
Rethinking the Infamous Stanford Prison Experiment
Newly revealed evidence suggests that putting people into positions of absolute control over others doesn’t necessarily lead to cruelty by itself
Stephen Reicher is Wardlaw professor of psychology at the University of Saint Andrews, a fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Social Sciences. He has been studying issues of social identity and collective behavior for nearly 40 years, including crowd behavior, nationalism, leadership, tyranny, intergroup hatred and, latterly, obedience and resistance.
Newly revealed evidence suggests that putting people into positions of absolute control over others doesn’t necessarily lead to cruelty by itself
Research in social psychology suggests that the answer is probably yes
The president-elect won the election by artfully shaping and responding to his supporters’ views
Fifty years after Stanley Milgram conducted his series of stunning experiments, psychologists are revisiting his findings on the nature of obedience
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