In 1962, the world was wondering – again - why? and how?

The experiment Stanley Milgram, Yale psychologist To what extent do human beings unquestioningly follow order? 40 volunteers: told they were helping to ‘teach’ memory and learning The ‘learner’ was an actor with a ‘weak heart’ The ‘experimenter’ gave the orders

Reluctant volunteers told: ‘Please continue.’ ‘The experiment requires that you continue.’ ‘It is absolutely essential that you continue.’ ‘You have no other choice, you must continue.’

How far would they go? Milgram asked academics and students from the university whether they thought the volunteers would continue administering electric shocks Almost no one believed they would do so

The results 65% (26 out of 40) of the volunteers preceded all the way to the maximum 450 volts charge, although many were obviously uncomfortable doing so Only one volunteer refused outright to go over 300 volts

Milgram’s conclusion: Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.

Experimental repetition The experiment has been repeated throughout the world For example, Sheridan and King believed that the volunteers in Milgram’s original experiment knew that it was a fake experiment They used puppies hooked up to the electric wires, and administered real shocks 20 out of 26 of their ‘teachers’ obeyed the commands to apply the shock to the animals.

Epilogue: The Strip search prank call scam 1992-2004 Involved a man calling restaurants and grocery stores claiming to be working for the authorities Around 70 incidents occurred before a man was arrested (though charges were later dropped)

What happened? In November, 2000, a McDonald’s manager in Kentucky was told by the caller to undress before a customer The caller told her that the customer was a suspected sex offender and that she had to serve as bait Undercover officers would arrest the customer as soon as he showed an interest in her In June, 2003, a Taco Bell manager in Juneau, Alaska was told by the caller to strip-search a 14 year old female customer and perform cavity searches on her The caller claimed he was working with a company to investigate drug abuse