An experiment in a basement
In August 1961, psychologist Stanley Milgram began a series of experiments in the basement of Linsly-Chittenden Hall at Yale University. The study was advertised to local men as a scientific investigation of memory and learning, paying participants $4.50 for one hour of their time. Each participant, upon arrival, was introduced to a stern man in a grey lab coat, the "Experimenter," and another supposed participant, who was actually a confederate in the study.
A rigged draw always assigned the true subject to the role of "Teacher" and the confederate to the role of "Learner." The Teacher watched as the Learner was strapped into a chair with electrodes attached to his arms. The Teacher was then taken to an adjacent room and seated in front of an imposing shock generator. The machine had a row of 30 switches, starting at 15 volts and increasing in 15-volt increments to a maximum of 450 volts. Labels on the machine described the shock levels, ranging from "Slight Shock" to "Danger: Severe Shock" and, finally, "XXX" for the highest two levels. To convince the Teacher of the machine's authenticity, a real 45-volt sample shock was administered to them before the test began. The task was simple: the Teacher would read word pairs, and for every incorrect answer from the Learner, they were to administer an electric shock, increasing the voltage with each error.