20 January 2010

The Asch Experiment



This experiment on conformity was originally conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s. While not as spectacular as the famous Milgran experiment it makes uneasy viewing in its own way

7 comments:

Claude said...

I doubt they would get me, Jams. I'm anti-sheep. Even if the group would choose the right answer, I probably would say the contrary, just to be difficult. Not if it's evil, of course. But then, maybe to be anti-conformist is as sick as to be a follower. Who knows???????

jams o donnell said...

I would hope not either but conformity is a powerful urge and few can swim against it. It's fun to be contrary though, eh?

Stan said...

Another contrarian here! But even among those of us who stubbornly think for ourselves, there are situations where social pressure is difficult to resist. As well as group pressure, expectation also plays an under-acknowledged role in perception. These forces say a lot about what passes for consensus "reality", and their consequences are of course infamous.

Claude said...

I saw written on a blog: Sometimes, a majority means that all the fools are on the same side.

jams o donnell said...

Very true Stan. It takes a lot to swim agains thte tide

Haha Claudia I like it

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Thanks, Jams, I was ignorant of this (as of many other things, surely). Wow...

jams o donnell said...

It is such a simple but telling experiment. Glad you found it fascinating Snoopy!