Actually, the arguably most important part of the Milgram experiment is the part that is very consistently left out, which explained how the four different prods affected the subjects. When given the prod, "please continue," many of the subjects did indeed continue, but it wasn't as effective as "the experiment requires that you continue." This is because the subjects most often pushed themselves to continue when they believed that continuing the experiment would benefit the greater good. The last prod, however, "you have no choice but to continue," was the closest the experimenters got to a direct order, and the closest the subject group got to not complying at all. So, it can be argued that the Milgram experiment actually shows that people are more willing to do things when they believe that it is what is right, NOT when they are being ordered to do so.

It took my teacher a month to cover what you said in 13 mins.👍🏽👍🏽

when you don't want to read the chapter but you want to pass the test

The funniest thing I got out of watching clips of the Milgram Experiment was an interview with one of the refusers. Refuser: "In my mind, I was hurting that gentleman, so I wasn't going to go any further." Psychologist: "But is there anything Mr Williams [the researcher] could have said [to make you continue]?" Refuser: *Leans back in his chair* "To hell with Mr Williams." *Lights a cigarette LIKE A BOSS*

Reminds me of when I was around 8 years of age. A group of us played together during recess but one day the group decided to bully another kid who was pretty much isolated. The time is was what the group was doing it so I didn't think anything of it, it was "normal". It wasn't until I got home and started watching my daily episode of power rangers, my super heroes fighting for good. I started thinking to myself realized what I had done was wrong and felt guilty. Thankfully my story ends with me apologizing to the kid and inviting him to play with us and he was never bullied again. Still friends to this day.

"Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” ― Primo Levi

This whole comment section consists of "Oh, so *this* is why everyone does X!" Gotta love psychology. You can walk right out of class and start diagnosing your friends.

In my first 3 months at uni studying psychology, we covered what was in this 10minute video. GOOD WORK SCISHOW, POO UNI

That's why I love working alone.

best fucking way to study for my intro to psychology mid term is this FUCKING video. Textbooks are dead to me.

I'm taking a psychology class at university and I had a class about this yesterday. Watching it like this, with Hank explaining makes it so much better (and easier to remember). I just love crash course so much.

I know I'm late to this conversation, but I love the utilization of the WAT grandma meme throughout.

ive noticed this in my own life because i tend to act differently depending on who im with. If im with someone who tends to be outgoing and more explicit, i am quieter than normal to give them some room. But if im with a group who is timid and reserved, i become more confident and im more exciting. I really only have one friend where i feel completely comfortable.

I remember talking about the Milgram experiment in my class. The Professor asked how many of us, if we were giving the shock, would administer the lethal shock. I was the only one in my class of 80 that raised my hand and answered honestly. I felt so alone :3

I am so glad I watched this video - it explained to me why all the students in my drama production are all putting so little effort into being expressive. I knew that their desire to be accepted by their peers was part of it, but the idea of social loafing and little individual accountability had not occurred to me. It made me realise that I haven't given them any indication of how they are going to be assessed individually, so at the moment they all think that it's ok to not stand out because the whole group is acting a particular way. I still have some more thinking to do about how to change this situation but it was a big help. Thanks Hank and Crash Course contributors!

Gotta love how Crash Course made their like to dislike ratio non-existent

wow man, it's like 1 month of my school's sociology class in 10 minutes. thank you CrashCourse, your works are amazing!

This video, should play in every classroom, every day, for the rest of eternity.

We studied 7 different studies in psychology (outline, ethics, strengths, weaknesses, sample, reason, related approaches/psychologists) in our first 3 months and now my brain is like blaarrrugghhh so these videos are absolute lifesavers and are helping me keep it together. Thank you crashcourse !

Wow, that Milgram experiment is pretty scary. Hank! You should consider doing a video about depersonalization while driving. Why road rage happens, and why we generally act the way we do (towards other drivers) while we, ourselves are behind the wheel.

Also, one thing that's really important to know is that simply being aware of these effects, that one is prone to give a wrong answer if others give a wrong answer or the tendency to listen to authority over your conscious, is the best way of keeping yourself from being influenced by them.

