Influence: When Good People Go Bad – Reproducing The Milgram Obedience In Experiments in France
I have to thank Farnam St for finding this newsworthy piece. I recommend reading this!
Background on the original Milgram Experiments (via Wikipedia)- The Milgram’s experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,[1] and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.[2]
Excerpts (via Yahoo News & Farnam St)
“There are elements of manipulation from the start,” said Jacques Semelin, a psychologist and historian who studies genocide and totalitarianism.
“They are obedient, but it’s more than mere obedience — there is the audience, the cameras everywhere.”
But for the film makers, the manipulative power of television was exactly the point.
“The questioners are … in the grip of the authority of television,” said Jean-Leon Beauvois, a psychologist who took part in the documentary.
“When it decides to abuse its power, television can do anything to anybody,” said Nick. “It has an absolutely terrifying power.”
