Sublime

In controversial experiments, now simply known as the Milgram Experiments, named for the psychologist Stanley Milgram, researchers told “normal” people that they were to punish other volunteers for breaking various rules. And punish them they did, sometimes escalating the punishment to the point of physical abuse. Almost none of the punishers objec

In the summer of 1971, Zimbardo took healthy Stanford students, assigned them roles as either “guards” or “inmates,” and locked them in a makeshift “prison” in the basement of Stanford University. In just days, the “prisoners” began to demonstrate symptoms of depression and extreme stress, while the “guards” began to act cruel and sadistic (the exp

In Asch’s study: Solomon Asch’s classic study about the pressure to conform to a group was published in Groups, Leadership, and Men, edited by Harold Guetzkow (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press, 1951). Asch’s chapter, titled “Effects of Group Pressure upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgment,” appears on pages 177–90.

In his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Carnegie repeatedly urged readers to avoid direct confrontations. Instead he advised people to “begin in a friendly way,” to “smile,” to “be a good listener,” and to “never say ‘you’re wrong.’ ” The persuader’s goal should be to convey respect, warmth, and an openness to dialogue before s

In psychology there are at least two biases that drive this pattern. One is confirmation bias:23 seeing what we expect to see. The other is desirability bias:24 seeing what we want to see. These biases don’t just prevent us from applying our intelligence. They can actually contort our intelligence into a weapon against the truth.

Dans ses études, Tajfel démontre deux choses : premièrement, que les humains sont sociaux, et deuxièmement qu’ils sont antisociaux. Ils sont sociaux parce qu’ils aiment les membres de leur propre groupe. Antisociaux parce qu’ils n’aiment pas ceux des autres groupes.