Conformity (Groupthink)

A show on the Science Channel the other day reminded me of the Asch conformity experiments. Does anyone else remember learning about these in sociology class? They are a fascinating series of experiments about the influence groups can have on us.

The experiments were set up with a teacher and a group of student volunteers in a classroom. They were told they would be participating in some kind of vision test. In reality, they were participating in a social experiment. The teacher and all but one of the students were actually in on the experiment and were just playing predetermined roles. It was only the one student who was the subject of the experiment, although he didn't know it.  

So the teacher would hold up very simple pictures like this one below, asking the group to look at the line on the left and then select whether A, B, or C on the right matched it.

The group then had to give their answers in order, one at a time out loud, for everyone else to hear. It was always set up so that the fake students were positioned first in the group, with the one subject student near the end. In other words, he always would be hearing several answers given before his turn to answer.

In the beginning, everyone answered in the obviously correct way. But at one point, the group all started answering deliberately incorrectly--except for the one subject student, of course. The purpose of the experiment was to measure whether the one subject student would keep answering correctly, now against the group, or would conform at some point and start answering incorrectly, along with the group.

I remember watching the videotapes at the time, and the poor subject at first would usually be looking around in disbelief, as if “How can they all think that line is the same height as that line?” but often would wind up conforming and answering incorrectly, due simply to the power of the group.

Scary, huh, to realize how easily people can be swayed?

What would you guess as to the rate of conformity?

26 percent. That's how many people conformed to the group despite very clear evidence from their own eyes. Isn't that something? Other researchers have gone on to conduct their own studies with similar findings. 

I believe we see conformity or groupthink a lot in our daily life. 

For example, have you ever observed a large crowd unsure of what to do or where to head, such as at an amusement park or stadium? You'll see one or two or three people peel off from the group, and then suddenly there's this mass migration following them – for better or worse! You'll see far fewer people standing and waiting to decide for themselves what seems to be the best course. 

Another area we see a lot of conformity in is politics. Do you notice how, after a strong media personality takes up a certain talking point, you start hearing that same talking point elsewhere, down to sometimes the exact wording? It's as if there's no independent thinking that takes place, as if predigested thoughts are automatically passed along. 

These situations and many others we face are much more complicated than simply visually detecting line height differences. Deciding which way to go or what's right and what's wrong requires a lot more thought and effort. So if the conformity rate is 26 percent with simple matters, imagine how much higher it is with difficult ones! 

Some conformity is very positive, of course, such as conformity with laws and social customs like taking turns. Without it, it would certainly be difficult for different groups to get along. However, some conformity is negative, as history shows us, such as conformity with racism and other forms of bigotry. And much conformity is flat-out inaccurate, such as in the Asch experiments. 

I personally would rather be accurate than fit in with the group! So I want to do my own thinking, and I encourage others to also. 

Just as we've heard we shouldn't get our information from only one source . . .

... let's make sure we don't form our opinions based on just one group's way of thinking. Let's expose ourselves to different viewpoints and beware of groupthink.