.670,0:06:46.330 Many, if not most subjects found it a highly stressful, conflicted experience. 0:06:46.330,0:06:50.705 People are stammering, stuttering, laughing hysterically, inappropriately. 0:06:50.705,0:06:52.950 TEACHER: One hundred and fifty volts. 0:06:53.920,0:06:56.360 LEARNER: [SHOUT OF PAIN] Experimenter, that's all. 0:06:56.360,0:06:58.250 Get me out of here. 0:06:58.250,0:07:00.980 I told you I have heart trouble, my heart's starting to bother me now. 0:07:00.980,0:07:03.580 Get me out of here, please. Let me out of here. 0:07:03.580,0:07:04.860 You have no right to keep me here. 0:07:04.860,0:07:07.600 Let me out. Let me out of here. Let me out. Let me out of here. EXPERIMENTER: Continue, please. Go on. [SHOUTING] 0:07:10.700,0:07:14.540 DR. THOMAS BLASS: Clearly when we say people went to the top of the shock board, 0:07:14.540,0:07:17.865 it wasn't like they were going blindly, sadistically. 0:07:17.865,0:07:19.960 People went, stop and go, stop and go. 0:07:19.960,0:07:21.720 They were in a state of conflict, 0:07:21.720,0:07:23.815 which created a tremendous amount of stress. 0:07:23.815,0:07:25.255 That was the main critique. 0:07:25.255,0:07:27.560 TEACHER: This will be at 330. [SCREAM] [NOISE] 0:07:30.560,0:07:36.160 HERBERT WINER: As his voice began to show increasing frustration, 0:07:36.160,0:07:44.000 so did I. I was really in a state of real conflict and agitation. 0:07:44.000,0:07:47.100 One of Stanley Milgram's basic contributions 0:07:47.100,0:07:51.020 was that you don't ask people what they would do, 0:07:51.020,0:07:53.920 given this hypothetical situation, 0:07:53.920,0:07:56.590 you put them in the situation. 0:07:56.590,0:08:01.800 TEACHER: Wrong, that's 180 volts. 0:08:01.800,0:08:03.495 EXPERIMENTER: Please continue teacher. 0:08:03.495,0:08:05.590 TEACHER: A hundred and eighty volts. 0:08:07.880,0:08:09.660 LEARNER: Oh, I can't stand the pain. Get me out of here. 0:08:09.660,0:08:11.345 TEACHER: I can't stand it. I'm not going to kill that man. 0:08:11.345,0:08:13.060 DR. THOMAS BLASS: According to Milgram, 0:08:13.060,0:08:17.840 one of the things that's a prerequisite for carrying out acts that are evil 0:08:17.840,0:08:22.960 is to shed responsibility from your shoulders and hand it over to the person in charge. 0:08:22.960,0:08:26.340 TEACHER: Who's going to take responsibility if anything happens to that gentleman? 0:08:26.340,0:08:29.930 EXPERIMENTER: I'm responsible for anything that happens here. Continue, please. 0:08:29.930,0:08:31.720 TEACHER: Alright next one, slow. 0:08:31.720,0:08:34.640 DR THOMAS BLASS: They didn't hold any gun to anybody's head. 0:08:34.640,0:08:37.780 Just the fact that he conveyed a sense of authority. 0:08:37.780,0:08:43.290 Roughly 60, 65% of the people went all the way to the top of the shock board. 0:08:43.290,0:08:46.560 TEACHER: Four hundred and fifty volts. That's it. 0:08:46.560,0:08:48.870 EXPERIMENTER: Now, continue using the last switch on the board, 0:08:48.870,0:08:51.750 please, the 450 switch for each wrong answer. Continue, please. 0:08:51.750,0:08:52.980 TEACHER: I'm not getting no answer. 0:08:52.980,0:08:54.845 Don't the man's health mean anything? 0:08:54.845,0:08:56.390 EXPERIMENTER: Whether the learner likes it or not... 0:08:56.390,0:08:58.330 TEACHER: He might be dead in there. 0:08:58.330,0:08:59.650 HERBERT WINER: Milgram made the point, 0:08:59.650,0:09:01.250 I think, very effectively, 0:09:01.250,0:09:05.980 that the Nazis were all a bunch of psychopaths at Delson and 0:09:05.980,0:09:10.770 Dachau, a death camp from the middle class in New Haven. 0:09:10.770,0:09:12.540 ANOTHER EXPERIMENTER: Well, who was actually pushing the switch? 0:09:12.540,0:09:15.200 TEACHER: I was. But he kept insisting. 0:09:15.200,0:09:17.480 I told him no, but he said you got to keep going. 0:09:17.480,0:09:21.775 DR. THOMAS BLASS: What kind of obedience would Milgram get today if he were to do the experiment today? 0:09:21.775,0:09:23.180 FEMALE STUDENT: Probably about the same. 0:09:23.180,0:09:24.810 DR. THOMAS BLASS: Probably about the same. Why? 0:09:24.810,0:09:27.580 FEMALE STUDENT 1: I don't know. I think people are just inherently obedient. 0:09:27.580,0:09:30.300 FEMALE STUDENT 2: It just really shows how far human beings will 0:09:30.300,0:09:33.900 go to appease what they perceive to be a authority figure. 0:09:33.900,0:09:37.080 DR. THOMAS BLASS: Milgram has identified one of the constants, 0:09:37.080,0:09:38.980 one of the universals of social behavior. 0:09:38.980,0:09:42.700 The readiness to obey authority cuts across time. It's a constant. 0:09:42.700,0:09:46.420 The other outstanding and distinctive thing about the obedience experiment is how 0:09:46.420,0:09:50.440 much it has and keeps on permeating contemporary culture and thought. 0:09:50.440,0:09:54.130 It's still with us in very important way.