If you could conduct any human [sic]bahaviour experiment, without risk to those participating, what would it be? What is your hypothesis for how it would turn out?
Zimbardo:
The answer to this provocative question is given in the introduction to chp 16 in my Lucifer Effect book (2007) where I invited anyone to perform a Reverse Milgram experiment. Milgram was able to demonstrate the relative ease with which ordinary people, 1000 of them, could be systematically led to administer increasingly dangerous levels of shock to an innocent victim by means of gradually raising the shock level with each trial by only 15 volts, until by the end of 30 shocks the voltage was raised to a near lethal 450 volts. At least 2 of every 3 participants went all the way down that slippery slope.
Now can we demonstrate the opposite, that ordinary people can be gradually led to engage in increasingly “good” socially redeeming deeds up to a point of engaging in extremely altruistic, heroic actions, which initially they assert they would never be willing to do?
It would have to be well crafted with early assessments of the prosocial value of each target action on the way up the slippery slope of goodness. It might have to be individually tailored to the values and interests of the target person, thus for some giving one’s time is precious, for others it would be money, or working in undesirable conditions, or with an unattractive population of people, etc.
It would be sad to conclude that it is easier to get ordinary people to do evil, than to do heroic actions, so I personally welcome someone to systematically take up my challenge, and I will serve as free consultant.
If you are in experimental psychology, taking him up on this promise sounds like a good way to make your career.
(And perhaps do some good along the way.)
“What are the important problems in your field? Why aren’t you working on them?”
yes, getting this done and associated it with lesswrong could be very high visibility and status raising. Must one be affiliated with a psych dept at an academic institution to have any hope of being published?
Before worrying about getting published, there is the problem of securing the people and the funding required to design and execute a large experiment.
Still, no reason a professor of Economics or, uhm, practical ethics or something shouldn’t be able to do it, given the right team. The Reverse Milgram experiment is a pretty sexy idea given the history and fame of the original study. Shouldn’t be a hard sell to the appropriate university department.
Gandhi seems to have been unusually successful at kindling the hero in the common man, using appeal to authority, appeal to personal responsibility (Inverse Milgram) and some other ingredients. Perhaps an attempt to dissolve and emulate Gandhi’s social experiments in a proper experimental setting could make a candidate for a Reverse Milgram Experiment.
The social experiments of Gandhi, I believe he referred to them as such, do perhaps serve to show that something like the Reverse Milgram Experiment should be possible, even if he did so before the Milgram Experiment was even conceived of.
One problem that comes to mind is that there would likely need to be a significant perceived cost or threat to the subjects, in order to get interesting, publishable results. Heroic actions don’t often come at no cost.
Gandhi seems to have been unusually successful at kindling the hero in the common man.
Using appeal to authority, appeal to personal responsibility (Inverse Milgram) and other ingredients.
Perhaps an attempt to dissolve and emulate Gandhi’s methods in an experimental setting could make a candidate for a Reverse Milgram Experiment. I guess there is a problem in that there would likely need to be a significant perceived cost or threat to the subjects, in order to get interesting, publishable results?
From Dr. Zimbardo in his recent IAMA on Reddit:
Mawkish asks:
Zimbardo:
If you are in experimental psychology, taking him up on this promise sounds like a good way to make your career.
(And perhaps do some good along the way.)
“What are the important problems in your field? Why aren’t you working on them?”
yes, getting this done and associated it with lesswrong could be very high visibility and status raising. Must one be affiliated with a psych dept at an academic institution to have any hope of being published?
Before worrying about getting published, there is the problem of securing the people and the funding required to design and execute a large experiment.
Still, no reason a professor of Economics or, uhm, practical ethics or something shouldn’t be able to do it, given the right team. The Reverse Milgram experiment is a pretty sexy idea given the history and fame of the original study. Shouldn’t be a hard sell to the appropriate university department.
Gandhi seems to have been unusually successful at kindling the hero in the common man, using appeal to authority, appeal to personal responsibility (Inverse Milgram) and some other ingredients. Perhaps an attempt to dissolve and emulate Gandhi’s social experiments in a proper experimental setting could make a candidate for a Reverse Milgram Experiment.
The social experiments of Gandhi, I believe he referred to them as such, do perhaps serve to show that something like the Reverse Milgram Experiment should be possible, even if he did so before the Milgram Experiment was even conceived of.
One problem that comes to mind is that there would likely need to be a significant perceived cost or threat to the subjects, in order to get interesting, publishable results. Heroic actions don’t often come at no cost.
Gandhi seems to have been unusually successful at kindling the hero in the common man.
Using appeal to authority, appeal to personal responsibility (Inverse Milgram) and other ingredients.
Perhaps an attempt to dissolve and emulate Gandhi’s methods in an experimental setting could make a candidate for a Reverse Milgram Experiment. I guess there is a problem in that there would likely need to be a significant perceived cost or threat to the subjects, in order to get interesting, publishable results?