Scientists began conducting various psychological experiments in the middle of the 19th century. Those who are convinced that the role of experimental rabbits in such studies are assigned exclusively to animals are mistaken. Participants and sometimes victims of experiments are often people. Which of the experiments became known to millions, have gone down in history forever? Consider the list of the most sensational.
Psychological Experiments: Albert and the Rat
One of the most controversial experiments of the last century was conducted by John Watson in 1920. This professor is credited with the foundation of the behavioral trend in psychology, he devoted a lot of time to studying the nature of phobias. The psychological experiments conducted by Watson are mostly related to observing the emotions of infants.
Once, an orphan boy Albert, who at the time of the beginning of the experiment was only 9 months old, became a participant in his research. Using his example, the professor tried to prove that many phobias appear in people at an early age. His goal was to make Albert feel fear at the sight of a white rat, with whom the baby was happy to play.
Like many psychological experiments, working with Albert took a long time. For two months, the baby was shown a white rat, and then objects visually similar to it (cotton wool, white rabbit, artificial beard) were shown. Then the baby was allowed to return to his games with the rat. Initially, Albert did not feel fear, calmly interacted with her. The situation changed when Watson, during his games with the animal, began to hit with a hammer on a metal product, causing a loud knock behind the orphan.
As a result, Albert became afraid to touch the rat, the fear did not disappear even after he was separated from the animal for a week. When they began to show him an old friend again, he burst into tears. A child showed a similar reaction when he saw objects similar to a beast. Watson managed to prove his theory, but the phobia remained with Albert for life.
The fight against racism
Of course, Albert is far from the only child over whom cruel psychological experiments were made. Itâs easy to give examples (with children), letâs say, an experiment conducted in 1970 by Jane Elliott, called âBlue and Brown Eyesâ. The school teacher, impressed by the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., decided to demonstrate to her wards the horrors of racial discrimination in practice. Pupils of the third class became its experimental subjects.
She divided the class into groups whose participants were selected based on eye color (brown, blue, green), and then suggested treating brown-eyed children as representatives of the lower race, not worthy of respect. Of course, the experiment cost the teacher a job, the public was outraged. In angry letters addressed to the former teacher, people asked how she could manage so mercilessly with white children.
Artificial prison
It is curious that not all known cruel psychological experiments on people were originally conceived as such. Among them, a special place is occupied by a study by employees of Stanford University, called the âartificial prisonâ. Scientists did not even imagine how destructive for the psyche of the experimental would be the "innocent" experiment, set in 1971, authored by Philip Zimbardo.
Using his research, the psychologist intended to understand the social norms of people who have lost their freedom. To do this, he selected a group of student volunteers, consisting of 24 participants, then locked them in the basement of the Faculty of Psychology, which was supposed to serve as a kind of prison. Half of the volunteers took on the role of prisoners, the rest acted as overseers.
Amazingly, the âprisonersâ took quite a bit of time to feel like real prisoners. The same participants in the experiment, who got the role of overseers, began to show real sadistic inclinations, inventing more and more mockery of their wards. The experience had to be interrupted earlier than planned to avoid psychological trauma. In total, people stayed in the âprisonâ for just over a week.
Boy or girl
Psychological experiments on people often end tragically. Proof of this is the sad story of a boy named David Reimer. Even in infancy, he underwent an unsuccessful circumcision operation, as a result of which the child almost lost his penis. This was used by psychologist John Mani, who dreamed of proving that children are not born boys and girls, but become such as a result of education. He persuaded the parents to agree to the surgical sex change of the child, and then treat him like a daughter.
Little David received the name of Brenda, until the age of 14 he was not informed that he was a male. In adolescence, the boy was fed with estrogen, the hormone was supposed to activate breast growth. Having learned the truth, he took the name Bruce, refused to behave like a girl. Already in adulthood, Bruce underwent several operations, the purpose of which was to restore physical signs of sex.
