He recruited forty participants and told them that they would participate in a study on the effects of punishment on learning. When they showed up at the testing site, they met an experimenter and confederate, Mr. Wallace, who they were led to believe was another study participant, just like them. As part of the experiment, it was determined that the participants would take on the role of "teacher" and Mr. Wallace would take on the role of "learner". The procedure that participants had to follow was simple; they had to read Mr. Wallace a list of paired words and then, through a series of multiple-choice questions, test his memory. If he answered the question correctly, participants moved on; however, if he was wrong, they were to administer a shock, by pressing the indicated switches on the shock generator, with the shocks increasing by fifteen volts with each incorrect response. As the shocks increase, Mr. Wallace begins to show more and more signs of distress, demanding an end to the study and even complaining of a heart condition. Despite his hesitations, the participants continued the experiment at the request of the experimenter; if the participant commented that he or she wanted to stop or monitor the learner, the experimenter pressed the participant by remarking “it is absolutely essential that you continue” or “you have no other choice; you must continue” (Kassin,