Question 62

Stanley Milgram conducted a classic study of conformity.

In his research, Stanley Milgram demonstrated that individuals could be led to conform to incorrect judgments regarding the equality of lines, with about 74 percent of participants agreeing with the confederates' false claims.

A) Philip Zimbardo

Philip Zimbardo is best known for the Stanford prison experiment, which explored the effects of situational factors on behavior, rather than conformity to incorrect judgments about perceptual tasks. His work does not align with the context of the study described in the question.

B) Leon Festinger

Leon Festinger is recognized for his theory of cognitive dissonance and the concept of social comparison theory. However, he did not conduct the specific study on conformity involving confederates and line judgments that the question refers to.

C) Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is famous for his work on observational learning and the social learning theory, particularly the Bobo doll experiment. His research does not focus on conformity in the context of perceptual tasks, making him an incorrect choice for this question.

D) Stanley Milgram

Stanley Milgram is the psychologist who conducted the classic study on conformity, where participants were influenced by confederates to judge lines incorrectly. His findings revealed significant insights into social influence and obedience, thereby making him the correct answer.

Conclusion

Stanley Milgram's study is pivotal in understanding conformity, as it illustrates the extent to which individuals may conform to group pressure even when they are aware the group's judgment is incorrect. The other options, while influential in psychology, do not relate to the specific experiment concerning line equality and conformity, confirming Milgram as the definitive answer.