Psychology Learning Experiments

Psychology experiments are conducted to learn more about human behavior. Psychology experiments explore ideas such as conformity, obedience and human reactions in particular situations. Several well-known psychology experiments have discovered remarkable evidence about the human capacity for different thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

• The Stanford Prison Experiment showed that power can corrupt normal people.

  Phillip Zimbardo studied the effects of power and corruption on average people in this 1971 experiment. Planned for 14 days, the Stanford Prison Experiment was ended after six due to concerns about the participants' well being.

  Twenty-four people were chosen after a series of interviews, personality tests and drug screenings. Divided into two groups by a coin flip, half the men were assigned to play the role of a prison guard; the other men would play the role of prisoner. No significant differences in the two groups of men existed due to random selection. A prison environment was simulated in the basement of Stanford University with help from former prison guards and inmates.

  All events in the "prison" were recorded and monitored for safety and results. "Prisoners" were brought to the "jail" blindfolded, strip-searched and placed in a cell. "Guards" were told to enforce prison order however they saw fit. Prisoners rebelled on the second day, and guards responded with anger, frustration and verbal abuse. Degradation and abuse continued until participants became depressed and some experience severe emotional disturbance.

Stanley Milgram and Obedience

• Many people demonstrated obedience to authority despite uncertainity in Milgram's experiment.

  Milgram tested blind obedience to authority despite pain and suffering. Milgram recruited subjects to administer a memory test to an individual they just met. The subjects were also instructed to administer electric shocks to the individual when a question was answered incorrectly. The subject watched the individual become strapped to a chair with electrodes and was taken to another room to administer the test.

  Electric shocks started at 15 volts and continued to 450 volts. Pre-taped audio dialogue and screams played when a "shock" was administered. Gentle prodding, such as "Please continue" or "You must go on with the experiment" were given when the subject became reluctant to administer the shock. All participants in the experiment continued to administer shock to 300 volts, despite screams and protests to stop by the individual. Sixty percent continued to 375 volts, even when the individual claimed to have chest pain and became silent.

  Experts believed only sociopaths would continue to shock someone despite pain and suffering, but Milgram demonstrated almost 65 percent of people continued to follow authority figure's commands.

The Asch Experiment

• Solomon Asch studied social pressure and group conformity. The subject is placed in a group with other participants, who are aware of the experiment. The participants give wrong answers to the simple questions on several occasions. Asch discovered over half of the subjects chose the group answer, despite it being obviously wrong.

  Subjects stated in post-experiment interviews they feared being ridiculed or judged by the group if they went against the majority. Solomon Asch was troubled by these results and stated, "The tendency to conformity in our society...is a matter of concern."