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Morgan Rogers

U.S. History Honors

Mrs. Reid

13 November 2017

A History of U.S. Psychological Experiments

Psychological experiments have been successfully conducted throughout history, and

each individual study contributed to society in its own unique way. The knowledge gained

through these experiments led to a deeper understanding of a wide variety of different human

behavioral topics, and opened the doors to numerous succeeding experiments that were

conducted with the hopes of gaining an even deeper understanding. A psychological experiment

is defined as a study in which ​human or animal subjects are used to study different topics such as

sensation & perception, memory, cogni​tion, learning, motivation, emotion; developmental

processes, and social psychology (McLeod “Experimental Method”). The first ​Institute for

Experimental Psychology was opened in Germany in 1879 at the University of Leipzig. This

facility appealed to many students from around the world, and encouraged them to contribute to

the research. The work done at the university​ played a huge role in the development of modern

psychology​ (Meyer). There are many crucial steps that ensure a successful experiment, such as

maintaining control over variables, ensuring careful measurement, and establishing cause and

effect relationships in data and observations ​(McLeod “Experimental Method”)​. These methods

have been practiced throughout the years of psychological research development to achieve one

common goal: ​form a hypothesis and test it through the experiment. ​Overall, ​there were many

psychological experiments conducted throughout the history of the U.S. that were influenced
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from certain social structures and events that took place, such as the holocaust or periodical

racism, and that allowed significant knowledge of human behavior to be gained.

One of the first extremely important series of experiments in the history of the U.S were

the Tuskegee Experiments. Although the experiment was conducted for medical research not

technically used to conduct psychological research, the Tuskegee experiments undeniably had a

long lasting psychological effect on the subjects that were being tested on. In 1932, the Public

Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute joined together to study the effects and natural history

of syphilis. The experiment was conducted exclusively on black men, 399 with syphilis and 201

without it ​(“U.S. Public Health”)​. The subjects were never told what they were exactly being

tested on for, and never gave their full consent to the researchers. In an attempt to provide the

subjects with some form of compensation, ​free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance

were given to the men in exchange for participating in the experiments (“U.S. Public Health”).

These experiments would quickly turn unethical due to the racial discrimination and poor

treatment of the subjects. Although the researchers claimed these experiments were beneficial,

they were in fact unethical and extremely controversial. The reality of the situation was that the

“methods” tested could actually produce no new information about syphilis. The treatments that

could have successfully cured the subjects were deliberately withheld and they were denied the

opportunity to visit any physicians that could help them. As a result of these experiments,

hundreds of men died slow and painful deaths at the hands of the scientists. As the study

progressed, the men being tested on suffered not only physical issues, but mental as well. They

were under the impression that they were receiving the help that they needed to cure their illness.

When the treatment they told they were receiving was discovered to be entirely ineffective, it
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took an emotional toll on them and their families. The fact that these men had undergone such

trauma and were provided with false hope was extremely devastating to everyone affected. There

were also mental effects on the subjects as a result of the false treatment. The men began to go

insane and show signs of extreme paranoia (Uschan 60). Apart from the brutal mistreatment of

the subjects, the experiment was extremely controversial in a racism sense. The experiments

were conducted in 1932, a time where racism was still incredibly strong especially in the

southern states. It was clear that the fact that the study was only conducted on African American

men was clearly an influence of the time period they were conducted in. As a result, the public

was unhappy and severe mental and physical harm was done to the subjects that were tested on

throughout the experiments.

