Have
you ever wondered why do people participate in different kinds of TV
shows and why is it so easy to catch the viewers' attention and glue
them to the screen for many hours? Maybe it's because of a big amount
of money as a prize? And even if you desired this sum, would you do
ANYTHING for it, eg. hurt someone? Probably your answer would be
negative, but so the others had thought...
In
1961-1962 at Yale University Stanley Milgram led an experiment
evaluating the propensity of obedience to authorities. He examined
over 1000 volunteers. The idea was to lie to them, that the purpose
of the experiment is checking the influence of punishment on learning
process. The participant was asked to be a teacher and read the
“student” (who was in fact Milgram's assistant) list of word
pairs, and later check how much did he remember. For every incorrect
answer, teacher was supposed to punish the student with stronger and
stronger electric shocks – from very light, to deadly ones. In the
room with the teaching person was present also someone from the
scientists, as the leader of the experiment and the authority, who
kept reminding as it was absolutely necessary to continue the
examination, no matter what the patient's sitting in the other room
reaction would be (screams, pleads for mercy, muteness – all faked
and tape - recorded). Scientists expected only 1% of participants to
use the strongest shock, whether in fact, 65% applied it to their
“students”!
In
2010 a group of French psychologists decided to extend Milgram's
researches and came up with the idea of a TV show. They convinced
France 2 to realise a program called “Le Jeu de la Mort”, which
means “The Death Game”. The concept of a show was based on this
experiment. Out of 80 volunteers, 64 (81%) applied the strongest
shock to their student/opponent, despite they weren't promised any
prize for winning the episode! What's more, nobody from the audience
present in the studio, reacted and stood up against the rules –
people were rather enthusiastic, than horrified...
Here's
a record of the original Milgram's studies from the 60's.
Summing
up, are we a population of cowards, or maybe we're looking for
extreme experiences, that we tend not to react in such situations and
choose simply to observe on them? Is it an argument explaining the
increasing popularity of violent, sometimes vulgar and pushing the
edges of good taste TV shows? I hope it's not, however the numbers
speak for themselves, you can't deny it. If so, can we change
anything or would it be against human – “predator crawling for a
thrill” – nature?
If
you are interested in "Le Jeu de la Mort" production, here is a documentary movie about it (unfortunately only in French, no subtitles).
Sources:
http://www.dailymotion.com
http://www.dailymotion.com
http://nature.berkeley.edu
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.youtube.com
Nowadays, people are looking for extreme experiences. I can't say why they are looking for it, but sometimes it is not normal and becomes dangerous. They tend not to react in such situations and observe it quietly without any movement, but with a great amount of adrenalin. What leads them to it? Why violent is so attractive? I can't find the answer to this questions.
ReplyDeleteI don't like watching this kind of TV shows, because they are meaningless for me. Sometimes I am scared and suprised about situations which take place in this program.
I agree that people are able to do a lot, when the prize is attractive for them. Hurting somebody or not following the rules isn't something new. Our ambition and desire to win are in the first place. The only thing we think about and concentrate on is to achieve a goal. People like watching rivalry and they don't care about anything else. I don't think that we suffer from lack of emotions in everyday life, because emotions create our world. It isn't good that this type of games, shows are becoming more and more popular and attractive for us.
I'm also wondering why do people keep watching this kind of shows and why they don't react when sombody's hurting? Where this thirst for adrenaline comes from? Maybe that's because nowadays many things are forbidden and somwhere deep inside every person is cruel? And maybe all the other kinds of shows and games became boring for us and we want something new and extreme?
ReplyDeleteFine, people may want to watch this but what on earth makes them want to participate in this kind of games? I guess I know the answer - prize. Oh, this is just so tempting, especially when the prize is money. It's hard to say no. But still, I think people do have some moral principles and they should stick to them.
I know the Milgram’s experiment. I think, that “prison experiment” (participants were living in the prison for 1-2 weeks and were dividing for two groups- prisoners and guards) is quite similar, because of its conclusion. Both of experiments show, that people can play a role very good, even if they must to do something dangerous for someone else, for example guards were very rigorist for prisoners, and people, who played prisoners, were behaving as real criminals.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, people injured others, because they were generally easy to be controlled and did their exercises without thinking about the result.
heard about Milgram's experiment and prison experiment. I agree that this experiments are similar. It shows how easy is manipulate people!
