The Milgram Experiments

In 1961, Stanley Milgram conducted a series of social psychology experiments to measure the willingness of ordinary people to obey an authority figure who has instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.

The experiment

Three people took part in these experiments - the teacher (participant), the learner (victim) and the experimenter (authority figure). Only the teacher was the real participant in the experiment. The role of experimenter was that of stern, impassive doctor with a white beard & wearing a long white overcoat. The learner was an actor who didn't have a major role in the experiment.

The experimenter would tell the teacher that this experiment was being conducted to study memory and its impact on learning in different situations. Per the rules of the experiment, the teacher would ask a question to the learner and if the answer is incorrect, then a small electric shock would be administered on the learner. These shock increased at a 15-volt increment, starting from 30 volts and going all the way upto 450 volts. After these instructions the teacher and the learner are separated and moved to different rooms. They cant see, but can listen to one another. The experimenter is in the same room as the teacher.

As the experiment continues and the teacher administers these shocks to the learner - it becomes apparent that the learner is in considerable pain. He shouts back at the teacher to stop and even bangs the wall. At around 135-150 volts, most teachers start questioning the experimenter on the purpose of the experiment after listening to the learner experiencing pain. The experimenter would normally say "Please continue" or "The experiment requires you to continue" or "These shocks will not have any long-term damages on the learner". The teacher would then continue and keep addressing his concern to the experimenter who would blankly request the teacher to continue the experiment.

The results

Now ask yourself these questions :

At what point (volts) will you stop when you know that the person on the other room is in excruciating pain? Will you go on and deliver 450 volts of lethal electric shock?

When this question was asked of a fairly large sample of people, only 1.2% were prepared to inflict the lethal 450-volt shock. And although there is no record on the voltage point of stopping the activity, I assume this would be pretty low as most people know how lethal even a 220 volt shock can be. (220 volts is the standard voltage in UK and India)

However when Milgram conducted his experiments - 65% of the participants pressed the 450-volt button. Most of them ever very uncomfortable doing so and at some point, every participant paused and questioned the experimenter. But 24 out of the 40 participants continued and delivered the lethal 450 volts. Of the remaining 35% (who stopped participating mid-way), only 1 person stopped before reaching the 300-volt mark.

The learnings

The experiment shows that ordinary people will go against their conscience and morality to even inflict pain on others, when ordered by an authority figure. Very few people have the resources to resist authority and these are the frightening implications of human nature.

Professor Milgram elaborated two theories explaining his results -
1. The theory of conformism which says, a subject who has neither ability nor expertise to make decisions, especially in a crisis, will leave decision making to the group and its hierarchy.
2. The agentic state theory wherein under an environment of obedience, a person comes to view himself as the instrument for carrying out another person's wishes, and he therefore no longer sees himself as responsible for his actions.

BBC re-enacted the Milgram experiments under a series "How violent are you?". The videos can be viewed here (Part 1 - 6 mins) (Part 2 - 6 mins) (Part 3 - 4 mins). These are worth watching.

Questions for you :
1. How many times do you get swayed by and invest based on recommendations by brokers, day traders and friends?
2. How often do you follow the mob especially in crisis situations? (although they are excellent opportunities for sane investors)

Extra : The Asch experiments also give proof of social conformity. There is a lot of literature on the subject but can be best described in this video (here - 2 mins)

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