One of the most influential psychological experiments to ever be conducted was the

Milgram experiment, due to it’s eye opening findings on human reaction to obedience. This

study was conducted in 1961 by experimental psychologist Stanley Milgram. Throughout his

childhood, Milgram displayed an early interests in science instead of things such as music or

sports like his peers. He was a highly intelligent student and carried that throughout high school

and into his college years. He grew up to be an assistant professor at Yale and a successful

experimental psychologist (Raver). He took an interest in the study of obedience to authority

which lead him to create the Milgram experiment. This experiment would test the subject’s

morality, ability to determine the difference between fake and reality, and most importantly,

obedience to authority. To begin the experiment, Milgram gathered different subjects and told

them that the experiment was in relation to the effects of punishment on learning ability and that

they had an equal chance of playing the role of student or teacher. In actuality, all of the subjects
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took on the role of the teacher and the role of the student was played by an actor. The “teachers”

were instructed to ask the “students” different questions and administer an electric shock when

the student got that answer wrong. As the experiment progressed the shocks became increasingly

powerful. Each button made it known to the subject that the shocks were becoming more and

more dangerous, with the last button to distribute the highest shock labeled “XXX”. Although

the subjects did not actually administer a shock, the actor was required to shout and protest as if

the shocks were causing the student severe physical harm. If the subjects at any time hesitated to

continue, the experimenter would pressure him to proceed. At the end of the experiment,

Milgram and his team reviewed their data and observations and were shocked with the result.

They had found that 65% of the subjects were willing to administer the highest voltage level,

“killing” the student (​Billikopf). Overall, Milgram concluded three factors that lead to a higher

chance of the teachers going all the way: when the authority figure/experimenter was in close

proximity to the subject, when the subject felt that they could pass on the responsibility to others,

and the fact that the experiment took place under the a respected, well trusted organization (Perry

206). Through his study Milgram concluded that it was human instinct to have a strong

obedience to authority. In reference to his experiment, he was quoted saying,​“A substantial

proportion of people do what they are told to do, irrespective of the content of the act, and

without pangs of conscience, so long as they perceive that the command comes from a legitimate

authority.” (Blass 100). Milgram took the results of his experiment and related it to the events

occurring in the outside world at the time. He used his findings and related them to recent events

and current social standards in the 1960’s, such as rebellion of the social norm, changing
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political and social standards, and the beginning of the hippy age at the time his experiment was

conducted.

In the official report of his findings, Milgram touches on the fact that obedience and

authority are both basic elements in the everyday structure of social life. In the introduction to

his report, Milgram writes,​“Some system of authority is a requirement of all communal living,

and it is only the man dwelling in isolation who is not forced to respond, through defiance or

submission, to the commands of others.”​ (Milgram). One of the major influences that encouraged

Milgram to proceed with this experiment was the Holocaust. In his report, Milgram touches on

the fact that gas chambers were built, death camps were maintained, and thousands of innocent

people were being killed everyday during this time. He pointed out the fact that these horrid

systems all came from the ideas of one man. However, they were able to be carried out in such a

large scale due to the fact that people obeyed orders. The Milgram experiment was conducted in

the 1960’s, a time known for people beginning to question authority. Events such as protests of

the Vietnam war’s escalation and cultural radicalism of the sixties had also put the topic of

obedience to authority into question and influenced the creation of the experiment (“The

Sixties”). Although obedience to authority does have the opportunity to produce negative

outcomes, in his report Milgram also comments on the fact that obedience also has the potential

to serve numerous productive functions (Milgram). There were many different factors that went

into play when influencing Milgram to study obedience to authority. The results of the

experiment were able to give answers to the reasons behind some of the historical events and

social constructs occurring at the time.

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Another experiment that dealt with the effects of prejudice and racism was the Class

Divided Experiment. This experiment took place in 1968 in a third grade classroom in RiceVille,

Iowa. As opposed to a professional experimental psychologist or doctor, this experiment was

conducted by an elementary school teacher, Jane Elliott. After speaking to her students about

discrimination and prejudice, Elliot felt as though the students did not fully understand the

severity of these issues. In order to test how the students would react to these concepts in real life

situations, Elliot devised an experiment that seperated the students by eye color and observed

their reactions. On the first day of the experiment, Elliot favored all of the students with blue

eyes, giving them constant positive reinforcement and allowing them to feel superior to the

students with brown eyes. On the second day of the experiment, the roles were reversed and it

was the brown eyed students that were receiving the preferential treatment. At the end of the

experiment, it was clear that the the students were affected by the discrimination. The group of

students that were being favored by Elliot appeared more enthusiastic to answer questions and

displayed an overall positive attitude. On the other hand, the students that were being

discriminated against were hesitant to participate and performed poorly in their school work (“A

