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All of those things lead people to respond to the situational queues. >> reporter: the show is part a documentary airing on french tv, which examines what its tv called tv's mind-numbing power. and the striking willing humanness to obey orders. when it was over and contestants were told it was all an experiment, some said they didn't even think about it. they just followed orders. others said they were worried but did not want to spoil the show. so they acted against their own principles when ordered to do something extreme. >> everybody is torn. nobody thought that this was a lot of fun or so...

That didn't stop two-thirds of them from giving the maximum shock available, 400 volts. >> most people will in fact act in this horrendous way and press the shock levers they think are delivering very dangerous if not lethal electric shocks to another person. the moral there is not that people are brutal or sadistic individuals, the lesson is really that in certain circumstances, in the right situation, the average typical well-adjusted person will act in these horrendous ways. >> reporter: one added element in the french game showcase, contestants had to sign a contract agreeing to obey order...

The more wrong answers, the more voltage, the more pain. the audience shouts for more punishment. some contestants are reluctant. but are swayed by the audience demanding higher voltage. but here's what the audience and contestants don't know, there is no electricity, no pain inflicted. the players tortured for their wrong answers are really actors hired to play the part. their screams of agony, fake. in fact, this really wasn't a game show at all but an experiment about how far some people are willing to go to inflict pain on a complete stranger. amazingly, only 16 out of 80 refused to inflic...

Demonstratery, airing on french tv, which is part of the mind numbing morality and the striking human willingness to obey orders. when it was over and contestants were told it was just an experiment, some said they didn't even think about it, they just followed orders. some said they were worried but didn't want to spoil the show and so they acted against their own principles when asked to do something extreme. >> nobody thought this was a lot of fun or something they enjoyed doing, but they could not find a way to stop themselves from going along with it. >> reporter: the blind obedience in t...

>> it does show something about the power of television or the power of the desire to be famou famous. >> i think you're right. it gets under our skin. it's about something as meaningless as television and fame and a show. so it's not even about an experiment. the original study was with doctors in white coats who were sort of imbued with authority. this is a good looking talk show host. >> it's as if howie mandel has the power of life and death. >> that's really unsettling. nothing against howie. >> this is the french version off howie mandel. >> that's right. it sits with us -- it should sit...