The Stanford Prison Experiment And Asch Conformity Experiment Analysis

Milgram’s experiments created great controversy. They showed how vulnerable humans were to the will bending power of authority. This idea especially stuck around the time the experiment took place, the early 1960’s. America was still somewhat fresh off of World War II, and Americans were shocked to see that they were just as capable of being pushed to do things that went against their morals as Germans were under Nazi authorities. Milgram was thorough in his studies by including multiple permutations of the original where he tested subjects responses to different forms of authority. Extending beyond Milgram’s findings to those such as The Stanford Prison Experiment and the Asch Conformity experiment, we learn that the responses to authority expand outside of his original experiment and provides more examples …show more content…
In the case of the Stanford Prison Experiment, the peers aspect of the formula is affected. Specifically, the same level peers variable was affected. Guards look to each other for how to act. When one guard acted out and became hostile towards prisoners, the other guards followed suit. Prisoners worked together to plan riots and to act out against their guards. We also see the situation aspect of the authority of hierarchy being affected when uniforms are put in place. Guards were purposefully given reflective sunglasses in order to separate them from the prisoners and make them appear to be less human. Prisoners were no longer able to create a connection with their eyes. This disconnect between authority and the inferior subjects of the experiment gave authority more power and weekend willpower. The Asch conformity experiment is a clear example of how peers affect human actions. The vast majority of subjects conform to the statements made by those who they believed to be same level