The Experimental Job

The name of the mark, Travis Zilgram, may be a combined reference to Dr. Stanley Milgram and Professor Philip Zimbardo, who were both responsible for famous university experiments. Milgram was a social psychologist at Yale University in the 1960s who conducted experiments using electric shocks (similar to the experiment Parker participates in). Zimbardo conducted the famous Stanford Prisoner Experiment in 1971; this was funded by the Office of Naval Research, and resembles the experiment being conducted by the 'Dustmen'.

When Parker is volunteering in the Psychology Department, shocking a patient is described as "negative reinforcement." However, the practice of using painful or unpleasant stimuli in psychology is called "punishment." These two terms are often confused, but are quite distinct in the psych literature. In any event, the particular experiment shown is considered unethical and would never be sanctioned in an university.

References Dog Day Afternoon (1975)