Shocking Virtual Reality

[HardOCP News]

Researchers, using a virtual woman, asked participants to shock the virtual test subject each time it gave a wrong answer. You’d be surprised how many people administered lethal shocks. Then again, knowing you guys like I do...you probably wouldn’t be surprised.

Almost half of those who could see the woman said afterwards that they had considered withdrawing from the study, and several actually did. "Of course, consciously everybody knows nothing is happening," says Slater. "But some parts of the person's perceptual system just takes it as real. Some part of the brain doesn't know about virtual reality."

 

[exitstageleft]

Sweet! It made me think of that Ghostbusters scene...

 

[Cantroy]

Nothing new here. When people thought it was a real person, they still did it roughly 70 percent of the time.

Yay Stanley Milgram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Totally explains the Holocaust, if you think about it, too.

 

[jmackay]

I want a virtual torture program on my computer

 

[jmackay]

No edit, but reminded me of this Simpsons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8si92fOgZw

 

[J-Mag]

Sweet! It made me think of that Ghostbusters scene...

Never shock the hotties

 

[Rabid Badger]

Nothing new here. When people thought it was a real person, they still did it roughly 70 percent of the time.

Yay Stanley Milgram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Totally explains the Holocaust, if you think about it, too.

That was the point of the experiment. They wanted to demonstrate that the experiment would yield the same results whether the person being shocked was real or simulated.