IndexIntroductionSocial Identity as an Agent of ObedienceStanley Milgram's Obedience ParadigmPhillip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison ExperimentFollow-up Studies on Identity-Based Followership identityConclusionIntroductionThe Wave (1981) directed by Alex Grasshoff is a short film based on a 1967 social experiment in Palo Alto, California. The purpose of this week-long experiment was to teach students about fascism during World War II and demonstrate how the German population could have allowed the events of the Holocaust to occur. In Grasshoff's film, history teacher Ben Ross starts a youth brigade he calls "The Wave." Although several mechanisms of influence allowed the Wave to gain its momentum, this article will focus primarily on social identification as a force of destructive obedience. The relationship between social identity and identity-based follow-up will be assessed through analysis of Stanley Milgram's shock experiment, the Stanford Prison Experiment, as well as a series of follow-up studies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Social Identity as an Agent of Obedience The Wave illustrated how obedience was elicited as students underwent socialization. Mr. Ross created a highly cohesive group by introducing norms and roles for the Wave that students committed to strictly obey. Students' obedience reflects the effects of social identification as they have developed a sense of identity towards the Wave, making them more susceptible to its influence. The Wave was able to generate conformity among its members because students began to submerge their personal identities and, instead, internalize the group's collective goals. Socialization occurs when Mr. Ross sets clear rules and expectations for members of the Wave. By the third day, his class had a coherent understanding of the Wave's norms, which included harsh rules of conduct, symbols, and slogans representing the Wave. By establishing social norms, students could distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Mr. Ross also provided Wave members with a way to separate themselves from the outgroup. Selected students were assigned "monitors," who were obligated to report any anti-Wave behavior to Mr. Ross. To further encourage the development of social identity, Mr. Ross declared that students were personally responsible for the success of the Wave, which could only be achieved through the collective effort of its members. Students reacted positively to The Wave as one student said that “for the first time I feel like I'm part of something big,” followed by another who said that “it's like being born again.” Such observations show the formation of a strong attachment between the group and its members. Students' sense of value resulting from their membership in the Wave can be explained by social identity theory. Over time, as students strengthened their social identity, they became increasingly vulnerable and accepted the Wave's control. Stanley Milgram's Obedience Paradigm Passive compliance and social identification can both be considered as potential agents of obedience, as seen in Stanley Milgram's shock experiments. Milgram's research sought to investigate the extent to which authority can influence behavior. Participants were told that the goal of the experiment was to examine the effects ofpunishment on learning and was assigned the role of “teacher” or “learner”. The experimenters then instructed the teachers to administer electric shocks, which increased in intensity each time the student gave an incorrect answer. The results of Milgram's study revealed that all participants continued to administer shocks up to 300 volts and 65% of participants persisted up to the highest level at 450 volts (Haslam & Reicher, 2012). Although early interpretations attribute participants' behavior to blind obedience, more recent analyzes seek to understand the conditions that pose the dangers of obedience. According to the social identity perspective, people are guided by their social identity within a group which has the potential to alter their perception. A variant of Milgram's study showed that participants were more likely to administer shocks to students when the experimenter had justified their actions toward a shared goal. When participants were encouraged to identify with the experimenter, they were more likely to obey than teachers who were given direct orders. Even after the experiment ended, one participant expressed “'I'm happy to have been helpful,'” and another participant said, “'Continue your experiments by all means until good can come of it'” (Haslam & Reicher, 2012). Participants' attitudes demonstrate how the social identity of the scientific community towards which participants believed their acts of obedience contributed to a greater cause. Ultimately, social identification emerged to produce highly engaged participants who were more inclined to conform to the experimenters. Phillip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment Phillip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) is another infamous social psychology experiment that reflects the role of social identity on obedience. The purpose of the SPE was to assess the extent to which individuals conform to norms and roles. In the SPE, participants played the role of “guard” or “prisoner” in a simulated prison environment. Within six days the experiment was stopped due to the intensity of the negative reactions of the guards and prisoners. Unlike Milgram's research, SPE studied interactions between participants without an authority figure. The absence of authority meant that the guards had full control over their behavior. The brutality of guards has led researchers to conclude that individuals easily conform to assigned roles (Haslam & Reicher, 2012). However, the argument for role conformity is weakened as it fails to recognize that prisoners in the SPE were not passively conforming to their assigned roles; instead, participants continued to resist their oppressors (Haslam, Reicher, & Van Bavel, 2019). Alternatively, some researchers have proposed the social identity perspective that explains how situational conditions allow individuals to develop social identities and take on roles that make sense in their social context (Haslam et al., 2019). In the context of the SPE, the guards' brutality was the result of their “active identification with the guard group and a conscious embrace of its oppressive ideology” (Haslam et al., 2012). Over time, participants formed a social identity corresponding to their assigned roles that prompted them to act in ways consistent with group norms. Follow-up Studies on Identity-Based Followership In 2009, a replication study of Milgram's shock experiment aimed to explore the forces of social identification on behavior (Miller, 2009). The experiment of,.