Selects: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Experiment

Milton Rokeach was a social psychologist who set out to understand the foundations of an individual's sense of identity and what constituted their core beliefs.

Rokeach was a social psychologist interested in challenging people's sense of identity

Rokeach was intrigued by the effect of challenging a person's identity. He had observed that even minor disruptions, like referring to someone by the wrong name, could elicit a strong emotional response.

Rokeach noticed that messing with a person's name or identity could quickly trigger an anxious or traumatic response, even in children

In his own experience with his daughters, Rokeach found that being called by the wrong name transitioned from amusement to a plea to stop, revealing the traumatic potential when one's sense of self is under siege. From this, he understood that identity is a sensitive aspect of the human psyche, and challenging it can quickly lead to intense emotional reactions.

Rokeach believed he could push this further by targeting mentally unstable individuals in state institutions, rationalizing that since their lives were "useless anyway," there was little to lose and potentially much to gain

Rokeach rationalized the ethical implications of potential harm by stating that studying people with "normal" beliefs was not possible, thus making the choice to experiment on mentally unstable individuals with delusional beliefs. He implied that their lives were "basically useless anyway," suggesting that the risks were minimal relative to the potential knowledge that could be gained from such an experiment.

Rokeach designed an experiment to confront three men who each believed they were Jesus Christ

Rokeach handpicked three patients from Michigan state hospitals, each of whom was convinced he was Jesus Christ.

Rokeach handpicked three patients from Michigan state hospitals who all shared the delusion that they were Christ

The patients were given special treatment and separ ...

The stories of three men, Joseph Cassell, Clyde Benson, and Leon Gabor, illustrate the complexities of living with delusional belief systems. Each man believed he was a divine figure and their individual narratives highlight the deep-seated issues intertwining mental health, trauma, and identity.

Joseph Cassell was a 58-year-old Canadian who had been hospitalized for 20 years and believed he was both God and Jesus

Joseph Cassell’s 20-year hospitalization came after a traumatic life marked by an abusive father and the early death of his mother during childbirth. After his institutionalization in Canada, he developed the delusional belief that he was God or Jesus, maintaining that identity with conviction, even speaking with an English accent and considering the hospital to be an English stronghold. Despite his displaced sense of reality, Joseph exhibited a sharp intellect and showed talent as a writer.

He faced difficulties at home, doubting the paternity of his three daughters and accused people of poisoning his food, alongside hoarding books. His refusal to work outside the house was a point of contention in mid-century America, leading to his institutionalization. Joseph dismissed any challenges to his divine identity, confidently asserting his status and maintaining a demeanor that suggested he was descended from royalty.

Joseph had a traumatic upbringing with an abusive father and an early death of his mother

Joseph Cassell suffered under an abusive father, particularly towards his mother. His mother’s passing while giving birth to her ninth child left a void in his upbringing and may have contributed to his complex delusions.

Despite these challenges, Joseph harbored aspirations of becoming a writer, a testament to his mental acuity and creativity amid his psychological struggles.

Clyde Benson was a 70-year-old alcoholic with paranoid schizophrenia who had been hospitalized for 17 years

Clyde Benson endured his own set of trials, grappling with a childhood marked by overprotection, rendering him unable to make autonomous decisions. His life spiraled further as he delved into alcoholism, which exasperated his paranoid schizophrenia.

Committed to a mental hospital at age 53, he identified himself as Jesus Christ and God, asserting that he had been reborn through his first wife, Shirley, the Queen of Heaven. Clyde was known for his distant demeanor and violent outbursts, although when calm, he expressed his beliefs with a strik ...

In their discussion, Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark delve into the controversial and unethical methods employed by the psychologist Milton Rokeach while manipulating the identities of three men who each believed they were Jesus Christ. Rokeach's initial hypothesis was that by confronting these men with each other's identical claims to divinity, their delusional beliefs would be shaken.

Interactions and debates about Christ identity

It was anticipated that having the three men interact and debate their assertions of being Christ would lead them to question their own delusions. However, the men remained steadfast in their beliefs. Rather than directly challenging them in a way that likely would have been fruitless, Rokeach resorted to more divisive and underhanded tactics.

The three men generally did not argue about who was the true divine entity amongst themselves when left alone. They adopted a "live and let live" stance where they respected each other's beliefs. Rokeach, seeing that his plan wasn't working, decided to employ more duplicitous strategies.

Rokeach's manipulation through false communications

To further his study, Rokeach arranged for the men to receive letters and phone calls from fictitious authority figures within the context of their delusional belief systems. This involved cruel deceptions that played directly into their delusions.

The case of Leon and the "Madame Yeti Woman"

For Leon, one of the patients, Rokeach went as far as employing a female graduate student to pose as Leon's delusional "wife" Madame Yeti Woman. This ruse led Leon to fall in love with the graduate student, and he was subsequently devastated when the relationship did not materialize. In parallel, Rokeach began corresponding with Leon under the guise of Madame Yeti Woman, further validating Leon's delusory experiences. This correspondence influenced Leon's behavior and emotional state.

Leon was eagerly responsive to the letters from Madame Yeti Woman and was visibly moved by the attention—holding back tears and expressing happiness at being cared for. Rokeach pushed this manipulation further by setting up a meeting that would never happen. Leon's subsequent emotional distress when Madame Yeti Woman failed to appear as promised illustrates the unethical depths of Rokeach's methods.

The case of Joseph and the hospital superintendent

Regarding Joseph, another patient, Rokeach wrote letters to Joseph posing as the hospital superintendent, Dr. Yoder. Dr. Yoder was a fatherly figure in Joseph's delusions, and through t ...

The "Three Christs of Ypsilanti" was an experiment that continues to haunt the field of psychology for its ethical implications and the aftermath faced by the subjects involved.

Despite the experiment's unethical nature, it was initially hailed as a landmark study in psychology

Chuck Bryant recalls studying the experiment, known as the "Three Christs of Ypsilanti," in his college psychology class, remembering it was once considered a landmark study. However, the ethical underpinnings have since cast a shadow over its initial acclaim.

Rokeach's own graduate assistants eventually quit the experiment, disturbed by the ethics violations

Rokeach, whose name is misprinted as Roquiche in the transcripts referenced, faced significant pushback from his own graduate assistants. They confronted Rokeach after observing that the three men involved in the study were generally respectful to one another, and argued against the direction the experiment was taking. Eventually, the assistants quit, disagreeing with his methods and the treatment of the subjects.

In later years, Rokeach came to regret his actions, admitting he had played "God" with the men's lives

Roquiche, or Rokeach, later harbored serious regrets about the experiment. Josh Clark cites that Rokeach felt he had suffered from godlike delusions himself. He recognized the moral issues with his approach, regretting having published the study before fully understanding the ethical dimensions and consequences of his manipulation. Rokeach changed his research methods afterward, focusing on self-examination and confrontation instead of directly manipulating subjects.

The three men were simply returned to the general hospital population after the experiment, with little follow-up or support to help them recover from the trauma

The subjects of th ...