Social proof and where to stand in an elevator Part 2

14 September 2009

Following the work we did for our client on the power of social proof, I’ve been looking in more detail into the concept of social conformity to see how people’s behaviour is influenced by groups. A great example of how vulnerable we can be was shown in a series of experiments conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s.

In this video, you can see a recent example of the same study. Everyone in the room is a ‘confederate’ except for one who is the subject of the experiment. Asked simple questions in turn, the confederates begin by giving the correct answer. At a pre-arranged point, the confederates begin to give the same incorrect answer. Watching the reaction of the subject as he listens to others give the wrong answers is fascinating. Watching what he does, even more so.

He wasn’t asked to conform. He had nothing to gain or lose. This is spontaneous social conformity.

“That we have found the tendency to conformity in our society so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white… black is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct”, wrote Asch.

For the past month, the UK’s elected Members of Parliament have almost to a man and woman been found guilty (at least by the public and in the media) of stretching the moral boundaries of what is appropriate to claim in expenses. There is little doubt in my mind that social conformity has played a part in their behaviour.

A recent reproduction of the experiment using fMRI (a “brain scan”) suggests that social conformity does alter one’s perception of reality. The areas of the brain activated during these ‘conformity’ moments aren’t those high-level areas dealing with conflict and planning (“I know this is wrong, but I will give the same answer as everyone else”), but the more elementary dealing with perception (“oh well, that thing really looks like the other”).

Asch found a dark side to social conformity and many examples you can find on the web confirm this such as how cults and extreme politics exploit this human weakness. I am struggling with the following: if these weaknesses are exploited to a specific end, is it still acceptable to exploit these weaknesses for something that is, to all intents and purposes good, such as giving to charity or getting people to pay their taxes on time?

Answers on a postcard…

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