Rigged draw for 'teacher' and 'learner' roles, naive pp always gets 'teacher' role
Teacher sees learner (NP) strapped in 'electric chair', leather straps used to 'prevent excessive movement' & electrode paste 'avoid blisters+burns' applied before electrode placed on learners wrists
Teacher taken to another room & is told electrode linked to shock generator, sat down before it + is supervised by experimenter
Shock generator= 30 switches, every 4 switches= shock labels ('slight shock'-'***') pressing each switch electric buzzing heard, voltage meter moves& various relay clicks are heard. Experimenter uses 3rd switch(45v) to teacher as 'sample shock'
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Procedures Continued
Learning task = teacher told to give shock when learner gave incorrect answer & to higher voltage every time, reading aloud the shock level each time
Feedback from learner = give 3 wrong answers to ever right one, told to make no protest until shock level reached 300v, pound on wall but make no further comment
If teacher hesitates, experimenter says 'please continue', 'exp requires you continue', 'absolutely essential you continue', 'no other choice, must go on'. If NP asks about learner then 'shocks may be painful, no permenant tissue damage, so go on'
Teacher was debriefed & experimenter reunites teacher & learner & then interviewed about experience
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