away, as eventually happens to Dr. Stockman. This quote from one of the participants in Aschs study closely relates to Alasken and Hovstads actions: I did not want to be apart form the group, I did not want to look like a fool Scientifically speaking, I was acting improperly, but my feeling of not wanting to contradict the group overcame me. As for the rest of the townspeople, they basically conform publicly, as to avoid any conflict with the rest of the group and the mayor. Also, the baths are the towns main source of income, and without the baths, the town would most likely fall to ruins. I think that they are all afraid that Dr. Stockmans discoveries would result in the destruction of their town. Once the town turns against Dr. Stockman, he is faced with the choice of conformity or deviance. The mayor tells him that if he publicly apologizes and admits that he was wrong, he will be given his old job back. However, Dr. Stockman does not want to give up his integrity and give into the pressures of the group and his brother. Even though he is receiving a great a mount of pressure to conform and obey, Dr. Stockman stands firm in his decision. Giving in would not only mean that he would get his house and job back, his wife and daughter would get their jobs back, and his two sons would be allowed back in school, but his father-in-law would give money to his wife and daughter to provide for them the rest of their lives. Despite all that is at stake, the doctor refuses to yield. Contemporary research on conformity and obedience, such as in The Milgram paradigm after 35 years, shows that such deviance is not at all common. In fact, 50-65% is the baseline obedience rate. So this just goes to show that although most people say that if they were in the situation of the townspeople they would support Dr. Stockman, in actuality, the majority of people would not. Therefore, Dr. Stockman was quite brave for disobeying the mayor and opposi...
