Brainwashing before our eyes

Solomon Asch performed some exceptional psychology experiments in the 1950s. His experiments showed the power of conformity when people sometimes agree with a group’s opinion, even when shown evidence the group is wrong.

In the 1950s, Asch could not determine whether his subjects consciously changed their views or whether social cues unconsciously skewed their perception.

In 2005, Gregory Berns answered this question by repeating Asch’s experiment with brain scans. Berns found the brain’s visual center changed what it perceived to fit with the group opinion before passing this information to t...