DeleteI think that experiment like this is important in the world of knowledge and science but after experiment like this people has problems with self. The defect of study like this is following: When participate people after experiment think about consequences their behavior, they could be scared, that they were able to do this. People are not always aware of what they are doing
I must admit I was shocked when I read about these experiments. I guess the participants didn't realize they are actually hurting the 'students' - maybe they thought of it as only an experiment. Nevertheless it shows us human nature - since ancient times people organised games and their entertainment was to watch gladiator's fights. But the other case is making a TV show out of it, which aim is to make money. I guess people watched them because of the controversies. Normal TV shows seems to be boring comparing to 'The Death Game'.
ReplyDeleteI only hope it won't evolve, and that in few years we won't witness real life "Hunger Games".
I think that the main source why the people participate in a TV shows is getting a large win and confront with their own weakness. Sometimes they behave really different than in a usually life. Thanks to new experienced-they are in the center and everyone watched them, they would like to be a king of scene during this 40 minutes and doing extraordinary things nobody knows why. This is a specific situation where mastery of emotions is very difficult. They thinking only about the money and a win and they are able to do everything even that which is not in accordance with their principles.
ReplyDeleteRemember ancient Greeks?”Bread and Circuses”?The gladiator fights? Public executions? It was BC or in the medieval, but it all says that people actually didn’t change much, since that times. People are bored, especially young generations. We didn’t experience cruelty of war, basically we all have the same rights. Violence is also a way for some to feel the power and some needs violence to express their anger. Maybe people are not violent by nature, but their environment shapes them. When being young all you see in TV is cruelty you actually start believe that this is how the word works.
ReplyDeleteI also do not understand why people like such extreme experiences and aggression. But the fact is that even in ancient times, people liked to see fight to the death, and the participants were not always forced to do this, often fought of their own will. So we can see that people really do anything to get something, to win. For me it is incomprehensible. I personally don't like to watch such programs and I don't know why people like those things. Also I don't like watching any fights such as boxing. I really do not understand why people are so interested in this.
ReplyDeleteWe are cowards. Yes. But in this case some other definition would be suitable. We are just aggressive. That resides inside us, inside every human. Freud described id, ego and super-ego as parts of human psyche. The last one is moral componetne, which controls us. Ego is rational balance between super-ego and id, which is part of nature and impractical, uncontrollable hedonism. And this natural, primitive power led us to behaviors like in this TV program. It’s also connected with conception of tanatos, some power in our minds. We loves to fight, to make pain, to destroy, but we do it rarely because of social control. But in some situation control is not working or allows us to make extraordinary things.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard about this experiment and that show in French TV. I think this is cruel. In my opinion people always searching an extreme sensations and like when someone else suffers. There is many exceptions of course. Other people try to make some money like a French psychologists who came up with the idea of the Milgram’s researches of a TV show. Many people on the audience were enthusiastic when somebody shock stunned their opponents. This reflects a lack of sensitivity.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that people take pleasure from hurting others, however we're definitely looking for a thrill. It turns us on (unfortunately), which doesn't mean that I applause it. I was also shocked by the audience's reaction.
DeleteI want to rectify something, because you misunderstood the psychologists' idea. They didn't want to make money on this TV show, but to carry the same experiment as in the 60's, but in a bit different conditions.
I think that in people nature is need to see other people pain or even death. From the eldest cultures to nowadays pain and death were our most aborginal instincts. So there's nothing to be worry or outraged - it's just our nature. We have to see tragedy or pain from time to time. It's nothing bad in my opinion, we just have to watch if it's getting serious - if it's getting the only sense of our life.
DeleteI heard about this experiment on psychology. It's no clear to me why people so interested in agression, the view of suffering, someone inficiting pain. However, these days, people often spend their free time watching boxing or other kind of fight. These day very popular are fight like mma, ksv. Why the people make certain pleasure watching it? I don't know. For me it is horrible. I don't like agression.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it is a matter of bravery, and I don't really know how endulging and need for brutality, execution and similar experiences are correlated to cowardience.
