Background
Thomas Blass was born in Budapest, Hungary, at the time of World War II. He grew up during the war and witnessed the costs of blind obedience to authority.
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Thomas Blass received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Yeshiva University. Later he received his Ph.D. in social psychology here in 1969.
Thomas Blass himself.
(Stanley Milgram's experiments on obedience to authority a...)
Stanley Milgram's experiments on obedience to authority are among the most important psychological studies of this century. Perhaps because of the enduring significance of the findings - the surprising ease with which ordinary persons can be commanded to act destructively against an innocent individual by a legitimate authority - it continues to claim the attention of psychologists and other social scientists, as well as the general public. The study continues to inspire valuable research and analysis. The goal of this book is to present the current work inspired by the obedience paradigm. This book demonstrates the vibrancy of the obedience paradigm by presenting some of its most important and stimulating contemporary uses and applications. Paralleling Milgram's own eclecticism in the content and style of his research and writing, the contributions comprise a potpourri of styles of research and presentation - ranging from personal narratives, through conceptual analyses, to randomized experiments.
https://www.amazon.com/Obedience-Authority-Current-Perspectives-Paradigm-ebook/dp/B000SMH008/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(Creator of the famous Obedience Experiments and originato...)
Creator of the famous Obedience Experiments and originator of the "six degrees of separation” theory, Stanley Milgram transformed our understanding of human nature and continues to be one of the most important figures in psychology and beyond. In this sparkling biography, Thomas Blass captures the colorful personality and pioneering work of a visionary scientist who revealed the hidden workings of our social world. In this new paperback edition, he includes an afterword connecting Milgram's theories to torture, war crimes, and Abu Ghraib. Creator of the famous Obedience Experiments and originator of the six degrees of separation” theory, Stanley Milgram transformed our understanding of human nature and continues to be one of the most important figures in psychology and beyond. In this sparkling biography, Thomas Blass captures the colorful personality and pioneering work of a visionary scientist who revealed the hidden workings of our social world. In this new paperback edition, he includes an afterword connecting Milgram's theories to torture, war crimes, and Abu Ghraib.
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Shocked-World-Stanley/dp/0465008070/?tag=2022091-20
2004
(This third expanded and definitive collection of essays b...)
This third expanded and definitive collection of essays by Stanley Milgram, the creator of the iconoclastic 'obedience experiments' and the originator of the concept of 'six degrees of separation'. Original, thought-provoking and fascinating. Milgram was years ahead of his time, and this book should be read by every social scientist who is interested in behavior beyond the laboratory. Richard Wiseman, author of Quirkology.
https://www.amazon.com/Individual-Social-World-Essays-Experiments/dp/1905177127/?tag=2022091-20
2010
Thomas Blass was born in Budapest, Hungary, at the time of World War II. He grew up during the war and witnessed the costs of blind obedience to authority.
Thomas Blass received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Yeshiva University. Later he received his Ph.D. in social psychology here in 1969.
Thomas Blass works as a social psychologist. After finishing his education, he worked at the University of Maryland Psychiatric Institute, Sheppard-Pratt Hospital, and Downstate Medical Center. Blass is currently employed as a professor of social psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also was a G. Stanley Hall lecturer, American Psychological Association, in 2001.
After his graduation, Thomas Blass developed an interest in the work of Milgram. This interest led him to edit selected papers on Milgram and then to write a biography of the psychologist in The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram. Published in 2004, The Man Who Shocked the World details Milgram’s career, including his controversial 1961 experiment in which participants believed they were delivering electric shocks to other “participants’' to enhance learning. In reality, the experiment was set up in order to see how far people would go in following orders, even if such orders cause real and visible pain to others. In the experiment, an authority figure would tell these “teachers" to increase the level of shock administered to “students," who visibly exhibited pain. Though no electric shock was being administered, the terrifying result of the experiments was the level to which people would obey authority, continuing to “shock" others despite their own conflicted feelings about the action required of them.
The Choice reviewer W. A. Ashton noted that Blass has “created an extremely readable book by combining an interesting biography with a thorough, but not technical, review of Milgram's work in social psychology." Cary Cooper concluded in the Times Higher Education Supplement that The Man Who Shocked the World “is well-written, with mountains of information, insights, discoveries, and reflections, and is a must-read for any behavioral scientist."
(Creator of the famous Obedience Experiments and originato...)
2004(This third expanded and definitive collection of essays b...)
2010(Stanley Milgram's experiments on obedience to authority a...)
1999