If you've attended one of our workshops or read our blog posts, you've probably heard about the infamous and illuminating Milgram experiments that were first conducted in the 1960s to explore our susceptibility in relinquishing our responsibility in the face of authority.
I've heard and read about the experiments many times, but the horror I felt from that was nothing compared to watching a replication of those experiments. In 2009 as part of a BBC series exploring violence, host Michael Portillo witnessed 12 people participating in an updated version of the experiment (tweaks were even made that you'd think would make participants even less likely to complete the experiment). These were modern-day Brits who have learned about the Jewish Holocaust, genocide, and war. Yet their results mirrored those of other experiments. The majority of participants completely relinquished their sense of responsibility and morality and "shocked" their "fellow participant" to the maximum.
Anyone who resisted or expressed concern was told by the "scientist" in the lab coat:
"The experiment requires that you continue." or "Please continue."
If they hesitated again, they were told:
"There's no lasting tissue damage." or "It's essential that you continue."
That's all it took. You could see the participants writhing in indecision and concern, but 9 of the 12 continued until the end.
Watch the video in 3 parts here:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
As host Michael Portillo said:
"When I started looking into this. I thought of violence as something other people did. And now I see for the first time that it's not some malevolent force out there; it's very much in us. In you, in me, in every one of us."
~ Marsha
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2 comments:
Thanks for sharing. I'm amazed that they were able to replicate the experiment, given how well known I thought it was.
It's interesting time for me as my mother was recently ranting about how she just knows she wouldn't do such things, and I was biting my tongue. She is exactly the kind of person who is good at convincing herself of the right of a situation.
Would I? I don't know. I spend more time being brutally honest with myself than most people, and have no rose coloured glasses when it comes to human nature or societies. But I also have to be pushed pretty far to push back against authority.
Anyway. I would like people to really learn from these experiments, because it seems no one does, everyone forgets so quickly and insists on demonising individuals rather than acknowledging the structures that create many of the violent people of this world and trying to do something about it.
Hi, Fenriswolf, thank you for visiting & for sharing your comments. I was also surprised that they could find people who didn't know about the experiment.
We're right there with you in agreeing that it's essential that we work to transform destructive and harmful systems into ones that are compassionate, just, and restorative.
Be well,
Marsha
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