Through the delineation of psychologist Stanley Milgram’s experiment, the podcast “The Influence You Have” by Hidden Brain primarily argues that the impact we have on others is often greater than we give it credit for. The podcast depicts some research studies that demonstrate how powerfully others are influenced by us without even realizing it. Milgram’s controversial student-teacher experiment is one such example. In this experiment, there was an experimenter, who provided the instructions, and a teacher who asked questions and delivered punishment for incorrect answers to the next participant, the student, via shocking. The purpose of the experiment was to test the extent of people’s level of obedience. Milgram was curious about how far people would go to execute a command if it meant causing harm to another person.  The psychologist was concerned about how readily regular people could be persuaded to perpetrate atrocities, such as the Nazi atrocities against Jews– the Holocaust.  s experiment is contentious because not only does it place the teacher in an ethical quandary, but the participant is also subject to substantial psychological discomfort. Additional controversy arose as many questioned the ethics of the one who gave the instructions: the experimenter, rather than the teacher who obeyed the experimenter. Although the teacher followed the experimenter’s instructions to shock the student (an actor) for each erroneous answer, people perceived the instructor as an immoral individual without understanding how difficult it was for him to issue those directions. The point is, the experimenter had a significant impact on the teacher that led him to inflict pain on another person. We often fail to recognize how strongly we are influenced or influence others—so strongly that our integrity is called into question and even compromised. This is particularly pertinent because people tend to submit to authority, as demonstrated by this experiment. It is also possible to assume that people comply out of fear or a desire to prove cooperative—even when operating against their moral ethics.  

A personal encounter that has significantly impacted me is an unpleasant comment I had received from a classmate in seventh grade. Hearing the words “black and ugly” uttered by a classmate whom I considered a friend had a considerably negative impact on me for years—more so than I ever realized. I questioned my own appearance and even believed his words to be true because we were both of the same race—he was just a few shades lighter than I was. His repulsive remark oftentimes caused me to view myself with great disgust and as a result, I suffered from low self-esteem for a long time. Even though I knew he was being absolutely serious, I often fooled myself into believing that he was joking in an attempt to love and appreciate my complexion. However, that changed as I matured and understood the ignorance of colorism and the value of self-appreciation. I’ll tell you what, today he’s left on seen in my DMs.