Class Divided”). As a result of the experiment, the students were able to grasp a deeper

understanding of the issues of racism, prejudice, and discrimination that were occuring in the

world at that time. This experiment was influenced by the extreme racism and segregation in the

time of the 1960’s. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was the primary event that

heavily influenced Elliot to perform this experiment on her students. During the sixties,

segregation was a major problem in American society. African Americans were completely

separated from white americans and were provided with poorer conditions and unfair treatment.
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During this time, African Americans began to speak out and protest for their rights. These events

greatly influenced Elliott to conduct her experiment and observe the effects of discrimination

and prejudice (Greene).

The Stanford Prison Experiment was yet another psychological experiment that produced

eye-opening results due to its findings on obedience to authority. The study was conducted in

August 1971 in a dormitory at the University of Stanford, on students that attended the school.

Philip Zimbardo was the head of the research team in charge of the experiment. The premise of

the experiment was to give the participants different roles of a fake prison. They were given the

roles as either a guard or prisoner, in order to establish the effect that it would have on both

categories of participants (Hartwig). The goal of the experiment was to give a broader view of

situational power. It tested the ideology of why people obey authority, and what makes someone

in charge. Generally speaking, the question that was tested throughout the experiment was

whether or not the participants would take their roles seriously, despite the fact that they were

aware it was merely an experiment. The researchers were prepared to observe whether or not the

guards genuinely disciplined the prisoners and took on a roll of dominance, and whether or not

the prisoners would take it seriously and remain obedient to the guards (Mcleod, “The Stanford

Prison Experiment). The experiment commenced with the prisoners being arrested at their homes

and put into uniform in order to begin the experiment as realistically as possible. They were then

brought into the jail and put into their rooms with a cellmate. The guards came out, also in strict

uniform, as well as Zimbardo who took on the role of the head of the prison. After the

introduction phase, the subjects were left to carry on with their individual roles as researchers

observed their behaviors. Throughout the experiment, it was observed that the subjects
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developed attitudes that were appropriate to the roles they were given. As time progressed, the

guards became more comfortable with their roles and began inflicting stricter punishments on the

prisoners. In effect, the prisoners often obeyed the guards while others began to protest. These

behaviors are what commonly occurs in an actual prison, proving that conformity plays a huge

role when it comes to situational obedience (Haney 10).

There were many different factors that influenced Zimbardo’s creation of the Stanford

Prison Experiment. His interest in power sparked from his childhood and growing up in South

Bronx, New York. Zimbardo lived in poverty for most of his life, and as a result made

observations on what factors determine whether or not someone had power, such as money or

education. As he matured, he established his own definition on what he believed power to be. In

an interview, Zimbardo defined power as, “​the force that makes things happen, for good or for

evil. It can be an inner power like compassion or external like status or wealth. Power is central

in my view of evil—that people harm, hurt, and kill other people, in various ways.” (Sedacca).

When the Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971, Zimbardo’s later life, power was a

central theme. The time period in which the experiment was conducted also played a part in the

creation of the experiment. Throughout the sixties and early seventies, the hippie movement was

in progress. People were beginning to question social constructs and the power of authority

figures. This new attitude was extremely influential when it came to the creation of Zimbardo’s

experiment which questioned obedience and power. The 1970’s was also the time of the U.S.

prison movements. During this time, prisoners across the country were beginning to protest the

treatment they were receiving from prison guards. After a prisoner by the name of George

Jackson was unjustly murdered by the guards at San Quentin prison, a series of rebellions began
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to sweep across the nation. Prisoners at multiple prisons began revolting, taking control of the

prison and holding guards as hostages in order to get their demands across for better conditions

and treatment by the guards. This display of resistance of power provided Zimbardo with the

perfect scenario to apply his experimental questions, a prison environment (Towlson).

