The line on the wall is not always clear. The vast majority of people like to think they will stand against the masses if they believe they are right, unfortunately this is far from the truth. Asch wanted to investigate what drove people to act the way they do in group settings, like in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Asch took a simplistic approach looking at what drove the need to conform and follow directions. He proves with his conformity experiment, just how completely our need to follow the crowd is, we are driven by the masses and our need to conform to the group standards of behavior. "The human mind is an organ for the discovery of truths rather than of falsehoods." Said Solomon Asch (Cherry). “Solomon E. Asch was a pioneer of social psychology. Born in Warsaw, Poland, on September 14, 1907, he came to the United States in 1920 and received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1932 (College).” He learned English from reading Charles Dickens, he attended New York Community college and received a Bachelor’s degree in 1928. He published many experiments among his most famous was the prestige suggestion, impression …show more content…
When we are in a group, whatever the group thinks we will one third of the times go along with. “Why did most subjects conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar." A few of them said that they really did believe the group 's answers were correct (Solomon Asch Conformity Experiment).” We have a driving need to be a part of the group and to belong. Even if the group is wrong, we will conform to
In life, there are things that must be uniform, and others that should be personal. Normally each has a right and a wrong time, but sometimes the concepts can be lost in translation. The book Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, grasps the two concepts of conformity and individualism very well. The ideas are drastically different, but both are based greatly off of personal opinion, or the image that one person thinks is correct. Bradbury outlined exceptional examples of each one in his book, neither being politically correct, but both indeed eye opening.
We don't speak up against the group if we disagree with its ideology or purpose because we are afraid of being rejected. We disclose our innermost thoughts only when we connect to others who share our beliefs or are motivated by the same goals. Concepts including rebellion, and strength in numbers are explored in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and James
A case study by Bochiaro and Zamperini supports that the response of people within a group, when faced with certain social objects, can change in terms of a relationship engaged. Conformism is the change in people’s thinking, feeling and the way they may act due to the pressure whether it is real or implied that is demonstrated by the group. They also support that conformism and obedience are not necessarily negative. Without the two it will be a chaotic world because social norms are the basis of conformism and obedience. (Bocchiaro, Zamperini, 2012).
Why do we conform, and how far does it go? Solomon Asch asked this question and devised an experiment to see if subjects would conform even if they were uncertain that the group norm was incorrect, this eventually led to Milgram’s and Stanford’s own psychological questions about not only conformity, but also obedience and the roles in which people adapt. This paper will take a deeper look into these experiments, and apply their findings to current and past national events such as the American Armed Forced at detention facilities and the systematic torture of prisoners, along with how these experiments relate to advertising and how it is designed to stimulate a since of conformity among a generation. Finally how does society react towards
Herd behavior modified one’s thoughts and discourages others’ self-confidence. Group think influences others to not use their brains but to channel their emotions through feelings and emotions. This action to pressure individuals to conform, influence members of a group, to rely on others to stay safe and cancel out their opportunities to channel their own thoughts. In the teleplay “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” written by Rod Serling, the article “When Good People Do Bad Things” written by Ann Trafton, and the article “Why Do People Follow The Crowd?” reported by ABC News, all provide instances where people lose touch with themselves and behave differently in a crowd.
When you are in the moment and you don’t have time to think anything through well following the majority is a psychological thing that people do to fit in and not be singled out for strange behavior. Like now a day’s people in The Crucible by Arthur Miller would follow the majority of the people so that they don’t get singled out or in their situation get accused of witchcraft. In the settings of the play The Crucible if you wouldn’t go along with the majority with blaming people for witchcraft then you would have a horrible reputation and possibly seen as a witch and you can see people following the majority in the people who are thought to be out of the ordinary, some of the women, and some of the men. There is a particular scene in this
Social conditions play a huge role in determining how one does or does not conform and to what degree. There are various factors that Ash should have taken into account such as how a subject is raised and who the subject surrounds himself with. If it is human nature to conform, the results of his experiment were incorrect because not all of his subjects conformed to the norm. Even the stubbornness or the wish to stand out could play a role in how well someone will conform. To fix this, Ash could have studied his subjects to find
Even though there are numerous individual opportunities and benefits for not conforming to society, internal, subconscious desires compel individuals to forego their individualism and assimilate to
Furthermore, a parallel fundamental accounts for the concept of Obedience. The psychological study of obedience shows us how shared knowledge shapes personal knowledge in today’s world. Stanley Milgram’s experiment on conformity was an experiment that proved his hypothesis of conformity. Participants in the study were told that they were a part of an experiment studying a person’s capability to learn. Participants sat in front of a window overlooking the learner who sat in another room.
The Asch Conformity Experiments were conducted to measure conformity in a randomized group of people. These experiments uncovered that at least 75% of participants went along with the rest of the group at least one time, even if the answer was wrong. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, is a story about a dystopian society. In this society firemen do not save burning buildings, instead they are the ones who burn books and houses. This is in order to promote the conformity of citizens.
As more allies are recruited to join the minority, the power of the majority also weakens. In general, conformists display common characteristics, and in specific circumstances, many people will succumb to the pressure from a majority as well (Forsyth, 2009). For example, individuals with low self-esteem or who are introverted are more likely to conform. If there is a low level of anonymity or a high level of cohesion, conformity among the individuals increases (Forsyth, 2009). For many, being in the majority is more rewarding than the minority since they usually have control over
In the book, Opening Skinner’s Box, by Lauren Slater is a really interesting, mind boggling book. In chapter 2, Obscura, talks about this Yale assistant professor named Stanley Milgram who decides to conduct an experiment on obedience to authority. Milgram himself seemed to have a strong appealing and curiosity to the way people behaved and acted. Stanley loved to experiment on the way humans adapt and react to such situations. He would point up at the sky for no reason, and timed how long it took a huge group of people to look up at nothing happening.
Similarly, in the article “Why do People Follow the Crowd” reported by ABC News, studies reveal the portrayal of people fearing the fact of being wrong when faced against a whole group that supposedly has a different plan. While taking tests, determining the mental state people have when they are told different ideas, the committee found that,” people actually believe what others [tell] them not what they [were seeing] with their own eyes” (ABC 26). This portrays how people naturally want to fit in the crowd even though they know it might not be the right choice to make. Because this is apart of human’s nature, people can conflict bad habits and ideas upon others, causing unfortunate events to occur causing the whole community to perish due to a silly mistake. Even though they might be sure of an answer in this case, they still aren’t positive, which causes them to start doubting themselves, therefore changing their mindset.
Matching to a group’s standards is an operation of conformity, whether that is beliefs, attitudes, attire, or behaviors. The impulse to conform is heightened, when in small groups or society. As simplypsychology.com understands, that conformity happens while real or imagined pressure is felt. Actually, conformity can occur alone or amidst others. ______________________________________________________________________________
The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Journey Into Authoritarian Leadership Over the years, scientists, psychologists, and doctors have used social experiments to further their understanding of our surroundings. Social experiments are studies of the human mind and psyche through various environments. In this case, a social experiment called the Stanford Prison Experiment is what opened new doors for the comprehension of human behavior, how we act when we are in power, as well as offered a glimpse into the flaws in our legal system. This experiment was conducted in 1971 in Palo Alto, California.