Like many other well-known psychological experiments, this one had terrible consequences. For some time, Bruce tried to improve his life, even married and adopted the children of his wife. However, psychological trauma from childhood did not pass without a trace. After several unsuccessful suicide attempts, the man still managed to get his hands on himself, he died at the age of 38. The life of his parents, who suffered from what was happening in the family, was also destroyed. Father turned into an alcoholic, mother also committed suicide.
Stuttering nature
The list of psychological experiments in which children became participants is worth continuing. In 1939, Professor Johnson, enlisting the support of graduate student Mary, decided to conduct an interesting study. The scientist set himself the goal of proving that the parents who âconvinceâ their children that they are stutters are to blame for the stuttering of children.
To conduct the study, Johnson assembled a group of more than twenty children from orphanages. The participants in the experiment were suggested that they had problems with speech, which were absent in reality. As a result, almost all the guys became isolated, began to avoid communication with others, they really had a stutter. Of course, after the end of the study, children were helped to get rid of speech problems.
Many years later, some of the band members who were most affected by Professor Johnsonâs actions were awarded large cash compensation paid by Iowa. It was proved that a cruel experiment became a source of serious psychological trauma for them.
Milgram Experience
There were other interesting psychological experiments on people. The list cannot be enriched with the famous research that Stanley Milgram conducted in the last century. Yale University psychologist tried to study the features of the functioning of the mechanism of submission to authority. The scientist tried to understand whether a person is really capable of performing acts unusual for him, if the person insisting on him insists on it.
Milgram made the participants of the experiment his own students, who respected him. One of the group members (student) must answer the questions of others, alternately acting as teachers. If the student was mistaken, the teacher had to shock him with electric current, this continued until the questions ended. At the same time, the actor acted as a student, only playing the suffering from receiving current discharges, which was not told to other participants in the experiment.
Like other psychological experiments on people, the list of which is given in this article, experience has provided amazing results. The study involved 40 students. Only 16 of them succumbed to the entreaties of the actor, asking him to stop shocking him for mistakes, the rest successfully continued to discharge discharges, obeying the order of Milgram. When asked what caused them to cause suffering to a stranger, not suspecting that he was not really in pain, the students did not find what to answer. In fact, the experiment demonstrated the dark side of human nature.
Landis Research
Psychological experiments on people similar to Milgramâs experience were also conducted. Examples of such studies are quite numerous, however, the work of Carney Landis, dating to 1924, managed to become most famous. The psychologist was interested in human emotions, he set up a series of experiments, trying to identify the common features of the expression of certain emotions in different people.
The voluntary participants in the experiment were mainly students whose faces were painted with black lines, allowing them to better see the movement of the facial muscles. Students were shown pornographic materials, forced to smell substances with a repulsive smell, lower their hands in a vessel filled with frogs.
The most difficult stage of the experiment is the killing of rats, which the participants were ordered to decapitate with their own hands. The experience yielded amazing results, like many other psychological experiments on people, examples of which you are reading now. About half of the volunteers flatly refused to obey the professorâs order, while the rest coped with the task. Ordinary people, who had never before shown a tendency to torment animals, obeying the orders of the teacher, cut off live rats' heads. The study did not allow to determine the universal mimic movements characteristic of all people, but it showed the dark side of human nature.
The fight against homosexuality
The list of the most famous psychological experiments would not be complete without the cruel experience set in 1966. In the 60s, the fight against homosexuality gained immense popularity, it is no secret that people in those days were treated for their interest in representatives of their sex by force.
The 1966 experiment was performed on a group of people who were suspected of homosexual inclinations. Participants in the experiment were forced to view homosexual pornography while simultaneously punishing them with electric discharges. It was assumed that such actions should develop in people an aversion to intimate contact with people of their gender. Of course, all members of the group received psychological trauma, one of them even died, unable to withstand the numerous electric shocks. It was not possible to find out whether the experience had an effect on the orientation of homosexuals.