Zimbardo’s findings from​ the experiment were able to provide insight into the reasons behind

some of the events regarding obedience and resistance of power occurring at the time.

There were many psychological experiments that have been successfully

conducted throughout history, and each individual study contributed to society in its own unique

way. The knowledge gained through these experiments led to a deeper understanding of different

human behavioral topics, and the effects of racism and prejudice. These successful experiments

led to numerous succeeding experiments that were conducted in order to build on the knowledge

provided by previous experiments. Both the Milgram experiment and the Stanford Prison

Experiment studied the effects of situational power and obedience to authority. These

experiments were influenced by the time period in which they took place and the time periods

prior to them. The findings from the procedures had similarities such as the factors that led to

obedience and how people responded when given tasks. The Tuskegee Experiments and the

Class Divided Experiment also displayed many similarities. Both experiments were influenced

by prejudice and racism occuring at the time. They also similarly demonstrated the effects of

discrimination on people. Overall, all of these experiments provided an important insight on

different human behaviors. There were many psychological experiments conducted throughout

the history of the U.S. that were influenced from certain social structures and events that took
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place, and that allowed significant knowledge of human behavior and the effects of

discrimination to be gained.

Works Cited

Billikopf, Georgio. “Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience to Authority.” ​Milgram’s Experiment

on Obedience to Authority​, 15 Nov. 2004,

nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm.

Blass, T. (2004). ​The man who shocked the world: The life and legacy of Stanley Milgram.​ New

York: Basic Books.

“A Class Divided – A Life Changing Experiment.” ​Pf​, Pharmafield,

www.pharmafield.co.uk/features/2010/01/A-Class-Divided-e28093-A-Life-Changing-Ex

periment.

Greene, Jerry M. “History of Racism.” ​A Brief History​, 11 Mar. 2014,

www.units.miamioh.edu/psybersite/racism/history.shtml.

Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a

simulated prison. ​Naval Research Review​, 30, 4-17.

Hartwig, Daniel. “About.” ​Stanford Prison Experiment - Spotlight at Stanford​, 20 Mar. 2017,

exhibits.stanford.edu/spe/about/about.

McLeod, Saul. “Experimental Method.” ​Psychology | Simply Psychology​, 1 Jan. 1970,

www.simplypsychology.org/experimental-method.html.

McLeod, Saul. “Stanford Prison Experiment.” ​Simply Psychology​, 1 Jan. 1970,

www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html
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Meyer, T., Mädebach, A., & Schröger, E. (2017). The digitization of the Wundt estate at Leipzig

University. ​History of Psychology, 20​(3), 342-345,

http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-33362-004.

Milgram, Stanley, editor. ​Behavioral Study of Obedience​. PDF ed., 1963.

---, editor. ​Behavioral Study of Obedience​. PDF ed., 1963.

Perry, Gina. ​Behind the Shock Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology

Experiments​. Rev. edition ed., New York, New Press, 2013.

Raver, Daniel. “Psyography: Stanley Milgram.” ​Stanley Milgram​,

faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/stanleymilgram.html.

Sedacca, Matthew. “The Man Who Played with Absolute Power - Issue 45: Power.” ​Nautilus​, 16

Feb. 2017, nautil.us/issue/45/power/the-man-who-played-with-absolute-power.

“The Sixties - The Years That Shaped a Generation.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 2005,

www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/topics/revolution/index.html.

Towlson, Linda. “The US Prisoners’ Movement, 1970-1978 - Howard Zinn.” ​Libcom.org​,

libcom.org/history/articles/us-prisoners-movement-1970-78.

“U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.” ​Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention​, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Aug. 2017,

www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm.

Uschan, Michael V. ​The Tuskegee Experiments: Forty Years of Medical Racism​. Detroit, Lucent

Books, 2006.

---. ​The Tuskegee Experiments: Forty Years of Medical Racism​. Detroit, Lucent Books, 2006.
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Bibliography

Billikopf, Georgio. “Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience to Authority.” ​Milgram’s Experiment

on Obedience to Authority​, 15 Nov. 2004,

nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm.

