Social-Psychology

In April 1967, a high school history teacher in Palo Alto, California, faced a difficult question from his students: “How could the German people claim they didn’t know about the Holocaust?” Ron Jones didn’t have a good answer. So he decided to show them. What started as a simple classroom demonstration became a terrifying social experiment. In just five days, Jones created a fascist movement so powerful that students were willing to betray their friends, enforce strict rules, and commit acts of violence—all in the name of the group. ...

At 3:15 AM on March 13, 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked outside her apartment building in Queens, New York. She screamed for help. The attack lasted over 30 minutes. According to The New York Times, 38 people witnessed the attack from their apartment windows. Not one called the police during the assault. Kitty Genovese died. The story shocked America. How could 38 people watch someone being murdered and do nothing? ...

In 1961, Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram placed an ad in a New Haven newspaper: “We will pay you $4.00 for one hour of your time.” Participants arrived at Yale’s psychology lab, believing they were taking part in a study about memory and learning. They were told they would be the “teacher.” Another participant (actually an actor) would be the “learner.” The teacher’s job: deliver electric shocks to the learner every time they answered a question incorrectly. ...

In August 1971, Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo posted an ad in the newspaper: “Male college students needed for psychological study of prison life. $15 per day for 1-2 weeks.” Twenty-four mentally healthy, middle-class college students responded. They were screened, tested, and deemed normal, stable individuals. Zimbardo randomly assigned them to two groups: guards and prisoners. The experiment was supposed to last two weeks. It lasted six days. What Happened Zimbardo converted the basement of Stanford’s psychology building into a mock prison. The “guards” received uniforms, wooden batons, and mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact. The “prisoners” were given smocks, assigned numbers, and had their heads covered with nylon stockings. ...

My uncle is intelligent, educated, and successful. He runs a business, reads extensively, and can hold sophisticated conversations about history, economics, and technology. He also believes: COVID-19 was created in a lab as a bioweapon The 2020 election was stolen A global elite controls world events through secret organizations Vaccines contain tracking microchips Climate change is a hoax to implement global government When I try to discuss evidence, he responds with: ...