Conformity, Deindividuation, Group Think, Group Polarization, and Obedience

Conformity, Deindividuation, Group Think, Group Polarization, and Obedience.

These 5 behaviors are defined by their social origins. Every ATSer should consider the influence of these behaviors on the ways in which we think and express our thoughts. Let me post some of my notes and videos to explain them to you.

A. Conformity- People have a tendency to conform.

1. Confederates (actors) forced an individual to conform to the wrong answer.
2. Asch experiment- Up to 37% of the time, the individual conformed to the wrong answer.


B. Deindividuation- Tendency to engage in uncharacteristic behavior when stripped of usual identities.

1. Stanford Prison Study- Assigned college students to guard or prisoner.
2. Guards started treat prisoners cruelly and prisoners felt let down.
3. Study was forced to stop.


C. Groupthink- Emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking.

1. Bay of Pigs- Invasion of Cuba by JFK. Many generals knew that the plan would backfire.

2. Challenger explosion- People knew of the problem, but people sent it up anyways.

D. Group polarization- Tendency of group discussion to strengthen dominant positions of individual group members.

1. People align themselves with extreme views.
2. People of high social status tend to show more distress when things do not go their way. Poor people tend to go with the flow.
3. Different societies with different levels of individualism have different levels of conformity.

E. Obedience- Adherence to instructions from those of higher authority.

1. Stanley Milgram Experiment- Subject/"teacher" told to shock another person/"learner" every time the learner gave a wrong answer to the question. Authority overseer recommends the teacher to continue to shock the "learner" even if the "teacher' wanted to stop. Up 62% of subjects gave lethal shocks.
2. The scientist was the authority figure. People obeyed more at Yale than other places.
3. If you have a substitute who can do it for you, 93% of the people would agree to shocking the "learner" and let the substitute do the dirty work.
4. In a new 2009 experiment, 75% people went all the way.

I will definitely check this out later tonight. This thread seems to be exactly what i have been looking for lately to try and open the eyes of my friends around me and get them to realize that thinking outside the box, is a good thing. People though now a days, especially in college, i have found that it is easier to agree than disagree. Many people would rather have a group leader do all the work for them, and so the other members will just nod in agreement if they have nothing to contribute or have a neutral stance. It is a lack of understanding that many are not willing to go the extra length to do.

Thanks for sharing this with us! Ill reply back as soon as i check out these videos.

Peace

Great post. You might want to make a slight modification, though. The people who were giving the lethal shocks were lead to believe that the shocks given were real. Not sure if that's how it's still done, but..

reply to post by die_another_day


B) is my favorite. Parents actually were ready to hire real lawyers to get their kids out of "jail".

S&F, lots of great info here.

Does anybody other than me see the huge ramifications of a project like this???? It kinda makes me wonder if the Nazi scientist succumbed to this type of scenario instead of being truly evil. Take for instance project monarch beta and the type of experiments conducted on people and having a conciencious objecter. With the realization that the head scientist or director of the experiments only saw the reports on the sheets of paper and never saw the true nitty gritty macabre testing that was going on. Could that said director just look at the reports as just a statistic and not as real human beings and with the subordinate scientist down the chain be pressured into the expirements for fear of disappointing their superiors, loss of job, fear of being turned into a subject Etc.....

sorry fixing.

A. Conformity- People have a tendency to conform.
Conformity is truly amazing. People will conform in most scenarios no matter what the issue. It matters not whether they intellectually know that they are incorrect. This plays out in every aspect of social and political life.
It should not be surprising that people readily accept economic, and political servitude. Everyone else around us is. We are taught our whole lives to obey these systems. We are rewarded when we conform, and punished if we do not. The power of conformity wins in 90 out of a 100 people. A very few will be brave enough to challenge the legitimacy of conforming to an unjust reality.

