How did one man’s simple experiment show the world how easy it is to get people to conform?
Subject: Social Proof - Asch’s Lines
Event: Solomon Asch born, 1907
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. -Bertrand Russell
Which one of the three lines marked A, B, and C matches the length of the line in the box below?
Hopefully you picked C, but do you think you could be influenced to pick B?
Here are a few more questions. They are a little more broad, but they all relate to how individuals relate to groups.
Is it true that individuals in general feel that their behavior is correct when they are acting the same as other people? Can an individual’s perception of the world be altered by social pressure? Will a person go so far as to do regrettable or immoral things to avoid being shunned by the group? How much do we truly desire what we want to do versus how much we desire to do what other people do?
These are the kinds of questions that psychologist Solomon Asch, who was born on this day in 1907, asked. Asch was born in Warsaw, Poland, and he and his Polish-Jewish family emigrated to the United States in 1920. Growing up in New York City, he learned English by reading Charles Dickens. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1932.
Early in his life, Asch began thinking about how human thinking and perception can be influenced by suggestions. His New York Times obituary recounted one memorable incident from Asch’s childhood:
As a boy of 7, he stayed up late for his first Passover night. He saw his grandmother pour an extra glass of wine and asked whom it was for.
For the prophet Elijah, an uncle told him.
"Will he really take a sip?" the boy asked.
"Oh, yes," the uncle replied. "You just watch when the time comes."
Filled with the sense of suggestion and expectation, the boy thought he saw the level of wine in the cup drop just a bit.
As a researcher, Asch performed his most famous experiment in 1951. He had five people take the A, B, C line test above. He told them it was a test of their vision, but in reality, it was a conformity test. Of the five people in the room, only one was a true subject; the other four were confederates of Asch. He told each of these confederates to intentionally pick the wrong answer and to say it out loud. Asch always asked the true subject for his answer last. In the study, nearly 75% of the true subjects went along with the group, selecting the obviously wrong answer. Asch also tested a control group; in this group each member was instructed to individually record their answers in writing. Members of the control group identified the correct answer 99% of the time.
Asch’s studies confirmed that humans do have a herd instinct. Today we call this social proof, a term coined in 1984 by Robert Cialdini, a psychology and marketing professor. From an evolutionary perspective, social proof makes perfect sense; after all, our survival as a species hinged on staying with and working as a group. But today, going along with the crowd does not always provide an advantage; in fact, this herd instinct can be used to subconsciously influence our behavior.
The laugh track that’s added to television shows is there to influence your perception. The bandwagon, the classic propaganda technique, is a social proof method. Advertisers know the power of popularity and public opinion. While it is true that we are all influenced by other people, we must still remember that it is always best to think for ourselves. Just because a politician is ahead in the polls does not mean that he or she is the best leader. Likewise, just because a brand of coffee is the most popular brand does not mean that it is the best. Know the power of social proof to influence human thinking and behavior, and try to be conscious of its subconscious influence on your thinking and behavior.
Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is Social Proof, and how can it be either a positive or a negative depending on the context?
Challenge: Echo Or Individual?: In commenting on the topic of conformity, the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “ Yield not one inch to all the forces which conspire to make you an echo.” Do some research on quotations related to the topic of conformity or public opinion. Find a quotation you like. Then, write it out and explain how you think it provides insight into the relationship between the individual and society.
September 14, 1814: On this day during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The inspiration for Key’s words was the British fleet’s shelling of Fort McHenry, which guarded the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. Key watched the bombardment from an odd perspective. An American Lawyer, Key had boarded a British ship prior to the battle to negotiate the release of another American being held by the British. Once on the ship, Key was detained until the battle ended the next morning.
September 14, 1959: The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 became the first man-made object to reach the moon. Nearly ten years later, on July 20, 1969, U.S. Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon.
Sources:
1-Stout, David. “Solomon Asch Is Dead at 88; A Leading Social Psychologist.” The New York Times 29 Feb. 1996.
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