Cable Car Cinema Providence, RI
Rolf Nelson
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Program Coordinator, Wheaton College
Experimenter— Fear and human obedience to authority
Program Description
A discussion about Stanley Milgram's controversial experiment, its impact on society, and how obedience to authority shapes our modern culture.
Presented At
Cable Car Cinema Providence, RI
Film Synopsis
In 1961, famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of radical behavior experiments that tested ordinary humans willingness to obey authority.
Based on a true story, the film follows famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard), who in 1961 conducted a series of radical behavior experiments that tested ordinary humans' willingness to obey by using electric shock. The story traces Milgram's life, from meeting his wife Sasha (Winona Ryder) through his controversial experiments that sparked public outcry.
About the Speaker
Rolf Nelson is Professor of Psychology and the coordinator of the neuroscience program at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., where he teaches courses in perception, cognition, learning and memory, and consciousness. Nelson received his PhD in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his BA from Macalester College in St. Paul, in his home state of Minnesota.