Experiments are conducted in order to verify theories, whether they confirm or infirm said theories. Experiments are also conducted in order to find an answer to questions that haven’t yet been asked. Sometimes, experiments have results that shake humanity to its very core, as they reveal the darker side of people.

 

Such an experiment was recently conducted at the Santa Clara University in California, and it was actually a replica of an older experiment, designed to test if people would obey orders to administer painful treatments and even torture if they were ordered or encouraged to do so by authority figures.

 

In this replica of the controversial experiment, people were asked to administer painful electrical shocks, and it was proven that 70% of the volunteer test subjects did not stop from administering the painful electrical shocks – or, at least, what they thought were painful electrical shocks – even after a hired actor claimed the shocks were causing him pain.

 

The conclusion that Jerry Burger, with the Santa Clara University, came to is that “What we found is validation of the same argument - if you put people into certain situations, they will act in surprising, and maybe often even disturbing, ways. This research is still relevant.”

 

The experiment wasn’t replicated with people yelling out in pain as the original experiment included, as it caused emotional distress to many of the volunteers that kept administering electrical shocks even after hearing the cries of pain.