The ObservatoryThe conformity check
Most of us follow the herd more often than we think, even straight against our own values. Find your go-along zones.
How it works
- The pull of the herdChooseWrite
- The price and the exceptionWrite
- A small disobedience experimentWrite
Classic experiments show the same thing again and again: ordinary, sensible people give wrong answers they know are wrong, follow instructions they feel bad about, and walk past someone who needs help, when the group doe …
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Why does it work?
The conformity and obedience findings (Asch; Milgram, partly replicated by Burger 2009; the bystander effect, Fischer et al. 2011 meta-analysis) are among the best known in social psychology. Exact percentages vary between studies and cultures and are therefore not quoted here. That a single dissenter sharply reduces conformity is a robust sub-finding. The exercise format is reflection plus a behavioral experiment.
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