When I was a young kid sitting alone on a swing a bunch of kids came up to me and started talking. I sarcastically replied about a stupid rumor....and a boy started throwing rocks at me.....then they all started throwing rocks at me (pea gravel) and kicking me till the recess bell rang. When asked why...they all shrugged their shoulders and said "because everyone else was". Since the I get nervous when I sense a "same mind same body" mentality forming within a group and get the hell out of the area...saved me a lot of trouble as a kid.....but I had 0 trust of my peers and almost no friends till High School. Heck vigils (where where everyone is one mind one body) still make me nervous..... and church was (still is) torture. I can go see a movie in a crowded theater now with no problem, or to a sports event no problem now.....but I am vigilant.

I remembered in Xmen First Class that stuck with me since was when Magneto was punishing the soldiers, and Xavier told him that they were "just men following orders". And then Magneto said, "I have been under the mercy of men just following orders my entire life. Never again". Powerful scene.

This is the most recent crash course ive watched in a while and ive gotta say i really appreciate the different colored words in the definitions, and short notes popping up while he's talking. they really help to remember the most important parts and let the information sink in. so much better than having to shorten the info myself in my head.

my social psychology test ia tomorrow crash course always out here Saving lives

One novel: Lord of the Flies

This is not even my subject anymore, but I am here. The way Hank teaches makes me feel good about education after being tortured by trash professors. Just failed my pol exam despite getting a pretty good grade last semester. My professor doesn't let everyone speak in the class and has a favourite favoured group, is like a misogynist. Thanks, Hanks for motivating me again!

Just discovered this and it so amazingly produced

That awkward moment when one top comment, is the exact copy of the other top comment.

Looks like I've found my next KZfaq binge watch channel :)

can i just say something yoy are an absolute saviour. no serious, i have been struggling sooo hard in college with philosophy, psychology etc i always eel pure stupid because i dont understand, but then i found your videos and you have helped me so much, whenevee i strugle with something i just look for your video and i get it almost instantly. maybe my tutors are just making things more complicated than it has to be, but you may have just saved me frok being booted from my course !! thank you!!! x

This would be why religions work so well.

I've done my share of social loafing on KZfaq; no need to worry about writing something interesting when it's likely to get lost among the 500 other comments.

This video would have really helped me revise milgram back in the day when i was doing a level psychology. This is why I love crash course it helps those currently studying, helps people learn new things even if they are not in school and helps people to remember things they have learnt but have since forgotten.

Great video! Appreciate the summary at the end, good structure!

I am very happy you added the words of encouragement to the end of this video. These kinds of experiments (and personal experiences, in the case of almost-riots due to insane...well, I thought it was groupthink, but I guess it was a mixture of groupthink and depersonalization) always terrify me. Thank you for giving a little perspective and hope! :D

i LOVE this channel! it makes learning something actually enjoyable, when school just makes it painful. thank you sooo much for this videos

I believe that a Milgram-experiment-like test is used to evaluate potential math instructors at my university. They have to reach the maximum shock level to get hired.

Hank, I thank you and the team for such high quality material. I can't believe this is readily accessible to anyone while I have had equivalent content taugh to me in very reputable institutions. Thank you.

I've been waiting for this topic for SOOOOO LONG! Thanks CrashCourse!

My AS Psychology Paper 1 Exam is in a few hours! Good luck to everyone!!

Another excellent episode! I am loving this series. Psychology has always been very fascinating to me.

5:30 Couldn't avoid feeling the deepest soul of a nerd showing his feelings hahaha :)

Writing a Psychology exam tomorrow and this crash course was absolutely incredible. THANK YOU!

:32 seconds in and I already know he's going to talk about Stanley Milgrim's experiment. #Psych

48,000,000 thumbs up? What kind of fantasy world are you living in Hank?!

This is scarily perfect for what I'm learning about in class right now. Like you summarized an entire article I had to read by Solomon Asch... I love you Hank!!!!

