The next day I arrived at Yale University with a great sense anxiety as to what I was going to be asked to do. I had never been to this University before so as I began to walk to the front desk I felt a slightly uneasy as I was in an unfamiliar place. The man at the desk told me to go down the second corridor on my left and wait there. As I approached the designated spot a man who looked about the same age as me approached me. We began causally talking to each other when I realised that he was here for the same experiment. Finding someone else who was involved in the experiment made be a little more comfortable with the situation.
Moments later a tall, mysterious looking figure strolled towards us and asked our names. He introduced himself as Professor Milgram, he then lead us both down a series of corridors until we came to a large steel door labelled:
**DANGER-HIGH VOLTAE IN USAGE**
At first I didn’t pay much attention to sign, what a mistake that was going to be. The professor then explained what he wanted us each do.
It all seem pretty straight forward, so we began to toss for who was going to play the role of the teacher/student. I ended being the teacher, but before I was asked to start asking the questions I was lead through the big steel doors into a dark room with one large chair inside. He explained to me that each question that the pupil got wrong I was to administer a shock, the more questions answered wrong the greater the shock gets. I asked me to sit in the chair and experience a shock of 45 volts, I agreed and sat in the chair waiting for the shock. It didn’t hurt but it was an extremely uncomfortably feeling.
The professor led me into a small room next door to the room I had previously been in. This room had thirty levers scattered all around the room, all with different labels on ranging from “Slight shock” to “Danger-serve shock”. I now began to start trembling with fear, I never asked to hurt anyone, and I looked towards the door as a quick exit. But Professor Milgram was leaning against it with his crossed as tightly as the door was closed.
Once I had loosened by tie and collar I began to ask the questions, which the pupil had to answer with a series of buttons that one of his hands were able to reach. The first few questions were answered correctly so no shock needed to be administered but he began to answer more and more incorrectly. So I increased the voltage, form 75 volts upwards I could hear a slow hissing noise and groans of pain. Even though I knew that something was not right with the experiment I still continued to give the shocks.
I got up to 180 volts and the pupil began screaming stop, this was no longer a joke I was going to kill him if I continued. I turned to the professor and laughed to cover up my anger and distress. I said to him that I think the pupil has had enough and that the professor must have enough results to stop. He merely just shock his head and told be to continue and for some unknown reason I did.
I pulled the lever for 300 volts and after the initial scream of pain there was silence. The remaining questions were unanswered but as no answer counted as a wrong answer, I was told to keep going. I thought to myself, that I might have killed this person and I had to say something. I turned to the professor once again and instead of saying anything I darted towards the door and with all my power knocked the professor to the ground.
I ran out of the room and tried to get into the big steel door, which the pupil was sitting, dead? It was no use the steel door was not going to open without a key, I turned and ran to the person who I knew would have the key, Professor Milgram. I ran to the place where I had knocked him down but he wasn’t to be seen, I went inside the control room but that was empty too.
At that moment I heard voices coming down the corridor I casually walked out the room, so I wouldn’t alarm anyone. I kept my head down in case any saw me, but I glanced up only to see professor Milgram standing with the pupil, alive and well.
After they had calmed me down, they explained what they experiment was really for and why they had conducted it. I understood why they did it, but that still didn’t calm me down I was furious I actually thought I had killed someone. But when I think back to that day, I can blame no one else but myself.