This source provided me with information on the procedure of the Milgram Experiment.

Blass, T. (2004). ​The man who shocked the world: The life and legacy of Stanley Milgram.​ New

York: Basic Books.

This source provided me with information on Milgram’s views of obedience to authority.

“A Class Divided – A Life Changing Experiment.” ​Pf​, Pharmafield,

www.pharmafield.co.uk/features/2010/01/A-Class-Divided-e28093-A-Life-Changing-Ex

periment​.

This source provided me with information on the procedure of the Class Divided Experiment.

Greene, Jerry M. “History of Racism.” ​A Brief History​, 11 Mar. 2014,

www.units.miamioh.edu/psybersite/racism/history.shtml​.

This source provided me with information on racism in the sixties and the influence it had on the

Class Divided Experiment.

Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). A study of prisoners and guards in a

simulated prison. ​Naval Research Review​, 30, 4-17.

This source provided me with information on the results of the Stanford Prison Experiment.
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Hartwig, Daniel. “About.” ​Stanford Prison Experiment - Spotlight at Stanford​, 20 Mar. 2017,

exhibits.stanford.edu/spe/about/about.

This source gave me a general overview of the procedure of the Stanford Prison Experiment.

McLeod, Saul. “Experimental Method.” ​Psychology | Simply Psychology​, 1 Jan. 1970,

www.simplypsychology.org/experimental-method.html​.

This source provided me with information on experimental procedures

McLeod, Saul. “Stanford Prison Experiment.” ​Simply Psychology​, 1 Jan. 1970,

www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html

This source provided me with information on the goal of the Stanford Prison Experiment

Meyer, T., Mädebach, A., & Schröger, E. (2017). The digitization of the Wundt estate at Leipzig

University. ​History of Psychology, 20​(3), 342-345,

http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-33362-004​.

This source provided me with information on the University of Leipzig.

Milgram, Stanley, editor. ​Behavioral Study of Obedience​. PDF ed., 1963.

---, editor. ​Behavioral Study of Obedience​. PDF ed., 1963.

This source was Milgram’s official report of his experiment.

Perry, Gina. ​Behind the Shock Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology

Experiments​. Rev. edition ed., New York, New Press, 2013.

This source provided me with information on what factors led to obedience.

Raver, Daniel. “Psyography: Stanley Milgram.” ​Stanley Milgram​,

faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/stanleymilgram.html.

This source provided me with background information on Milgram.

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Sedacca, Matthew. “The Man Who Played with Absolute Power - Issue 45: Power.” ​Nautilus​, 16

Feb. 2017, nautil.us/issue/45/power/the-man-who-played-with-absolute-power.

This source provided me with information on Zimbardo’s views of power.

“The Sixties - The Years That Shaped a Generation.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 2005,

www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/topics/revolution/index.html​.

This source provided me with information on social constructs of the sixties.

Staff, NPR. “Taking A Closer Look At Milgram’s Shocking Obedience Study.” ​NPR​, NPR, 28

Aug. 2013,

www.npr.org/2013/08/28/209559002/taking-a-closer-look-at-milgrams-shocking-obedien

ce-study​.

This source provided me with general information on the Milgram Experiment.

Towlson, Linda. “The US Prisoners’ Movement, 1970-1978 - Howard Zinn.” ​Libcom.org​,

libcom.org/history/articles/us-prisoners-movement-1970-78.

This source provided me with information of the U.S. prison movement

“U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.” ​Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention​, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Aug. 2017,

www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm​.

This source provided me with general information on the Tuskegee Experiment.

Uschan, Michael V. ​The Tuskegee Experiments: Forty Years of Medical Racism​. Detroit, Lucent

Books, 2006.

---. ​The Tuskegee Experiments: Forty Years of Medical Racism​. Detroit, Lucent Books, 2006.

This source provided me with information on the effects of the Tuskegee Experiment.