ReplyDeleteWe are animals. We have urges and needs for experience that our more ethical 'more evolved' society view as evil. It is duplicitous thing, that brain and mindset we are so proud of.
We evolved in surroundings that required hunting. No one would convince me that at dawn of homo sapiens species people who killed fellow men, used rape to procreate and maimed anyone who could be considered a rival were seen as wrong. Criminals or whatever anyone want to call them. They were feared. If it wasn't for external danger that required cooperation and gathering on conditions where such instincts needed to be somehow supressed, we would probably still be like that.
But such gatherings of men, were easier to live. Cooperation, trade and exchange, and finaly language were developing. We adapted mentaly to such changes faster then our physiology. But even in Roman Empire, there were collosea. Wars, pillage etc were common during midleages. But now, we have social order, better sanctioning and juristriction. We were forced by external pressure to be in such order. We could evolve without it, but it is debatable.
Our social and mental development took from animal to what we are now less then ten thousand years. Our adaptation and need to rely on predatory instinct and ability to make other fearfull of us took orders of magnitude longer. We adapted minds faster then our brains.
This is, in my misantropic opinion, reason of our current need for such experiences.
I have heard about that experiment lots of times and I think that it shows our true nature - exposure of our natural predilection for cruelty is what horrifies us the most, but I think that aspect of conformism is much more important here. People, who participated in this experiment were cruel, that's true, but not their cruelty pushed them to do that - it was the influence of other people. Another classic experiment comes to my mind, the one made by Solomon Asch, where the aspect of conformism in human nature was exposed even more. Both of these experiments are showing our true nature and both are prooving how strong social influence can be - cruelty is just an effect of it, not necessarilly inseperable part of all human beings' nature.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a take part in such programs. Why other people are watching?
ReplyDeleteA thrill of adrenaline is needed in life. It adds excitement. Emotions are a brilliant thing, it makes life a little more interesting. Although such programs fooling people will watch them, because something happens in them. Maybe they wanted to be in their place. These programs are popular, but in time, because the time is boring as anything.
Perhaps it is interesting that the extreme event they turn into dangerous.
Personally, I don't watch TV because I do not know whether such a program would make me interested.
I have friends who would certainly liked the idea, because they like to laugh at people who took part in it.
I heard many times about this experimnet, last time at my psychology classes. Results of this experiment are terrible, I even can't understand how people could continue to inflict (fictional luckly) pain, when the second person was screaming and asking to stop experimnet. Moreover making program about this experiment with audience, shows that many people enjoy watching when someone suffers.
ReplyDeleteI think the people nowadays want to feel, see something extreme because they've never seen something what was real extreme. I heard that nowadays people don't know what the real adrenaline is because we wasn't for example at war so we are looking for some extreme feeling all the time. We are looking for some extreme feelings in TV what is perfect for us because we have a certainty that we are safe, we only experience TV shows.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main reason why people participate in this type of programs is high prize, which attracts volunteers. People like watching these programs because they are somewhat detached from reality. Man is by nature curious, what is not allowed, attracts more interest. Man is basically an animal can therefore enjoys watching violence.
ReplyDeleteWe believe that human beings are good. Violence between humans looks, as a form of communication and it is a human nature. I don't believe that people are good, that they were created good. Violence as entertainment has existed for thousands of years. TV Shows- games like this or prison experiment named prisoners' dilemma gives that sad conclusion. People are bad, mental and cruel. Coincidences and way of foster is the most important in men behavior.
ReplyDeleteWe believe that human beings are good. Violence between humans looks, as a form of communication and it is a human nature. I don't believe that people are good, that they were created good. Violence as entertainment has existed for thousands of years. TV Shows- games like this or prison experiment named prisoners' dilemma gives that sad conclusion. People are bad, mental and cruel. Coincidences and way of foster is the most important in men behavior.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me quite amazing that people are able to hurt or kill others in order to achieve such a poor goal or even not to gain anything. Many animals fight against other specimens of their species but hardly ever do they kill the opponent. Society loves rivalry and blood, many successful movies or shows are based only on that.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say... Quoting Albert Einstein “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” I don't understand that kind of 'activity' but if someone wants to play that kind of game - so be it. The less stupid people on this planet, the better. We already have too much of them walking on the streets or working in the government.
ReplyDelete