Ordinary people administering shocks showed extreme, characteristic distress

Evidence

Many subjects showed signs of nervousness in the experimental situation, and especially upon administering the more powerful shocks. In a large number of cases the degree of tension reached extremes that are rarely seen in sociopsychological laboratory studies. Subjects were observed to sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan, and dig their fingernails into their flesh. These were characteristic rather than exceptional responses to the experiment. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 593

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Milgram’s obedience theory locates harsh action in situational authority pressure, not internal hatred. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 602; Ordinary, unselected Germans carried out mass killing when asked — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 315; Most subjects delivered labeled high-voltage shocks within seconds of being asked — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3907 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Ordinary people can commit extreme brutality under the right circumstances #expands (0.85) — Farrar, Straus and Giroux Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone- Memoirs of a Boy…, 1
• Most subjects delivered labeled high-voltage shocks within seconds of being asked #corroborates (0.80) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3907