B. Deindividuation- Tendency to engage in uncharacteristic behavior when stripped of usual identities.
People will do terrible things when they cannot be held accountable. Soldiers, police, and other purveyors of force come to mind. It can also be more subtle. Abusing your child, or your spouse in private. It is the culmination of ego empowerment. "You," or the fictional creation your mind has produced is given total power. No one, no institution, and no law can touch you . It is the ultimate corruption. The intoxication of unbridled power. A danger for the best man, and a damning chasm for the majority of people.

C. Groupthink- Emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking.
People readily agree with the group. It works from the dominant friend choosing what club to go to, or a village burning a witch. If a media outlet, or state can create group think it does not matter what truth is. All that matters is that the majority will follow the dominant thinking.


E. Obedience- Adherence to instructions from those of higher authority.
Authority is an illusion. It is only based on the combined fiction we all choose to believe. It is tied to our own notions of self worth, or lack there of. We look to authority to do for us what we lack the courage to do for ourselves. Live freely. Make our own choices, and not rely on institutions for security.

It is amazing to me that people defend authority so readily. It is almost as if some people are grasping at the proverbial crumbs of power by kissing the feet of the powerful. I suppose it is another facet of the ego mind at work as well. People are totally unwilling to challenge authority if they have been sufficiently trained. The legitimacy, or unjust nature of the authority matters not. It is simply the illusory force of authority which restricts many from even considering ideas, or actions that may not be allowed by the authority.


The powers, and governing classes know these tendencies very well. They are used throughout our society. Education, media, politics, and social lives are all molded by our own tendencies. It is so very easy to rule when you know people will act in a certain way 9 times out of 10. You simply create the circumstances, and let the people play out the act.

reply to post by die_another_day

The Sheeple worship the Elite Rich and Powerful.
The very ones who oppress them.
Thus there is seldom any change.

Originally posted by RRokkyy
reply to post by die_another_day

 

The Sheeple worship the Elite Rich and Powerful.
The very ones who oppress them.
Thus there is seldom any change.

Who do the supposed non-sheeple worship? Alex Jones, David Icke and the like....

reply to post by die_another_day


" A. Conformity- People have a tendency to conform. "

Ah , I Beg To Differ .

reply to post by die_another_day

Many thanks for this thread; it really does show how easily we are manipulated to serve other people ends. As dark as it seems the more we know about it the easier it will be for us to see through the drama and know the intent. I have at many times in my life felt that to evolve individually is essential. As we can see in the video this is not an easy task. This is one of the films that portrays this the best for me.
www.youtube.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">the truman show

This is the kind of science a lot of ATS'ers need to see, and seriously contemplate for days.

Just agreeing with the majority is bound to make you lazier in your thinking and more susceptible to error.

Originally posted by Zanti Misfit
" A. Conformity- People have a tendency to conform. "

Ah , I Beg To Differ .

How so?

I would argue wanting to be different is also a mass mentality everyone wants to conform to, because doesn't everyone want to be different and special and get more attention than everyone else and all of that stuff?

We have to conform plenty enough already just to participate in society in the first place. It's just that something valuable is lost when we cross the line over into making all our ideas conform too.

mind viruses or memetics...we all perpetuate each others bondage and slavery. forgive them father for they know not what they do is a true statement,,,nothing more and nothing less

Ultimatley, we have to ask, who/what are they conforming to, or, are they making decisions as a collective?

Saw this in Sociology and Psychology class, good stuff. It really showed how easily someone can be broken, which is really pretty disturbing.

What an incredible thread. It explains so much of the inhumainty that has happened in history, why it's still going on in some places. Doesn't it make you look at people differently now? And question yourself... "what would I do in those situations, would I have the guts to speak out against something I felt was morally wrong, knowing I would be scorned or punished by the group?"

You have given me a lot to think about. Thank you.

I will be posting another thread discussing prosocial behavior, aggression, attitudes, prejudice, and persuasion.

reply to post by bsbray11


Social Conformity in one thing , we need it in order to have a Job and Support ourselves , but Intellectual Conformity is not necessarrily something that People MUST Conform to . Without the many different thought
processes each unique individual has , Civilization itself would Stagnate and eventually become Obsolete .VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE as the French say is a Good thing .