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500 BCE
Hippocratic Oath
Hippocrates brought the Hippocratic Oath, which stands as a principle for ethical psychological practice & research. People swear to first do no harm & the benefits from research must outweigh any risks. -
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Tuskeegee Syphilis Study
Over 600 impoverished black sharecroppers were studied to document racial differences in the clinical manifestations of syphilis. The men were not told of their diagnosis, were untreated, & received no counseling on how to avoid spreading the disease. Research was stopped when what was happening became public, however many had already died & the disease had spread to loved ones. -
Milgram Experiment
Experiments designed to assess participants' willingness to obey an authority figure & cause harm to others, though doing so conflicted with their personal beliefs. One participant is assigned the teacher role, while the other is assigned the student role. The student must recite a series of words the teacher reads aloud, however if they get it wrong, the teacher must administer an electric shock to the student. -
Stanford Prison Experiment
Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment that involved 24 students as participants, either acting as a "guard" or "prisoner" inside a mock prison in Stanford University. Students acting as prisoners were given the full experience of being arrested, strip searches, etc. The study revealed how reasonable people could become unreasonable, & even sadistic, when backed by ideological authority.