We also tend to assume that a large number of people can"t all be wrong. Asch writes, "the sheer weight of numbers or authority sufficed to change opinions, even when no arguments for the opinions themselves were provided" (p. 337). .

             Stanley Milgram is well known for his work with obedience to authority. His work, "The Perils of Obedience," studied whether average individuals would obey an authority figure, telling them to do something that harms another individual. .

             In his study, the "teacher" is instructed to read a list of words and ask the "learner" to recite them back. If the learner answers incorrectly, the teacher is supposed to shock the learner, starting at 15 volts and increasing to 450 volts. With each incorrect answer the teacher is supposed to increase the shock. Although the teacher thought that he/she was administering shocks, the learner was actually never harmed.

             Milgram"s study undermined the theory that only the most sadistic individuals would submit to such cruelty. His findings showed that, "two-thirds of this studies participants fall into the category of 'obedient" subjects, and that they represent ordinary people" (p. 352). Milgram concluded that when a person is obeying orders he "views himself as the instrument. and no longer regards himself as responsible for his action" (p. 354). Milgram"s experiment proved that when doing a job as instructed by an authority figure the feelings of duty and personal emotion are separated. Responsibility shifts in the minds of the subordinate from himself/herself to the authority figure. There is a purpose for the actions or goals of the authority, and the subordinate is depended upon to meet those goals.

             Another important study in the area of social roles and obedience is Philip Zimbardo"s "Stanford Prison Experiment.