CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE THROUGH THE LENS OF THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THEIR IMPACT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61357/sehs.v19i1.12Keywords:
history of psychology, social psychology, Muzafer Sherif, Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, conformity, obedience, digital echo chambers, panopticon prisonAbstract
This article aims to present basic research on conformity and obedience, which, despite being controversial, have been influential and important aspects explored in psychology and social psychology. Studies by Muzafer Sherif, Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram, groundbreaking and prominent authors in the history of psychology in the study of conformity and obedience to authority, are presented. One chapter is devoted to the controversies and especially the ethical aspects of the studies by these prominent authors, which have been the subject of scholarly debate and have reinforced the ethical aspect of psychological experiments with human subjects as we know them today. The last two chapters look into the application of these phenomena in the modern digital era, with emphasis on and intersection with the above theories. Also introduced is the lesser-known concept of the panopticon prison, which, despite its origin in the 18th century, represents a significant phenomenon applicable to conformity and obedience in a modern age dominated by technology.
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