Modified: 2007-01-21
Picture this: It is the early 1960s and you are a student at Yale University. You volunteer to participate in an experiment on learning and teaching. Another student volunteer arrives at the lab at the same time. Drawing a slip of paper from a hat makes you the “teacher” and him (At that point, Yale did not accept female students.) the “learner.” The learner is taken to a nearby room, but you can hear him easily.
As teacher, you sit in front of a wide instrument panel with many switches.
Your task is to ask the learner questions and if the learner gets the answer wrong, flip a switch that delivers an electric shock. Each switch is labeled with a voltage; the lowest is 15 volts and the highest is 450 volts. Beneath the switches are warnings that range from “Mild Shock” on the left to “Danger: Severe Shock” on the right. The experimenter senses your concern and tells you not to worry. He gives you the 15–volt shock that is delivered by the first switch. The mild shock is not very painful. The experimenter instructs you to administer a shock to the learner for each incorrect answer, increasing the shock level each time.
-------Milgram's Apparatus--------
The experiment starts and after a few trials, the learner makes his first mistakes. He seems not to mind the pain from the lower voltage shocks. Later however, he begins to complain. When you flip the switch labeled 180 volts, he yells that he can no longer stand the pain. You look at the experimenter nearby, but he says to continue. Reluctantly, you go on. When you flip the switch labeled 270 volts, the learner screams in agony. You look at the experimenter again; he says you must continue. Soon afterward, the learner stops answering your questions. You don’t know what to do when the learner doesn’t respond. The experimenter tells you to treat no response as an error and to deliver the appropriate shock. Finally, you get to the last switch and pull it. The study is finally over. You feel drained and tired. You also feel lucky; except for the luck of the draw, that could have been you in there.
