PSYC 2380 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mass Hysteria, Suggestibility, Diminishing Returns
12 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
Change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure. Used autokinetic phenomenon then asked groups of men to determine how much the point of light had moved the responses of the men changed markedly. Six confederates gave incorrect answers to see if participant would agree even if he knew it was the incorrect answer. Tested what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscience. Teacher shocks learner at the insistence of experimenter. 65 percent of participants continued beyond expectations. Critics said the milgram"s experiment stressed the participants against their will. They argued that the participants" self-cocepts may have been altered. Milgram stated that the ethical controversy was terribly overblown . A small act of evil to foster the attitude that leads to a larger evil act. Heroism can occur as well as evil. 3 to 5 people will elicit more conformity than just 1 or 2.