Thank you, Hank. Right now, you're helping me to not freaking out about my mock tomorrow whilst helping me revise. Thank you, you are saving me💙

Six years later and still our group-think isn't aware of any of this and falls prey to it constantly. Bummer.

I love this episode of Crash Course; it fits in perfectly with my psychology course :D

thank you for slowing down. first couple of videos I had to rewind so many times. I have learned so much from him.

These videos on psychology and sociology are absolutely fascinating. Make more !

This is amazing.

So you've basically explained the science behind religious crazies.

These psychology videos are helping me so much with my GCSEs - thank you!!!

Now the information I had from IB psychology just became clearer. Thank You Hank Green.

Okay, I really want to point out that although that interpretation of the Milgram experiment is the most popular, it's not the only one and arguably not even the one most supported by the evidence. There's another interpretation that it's the idealism of science that enabled people to perform the shocks, not orders. For example, those prods? Note that the fourth one is the only one that can actually be considered a genuine order and impinges on the participant's free will. It's also the only prod that, whenever it was used, *immediately* caused participants to rebel against the experiment. The others, particularly the second one, tended to be far more effective. In the comments participants wrote on feedback forms, they often talked about how important scientific testing was, and were often glad to have taken part (though Milgram was quite bad at giving back feedback, some people thought they had actually murdered a man). Factors that cause doubt about scientific credibility (e.g. professor not being in a labcoat, disagreement among two professors, not doing the study at Yale etc.) can be said to be the factors that actually reduce compliance (though note the authority of an expert is inherently tied into how credible something is, so it's difficult to separate). Essentially, participants trust that science is a progressive force for good and have faith that the experimenter, as an informed representative of that, knows what will or will not ultimately cause genuine harm. There are also questions of whether or not original participants knew there was an actor involved (replications where people know the study is faked still produce emotional distress), data manipulation, and how standardised the procedure actually was. I am not saying that the initial interpretation is wrong or the Milgram experiment isn't a landmark study. Authority is unquestionably a huge factor on behaviour. I just think that the interpretation of strong belief in an ideal might actually be the conclusion that explains why Nazism occurred, rather than the mere 'humans are spineless cowards' narrative that keeps springing up around this, and it should be part of the discussion. The idea that people are willing to do dirty work for the greater good, even to their own discomfort, is one I personally find more congruent.

This is a great video, and makes me really excited to continue studying social psychology.

These topics really open up my mind. Im already a working professional but these social topics, helps me understand my coworkers in some sense

This qualifies as revision, right?

if you want to know more about the subject I recomend the book or movie: "the wave". bassed on a real story in a real high school.

All I did to study for my AP Psychology Exam was watch the entire Crash Course Psych series. I got a perfect score.

Thanks for these videos! They are so helpful! I honestly couldn't thank the crash course crew enough!

I had my headphones in and every time he put on a definition I thought someone was farting I was so lost

Listening to this as I'm playing the sims nice plumbobs

Love the ending, a reminder to keep our heads and not loose them in group think

Glad I found these videos, you make this easy to understand. A lot of stuff goes over my head during lectures but these are helping a lot. :D

Would be interesting to compare Milgram experiments over a large timescale and with lots areas where social norms are different. Just to see if anything changes.

This guy reminds me of young Stephen Hawking.

Thanks Hank and all the wonderful people behind this production. Ya'll don't get enough credit for the good you do in informing us ignorant folk. More social psychology episodes would be greatly appreciated!

Learned more from this crash course then my entire university psychology class. Have a final today but have a 98 in the class because of this crash course. Thank you.

This videos is very well-made. Love it.

Social loafing may be misleading. When people are in a group, they may just not feel the need to put forth maximum effort in an attempt to conserve energy and resources, whereas if you're solely acting on your own behalf, your effort more directly/dramatically impacts the result of that effort than when mitigated by the rest of the group. If your belief is that a group is put together to do more work, then it may be loafing. If you believe that a group's goal is to bring together people with the same objective and achieve that objective more easily, then it's not loafing.

