Thursday, 22 May 2014

Library Shocker

Do you remember hearing about the Stanley Milgram experiments? Or it being referenced in studies and analysis about human behaviour? Tania attended a talk by Gina Perry who investigated this controversial psychological experiment and found shocking unreported methodology.

The short version is Stanley Milgram had participants shock other "participants" when they got an answer wrong. He claimed the study was looking at obedience to authority and social conformity as the participants were bullied into giving increasingly high voltage shocks. What Gina Perry discovered is shocking! She went back to the original data, the original tests, she listened to all of the recordings which took place during the entire experiment, she interviewed some of the participants who were in their 80's today and uncovered more than the truth about this so-called outstanding social psychologist. It's about time we undid some of these "social truths" about humanity and human behavior. Although ethics in research have changed and there are now committees and reviews to ensure there is informed consent and no harm done, psychological or otherwise to the participants, the real outcome now needs to be a re-writing of current scientific beliefs that are erroneously quoted.

The famously quoted result of "65% of subjects" that were willing to give full, harmful voltage shocks to participants because they were directed to by an authority figure meant, in reality, 26 people. 26 people that were bullied. And 26 is questionable too as Stanley Milgram changed his approach and methodology throughout his research. Gina Perry will debunk much of what we know of Stanley Milgram because she went back to the original data. Gina Perry has exposed a psychology farce.  She is re-writing history.