The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation
Henry David Thoreau
In the 1950’s Dr Solomon Asch conducted an experiment that has become a staple of psychology classes. The experiment demonstrated the incredible power that our herd instincts still hold over our supposedly advanced reasoning skills. In the experiment students were shown groups of lines of various lengths. There were three lines grouped together, with a fourth line standing separate from the rest. The students were asked to answer out loud, which of the three lines was closest in length to the first one. One by one they went down the table, giving their answer after some consideration. The key to the experiment was that only one of the students was actually the test subject, everyone else was in on the experiment. After the first few rounds, the actors in the study began intentionally giving the wrong answer. They all seemed to agree on the same wrong answer, and this had a powerful impact on those unaware of the trick. Some conformed more than others, and there were multiple versions of the experiment performed but overall the rate of conformity was extremely high. After hearing several of their peers confidently give incorrect answers most people could not resist going along with the group.
If this seems a little vague then I invite you to look up the slides that participants were looking at. The correct answers were quite obvious, and there was little room for doubt. In fact, when interviewed afterwards the subjects provided a whole laundry list of explanations for their answers. No one wanted to “make waves, stir the pot,” or “stand out.” They knew that the answers they were giving were wrong, and yet to avoid drawing attention to themselves they chose to give an incorrect answer. Even though there was no real risk of consequences for shaking things up and going against the flow, few had the courage to stand against any perceived social pressure.
What’s more, it was discovered that the more actors that were added to the experiment the higher the rate of conformity increased. By adding greater social pressure participants were influenced to give obviously wrong answers more and more. Where I want to diverge from a traditional psychology class is in the interpretation of this experiment. Let’s talk about what this study implies for us on a day to day basis, and how we can use the lessons contained within to hack our brains a little bit.
Influence
What is the easiest way to influence someone? Is it to convince them that you hold superior knowledge, to intimidate them into submission, or maybe to trick them into making a mistake? What about a simpler, more elegant solution? Convincing someone that you speak for the majority gives you incredible power, and in terms of building your persuasion skills this is an extremely valuable tool to utilize. It’s something that we often use in sales to overcome an objection. When I sense hesitation, before they can even get the words out I’ll say something like “what most people do is…” and guide them towards an option that I think they’ll be less resistant to. Then I’ll also share as many stories as possible of customers who have been happy with the product, to pile on to the fact that most people agree with me and are happy as a result. It’s subtle, but that phrase “what most people do…” took my sales numbers (and income) to a totally new level. When I first started using this line it felt like magic. I always watch people as closely as I can, and I could notice the changes in micro expressions after I had implanted the idea that this is what most people do.
This takes us back to the lesson on pluralistic ignorance. You may remember that this is where people follow the group if they are unsure of what to do. If they are confused, they assume that out of an entire group, someone must know what to do. If no one does anything, well then that must be the appropriate response. Even when people know that they should do something, they most likely won’t if that means standing out in the crowd.
The reason for this is understandable. Humans are highly social creatures and we depend on one another to survive. Over the course of countless generations it has been hardwired into our brains that we must be team players. In the modern world it is not so obvious that we must depend on the group to survive, but this is a recent change in the human situation. The amount of independence and self sufficiently we currently enjoy is not what we are programmed to understand. Our genetics haven’t caught up with technology, and our primitive brain still believes that we must keep from being rejected from the tribe at all costs. In ancient days rejection from the tribe almost certainly meant death, and a lack of reproductive opportunities if nothing else. You can leverage this quite easily by convincing others that the actions you want from them are in line with those of the majority of people. Advertisers and media take advantage of this all the time, so why shouldn’t you develop this same power?
Obviously we haven’t completely escaped from our dependency on others. If we make a habit of blatantly manipulating others there will be severe consequences. I’m not suggesting you treat your co-workers or customers the same way advertising agencies and governments treat you. I’m only suggesting that knowledge is potential power, and making use of this power is the intelligent thing to do. I mean… It’s what most people would do…
Right?
Protecting Yourself
While there is an obvious advantage to learning to leverage the power of social pressure, it is also important to learn to protect yourself from this same influence. Advertisers, politicians and salesmen alike will ruthlessly exploit this human weakness to further their own ends. Being able to protect yourself from them begins with a simple understanding of the techniques they use. Hopefully I have provided a workable knowledge in this lesson, but passive absorption is never enough. To truly make use of what I’ve taught today you need to go out and apply it. My goal for each episode/post is to provide practical tips that you can begin using today. Don’t stress out if it still seems a little fuzzy or complicated, get started today by taking what small steps you can.
Think back right now and try to mentally review what you’ve learned today. The easiest way to exert an invisible influence over others is to make them believe that you speak for the crowd. No one wants to stand out and on an unconscious level most people will allow themselves to be lead by an authority figure who “speaks for the group.”
To keep this from being just a theory that you soon forget about it is important to practice. You will not be perfect at first, but begin finding ways to suggest for others that your desired outcome is also the current trend. At the same time train yourself to become hyper aware of anyone trying to exert this psychological power over you. Perk up whenever you hear anything that suggests a herd mentality and practice disengaging emotionally from these suggestions. In a world that is becoming increasingly controlled by media and popular opinion we need more individuals who are intelligent enough to see through the deception and stand apart from the crowd. The interesting conclusion to the Asch experiment is just equally as important as what we have discussed so far.
It was discovered the effects of conformity were essentially eliminated when one or more of the actors disagreed with the group before the subject. Once someone had broken the pattern and gone against the flow, the power of the group was diminished and the subjects were less influenced to give incorrect answers. All it took was for them to see that they would not be alone in their decision to break the mold. That one actor paved the way for everyone else to follow more easily behind. What is particularly interesting about this is that the actor who disagreed with the group didn’t even have to be right. He could have been just as clearly wrong as everyone else but that didn’t matter. Once the subjects saw someone else go against the grain it encouraged them to do the same. So be aware that this is the impact that you could have on those around you. Standing up for what you believe to be the correct answer could give a voice to countless others too intimidated to speak up for themselves.
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