It’s important to note that the subjects of Milgrams experiments were told before the experiment began that the shocks would not inflict permanent damage or kill the learner. Learning this definitely changed how I viewed this experiment. Still sad and scary that ordinary people can ignore the cries of pain that the actors gave, but they believed that there would be no permanent damage. I don’t blame crash course for not being detailed since it’s literally a crash course haha

I'm going to be a sophomore in high school and I LOVE all of these phycology vids!

Well, I must be touched in the head, then. If someone told me "You have no choice but to continue," the only response I can think to give them is "Don't I?" Group dynamics always pissed me off and the implied need to conform or be ostracised I found intellectually insulting... Though probably not offensive. Over time, I've realised that most people can't see past their own nose and simply don't realise what kind of peer pressure they exert on their... Well, peers. Conformity may be a natural tendency for people who feel good by being in a group and being accepted. For those who recognise the cost of such thinking, however, conformity is less pleasant and more repugnant. We developed these large brains with which we make decisions. It seems a shame to delegate those to other people.

so social polarisation = circle jerking

hurting another to safe yourself is pretty common, since defying some authorities comes with risk

I live in Vancouver. We've had two riots over hockey thus far. The first one was in 1994 and a bit unexpected. Right before the second one in 2011, however, many of us were expecting something to go down, and it did. The police chief blamed it on criminal elements but as time went along and more charges were applied, it became clear that many of these people were your average everyday citizens. In almost every situation, it turned out that they were just caught up in the whole thing, and the events of 1994 almost made rioting something "normal" in this kind of situation. It's sad, really. But it is certainly interesting to see how group dynamics can cause everyday people to do things that you normally would not expect.

Actually, I'd keep walking on the grass....I would help the old lady though!

"...or they can do some really dumb stuff" - who is not thinking about election 2016?

I am so very happy that I had found this! I find this to be fascinating! Thank-you.

One cool thing about learning about these phenomenon is it empowers us to recognize it and do better. My social psych teacher at NYU told us that, during a replication of the Milgram experiment, there was a subject who refused to give the socks because "I just got back from Vietnam, I know where this is going". (I know, I know, case study and the plural of anecdote is not data, but) knowing how authority uses escalation to make us do things we normally wouldn't can make it at least harder for them to succeed in manipulating us, if we watch out for it ^_^

It seems like all the landmark experiments in the history of psychology that we refer back to all the time would be considered unethical today. Has ethics brought us to a self-imposed end of knowledge?

Out of curiosity, what words for working against the group dynamic? EG. You feel with rooting for the underdog when the group is going popular choice, or, when in group activity you feel more likely to put in effect cause you do not wish to be seen as slacking whereas if alone you more likely to loaf.

Thanks so much, helped brilliantly with revision for my exams this week! :)

this is my favorite show on KZfaq, and this is coming from a person who has not used the tv in about two years and entertains via KZfaq

You have no choice but to continue... reading this comment :p

You can now add covid19 after you say Chernobyl

I really like the wrap up in the end.Because is leaves us wit a reminder or summary of what was learned.

Could have cried when i saw this.. have a test on conformity and needed a bit of help with some parts.. thank you so much.. so much better then reading through a book

WUT meme lady 0:08

If the government tells you to do something, do it. If Jesus tells you to do something, do it. If the government tells you to do something but Jesus says that's wrong...well fuck.

This was outstanding and comprehensive. Bravo.

And this is why i love this channel. Please more vids like this one.

Completely wrong interpretation at 8:51 . The 1/3 that wouldn't "shock someone to death" would still shock someone to dangerous and frightening levels of 300 volts. No one was a hero.

Why he is talking so fast?

had my paper 1 psych mock today and ran out of time to revise social influence but i watched this video last night and i think you saved me

Wow imagine that came here to do my homework and everything the dude said went right over my head!

So blindly following a group is bad, but being rebellious is also bad? That´s why i think many psychological disorders are bullchit. You can find out what brings people to their behavior, but classifying it as if there´s an objective high ground is unscientific.