At 10:00 a.m. on December 14, 1970, the first batch of volunteers arrived for a psychology experiment to Princeton, New Jersey. The participants were seminary students at Princeton Theological, studying religion in preparation for a life of spiritual service.
Upon arrival at the study administrator’s office, the participants were told that the experiment would examine career paths of seminarians. Each was asked to prepare a short talk on the topic and given some reading material for inspiration. Half the participants received a sheet of paper with questions and ideas about the best use of a seminary education. The other half received a copy of the famous New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, who stops on the road to help someone in need. All of this, unbeknownst to the volunteers, was mere prelude.
The administrator then informed each volunteer that, due to space constraints, they would have to walk over to a different building to share their talk. The participants were handed a map outlining a route that took
