Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Studio: ABC News
• DVD Release Date: August 27, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000VHY8DW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,471 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Primetime: Basic Instincts brings some of most well known intellectual theories and psychological experiments to life for the first time to test people's innate decision making process. This limited series looks at everyday problems from weight loss to examining how small the world is, how closely connected we all are, what people are willing to do simply because someone in authority tells them to. This five-part series features reports from John Quinones, Jay Schadler and Chris Cuomo, and finds that what people say they would do in a given situation is quite different than what they actually do.

Do people listen to those in positions of authority, even if what they are telling them is wrong? That question was at the heart of the famous Stanley Milgram psychology experiments and still remains today. From the events at Abu Ghraib to Nazi Germany, people have always struggled to understand why seemingly ordinary people can sometimes do bad, or even terrible, things. Primetime working with a major university, conducts the experiment again to see whether people's responses have changed since the original Milgram experiment in 1961.

Anchor: Chris Cuomo Airdate: January 3, 2007

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent teaching video, December 21, 2007

By	Dr. M. D. Bannoura "nybullmastiff" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a psychology professor I found this video to be an excellent way to start a conversation on the concept of obedience. Milgram's work sheds such light on human behavior that to be able to rerun parts to the experiment for the show was great. Most students think we have changed since Milgram's time and the video shows we really have not. The other stories on Zimbaro's work and a current news story add to the discussions. I highly recommend it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, December 24, 2007

By	Amy Goncharoff (Joliet, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a psychology professor and this DVD is a great addition to my class. Not only does it discuss the Milgram experiment (and re-create it), but it discusses the Zimbardo prison study (complete with video excerpts from the original experiment). It also discusses the Abu Graib prison situation in comparison to Zimbardo's study and has a brief interview with Zimbardo.

Another interesting fact is that the re-creation of Milgram's study differentiates between male and female subjects. It also interviews subjects afterward and questions them about their behavior. Truly great for an hour video and for the price.

Also explanatory enough to be fascinating for a "layperson" - my husband loved it!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful!, January 4, 2008

By	E. Osborne (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a psychology teacher and have found that this program is very effective in introducing social psychology to my students. It is well made and is approachable enough for the students to follow along.

I especially appreciated the additional case studies and experiments (such as Zimbardo's prison experiment) that the special addressed in detail.