Teens and gadgets
Psychological experiments on people at home are often carried out, but only a few of these experiments become known. A study was conducted a few years ago, which volunteers were ordinary teenagers. Schoolchildren were asked to abandon all modern gadgets for 8 hours, including a mobile phone, laptop, TV. At the same time, they were not forbidden to go for a walk, read, draw.
Other psychological experiments (at home) did not impress the public as much as this study. The results of the experiment showed that only three participants managed to endure the 8-hour âtortureâ. The remaining 65 were âbrokenâ, they had thoughts about leaving life, they were faced with panic attacks. Also, children complained of symptoms such as dizziness, nausea.
Witness effect
Interestingly, high-profile crimes can also be an incentive for scientists who conduct psychological experiments. Real examples are easy to recall, say, the experience of the âEffect of the witnessâ, set in 1968 by two professors. John and Bibb were amazed at the many witnesses who watched the murder of the girl Kitty Genovese. The crime was committed in front of dozens of people, but no one made an attempt to stop the killer.
John and Bibb invited volunteers to spend some time in the audience at Columbia University, assuring them that their task was to fill out the papers. A few minutes later, the room was filled with smoke harmless to health. Then the same experience was conducted with a group of people gathered in the same audience. Further, instead of smoke, records were used screaming for help.
Other psychological experiments, examples of which are given in the article, were much more cruel, however, the experience of the âwitness effectâ along with them went down in history. Scientists were able to establish that a person who is alone is much quicker to seek help or provide it than a group of people, even if there are only two or three participants in it.
To be like everyone
In our country, even in the days of the Soviet Union, curious psychological experiments were carried out on people. The USSR is a state in which for many years it was customary not to stand out from the crowd. It is not surprising that many experiments of that time were devoted to the study of the desire of the average person to be like everyone else.
Children of various ages became participants in fascinating psychological research. For example, a group of 5 guys was invited to try rice porridge, which all members of the team had a positive attitude towards. Four children were fed sweet porridge, then it was the turn of the fifth participant, who received a portion of tasteless salty porridge. When these guys were asked if they liked the dish, most of them gave an affirmative answer. It happened because before that all their comrades praised the porridge, and the children wanted to be like everyone else.
Other classic psychological experiments were also put on children. For example, a group of several participants was asked to name the black pyramid white. Only one child was not warned in advance; he was asked last about the color of the toy. After listening to the answers of their comrades, most of the unpredictable kids claimed that the black pyramid is white, thus following the crowd.
Animal experiments
Of course, not only classical psychological experiments are put on people. The list of high-profile studies that have gone down in history will not be complete if we do not mention the experiment on monkeys conducted in 1960. The experiment was called "The Source of Despair", its author was Harry Harlow.
The scientist was interested in the problem of human social isolation, he was looking for ways to protect himself from it. In his research, Harlow did not use people, but monkeys, or rather the cubs of these animals. Toddlers were taken away from their mother, locked up alone in cages. The participants in the experiment were only animals whose emotional connection with their parents was not in doubt.
Cubs of monkeys, by the will of a cruel professor, spent a whole year in a cage, not receiving the slightest âportionâ of communication. As a result, most of these prisoners developed clear mental abnormalities. The scientist was able to confirm his theory that even a happy childhood does not save from depression. At the moment, the experimental results are considered insignificant. In the 60s, the professor received many letters from animal advocates, involuntarily made the movement of advocates for the rights of our smaller brothers more popular.
Acquired helplessness
Of course, other high-profile psychological experiments were conducted on animals. Say, in 1966, a scandalous experience was set up, which was called "Acquired Helplessness." Psychologists Mark and Steve used dogs in their studies. The animals were locked in cages, then they began to be hurt with the help of electric shocks, which they received suddenly. Gradually, dogs developed symptoms of âacquired helplessness,â which resulted in clinical depression.Even after they were moved to open cells, they did not flee from the ongoing electric shocks. Animals preferred to endure pain, convinced of its inevitability.
Scientists considered that the behavior of dogs is in many ways similar to the behavior of people who happened to experience failure several times in a particular business. They are also helpless, ready to reconcile with their bad luck.