Pramukh Bhushan Week #10: Dangers of Herd Mentality and Conformity
In the 1950s, Solomon Asch conducted a series of conformity experiments showing the human tendency to follow the majority. Asch’s experiments consisted of seven individuals: the test subject and the six undercover actors. During the experiment, the participants had to choose which lines had the same length but the test subject always answered last. Additionally, the undercover accomplices always gave the same incorrect answers. The experiment showed ⅓ of the test subjects followed the group’s incorrect answer knowing it was wrong.
It’s human nature to join a group for safety or shelter, but at what point do humans question their morals in order to agree with their peers? Our recent reading of The Crucible opened my mind to the dangers of groupthink and the backlash outliers get for speaking their mind. For example, when Abigail and the girls worked together to condemn, they became powerful and convinced others that were invisible evil spirits. Mary Warren is an example of a character who acknowledges she conformed to the girl's response—admitting she never saw the spirits but started getting chills when everyone was crying spirits. This reminds me of the time some students yell there is a spider in class, and suddenly everyone seems more anxious when most have not seen the spider. Mary’s sudden shift back to groupthink occurs when Goody Proctor failed to confess her husband committed lechery—making it seem Mary intentionally was trying to overthrow the court. Consequently, this mass hysteria causes Mary Warren to go back to the girl’s response, despite Proctor encouraging her to tell the truth.
Similarly, the idea of mass hysteria is present in previous books we have read such as The Lord Of The Flies, but also very present in history. Many famous examples of mob mentality include the genocide of Jewish people and the Reign of Terror. In both examples, they were a common enemy and large propaganda to instill ideas into the citizens. However, I feel the turning point that causes mass hysteria to prolong is fear—not the fear of the enemy, but the fear of being seen as the enemy. In contrast, when the group leader dies or loses power, the fear is lost, and the group is no longer held spellbound.
sources:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-mob-mentality
(image credits)
https://millichronicle.com/2020/06/the-rise-of-herd-mentality-and-the-loss-of-reasoning-v1/
Mob mentality truly scares me because it seems we have all been trained to become easily manipulated. I believe part of this definitely has to do a lot with social media and the fact that we are constantly being influenced by others. It is hard for us to know how to develop our own opinions and ideas without being swayed by what the general public believes as perceived through the media. Hearing about the consequences from mob mentality makes me want to isolate myself in my house and never step out into society for the sake of my sanity.
ReplyDeleteHey Pramukh, I think you bring up some really interesting points and I definitely agree with you on how the main fear guiding mass hysteria is that of not wanting to become the enemy or persecuted. I think this mentality is exceptionally prevalent and detrimental with the rise of cancel culture that follows the soread of social media. Often, any slight mistake leads to an inordinate amount of backlash online, and many times, even though this bscklash is exaggerated, many will just follow the masses and support the ‘persrcutors’ in order to avoid any association with someone who society looks doen upon. It is also an incredibly difficult priblem to help as most are aware of this mob mentality and still consciously choose to follow the masses over their ethics.
ReplyDeleteHey Pramukh! Truthfully, our generation finds it so hard to come up with our own thoughts and opinions especially due to social media. We spend so much time scrolling through social media, looking at other people’s lives and what they believe in that we tend to build the same opinions as those of the people we love or look up to. Thinking about mob mentality is honestly really scary because we should be able to form our own opinions instead of changing them to match those of our peers.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! Mob mentality and herd mentality definitely tie together. I frequently find myself following the majority in various situations, possibly due to fear of being different, but also due to natural impulse. I really liked your analogy of yelling spider, reflecting the same concepts presented in a mob mentality.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! This reminds me of some videos I have seen where something similar to the Asch experiment is done in an elevator with one test subject and a few actors. The actors randomly start doing ridiculous things and the test subject will follow and do the same. It is quite entertaining to watch, but thinking about it really is concerning. The fear of being different or seen as the enemy is an unexpected power that controls us all whether we like it or not.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! Crowd conformity honestly scares me so much. Your post reminds me of this quote I've heard a lot in some form when I was younger: "If your friends jump off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff?" It was meant to teach me the malicious effects of following your friends blindly on an action that is clearly wrong. Mary Warren is an example of this, going against truth to protect herself and stay safe with her friends. The experiment you mention is also quite interesting. Why would they WANT to be wrong? Was it just their inner self telling them to not stand out and stay with the answer of the others? I presume there was no consequence for getting it wrong, so what prompted them to say that? Did they have low confidence or want to follow the majority? Mob mentality and human nature to conform to it confuses me so much, but if I'm honest, it's something that so many of us are subject to, for good or for bad.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh, I have seen similar experiments done where test subject after test subject followed the actors and picked the wrong answers. When they were later interviewed, most of them said they knew the right answer but thought they were missing something that everyone else saw, so they picked the wrong answer. It reminds me of how voting is only truly effective if people are not aware of what other people are choosing. It is scary to think that people can so easily override their own opinions to follow the crowd and avoid standing out.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh, everything from the Salem witch hunts to Nazi show groupthink, but they also show how a common belief in something can be manipulated. In Salem, everyone believed in Christianity, therefore Christian ethics and doctrine dominated their lives. If someone from a non-Christian background saw the society at the time, they would not conform since they wouldn't believe in the concept of the devil. In Nazi Germany, government-led propaganda pushed an image that Jews were not humans— they were monsters and they were a threat to human society. This common belief made it easy for lay Germans to not revolt against the atrocities committed against Jews. Having a society with diverse values, customs, and cultures is integral.
ReplyDeleteHello Pramukh,
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite stories is "Plato's Allegory of the Cave," which the more I think about, the more ways I find it to be an allegory of our reality. The caveman who is finally released from captivity and no longer restricted to seeing the world by the shadows of those outside the cave, is faced with a choice: to free his fellow cavemen and show them how the world really is or go back to the cave and ignore the strange new world. He eventually tries showing the new world to his friends but is faced with mockery and verbal abuse. His fellow cavemen believe he has gone insane and refuse to acknowledge the world for what it is. The caveman eventually rechains himself and works instead towards gaining his friends' respect. The caveman rechained himself not out of fear of something new and complicated but out of fear of being shamed by his closest friends. One gravitates towards the unknown only when it is acceptable or reasonable behavior. Overall, as society, we are held back by the group mentalities we have created, not by the knowledge we have yet to gain.