The Milgram Experiment: The Terrifying Limit Of Human Obedience

The Milgram experiment, conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1961 and 1962, was designed to study conformity and obedience. What inspired it was the question of fascist obedience in Hitler’s Germany, and the frightening human tendency to carry out orders simply because they come from authority.

Participants were ordered to give electric shocks to a student every time he gave a wrong answer. They continued increasing the voltage to extremely high levels, revealing just how far unconditional obedience could go.

Even reading about the experiment and its results can leave a lasting psychological effect. It can shake a person’s faith in humanity in a deep and uncomfortable way.

How The Experiment Was Set Up

The setup of the experiment was roughly as follows.

The participant arrived at the place where the experiment would be carried out. Beside him was a smiling, slightly overweight man in his late forties. The participant assumed that this man was another volunteer. The people running the experiment explained that it was a study about learning. They then acted as if the roles were being assigned randomly between the two men.

In reality, the actual participant was always placed in the role of the “teacher,” while the man in his forties, who was part of the research team, acted as the “learner.”

The real participant and the other man were then separated by a partition.

The teacher had to ask the learner a series of questions related to word pairs. Every time the learner gave a wrong answer, the teacher was required to administer an electric shock. With each wrong answer, the voltage increased by 15 volts. To make the situation feel real, the participant was even given a sample shock so he could feel how painful it might be.

Distance Made The Situation Even More Brutal

One of the factors that made the experiment more disturbing was the lack of direct eye contact between the teacher and the learner. The teacher could not truly see the person he was supposedly harming. He could only hear his voice and follow the signals in front of him.

This distance made cruelty easier.

The experiment began.

The first few answers were correct. The participant could see from the lights in front of him whether the learner was answering correctly or not, but he still had no visual contact with the man himself. Then the learner gave his first wrong answer, and the participant had to deliver a 75-volt shock.

In reality, there was no electric shock at all. The man in the other room was an actor. But the participant was convinced that the shocks were real.

The Four Sentences That Pushed People Forward

Whenever the participant hesitated about increasing the voltage, the experimenter used the following statements in sequence.

“Please continue.”

“The experiment requires that you continue.”

“It is absolutely essential that you continue.”

“You have no other choice, you must go on.”

Each time the participant hesitated, these sentences were repeated in order, beginning with the first and moving to the next if necessary.

The Voltage Rose, And So Did The Horror

At 75 volts, the man let out a sharp cry.

At 90 volts, the same sound was heard again.

At 105 volts, the reaction became louder.

At 120 volts, the man said that it was becoming very painful.

From this point onward, the participant could begin to hesitate about continuing.

At 135 volts, a strong groan was heard.

At 150 volts, the learner began shouting and demanded that the experiment be stopped. He said that he had a heart condition. He said he did not want to continue.

At 165 volts, he screamed.

At 180 volts, he shouted again that he could not bear the pain and could not continue.

At 195 volts, he screamed continuously, begging to be let out and saying that his heart was tightening.

At 210 volts, he shouted violently, saying, “I am not answering anymore, let me out.”

At 225, 240, and 255 volts, his voice rose higher and higher.

At 270 volts, he began crying in pain.

At 285 volts, he screamed.

At 300 volts, he shouted and begged for the shocks to stop.

At 315 volts, he was pleading at the very limit of his voice.

At 330 volts, he kept begging for them to stop and again said that his heart was in distress.

The Results Were Worse Than Most People Expect

The results of the experiment were horrifying. Very few participants refused to continue giving shocks. Most of them kept obeying the instructions, even after hearing the cries of pain coming from the other room.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, more than sixty percent of participants continued all the way to 450 volts, even though they believed that the person on the other side was a heart patient.

Once people are placed inside a chain of command and given firm orders, only a small number refuse to carry them out.

That is what made the Milgram experiment unforgettable. It suggested that under authority, many ordinary people are capable of going much further than they would ever like to believe.