The Asch Conformity Experiment: How Social Pressure Influences a Person´s Life

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Due to the nature of our own biology we are social animals who continuously desire companionship, seek approval from others, and aspire to fit in. However this conformity prohibits individuals from expressing their true thoughts and instead actively engages them into peer pressured situations, subconsciously following social norms. Hence, the individual succumbs to groupthink. Groupthink occurs when groups are highly cohesive and are aware they must make a quality decision under considerable pressure. It is a process of rationalization that sets in when group members start thinking alike (Sims & Sauser, 2013). Eight symptoms of groupthink exist – illusion of invulnerability (group thinks they are invincible), collective rationalization (no reconsiderations to assumptions), belief in inherent morality (ignore ethical or consequences of their decisions), stereotyped views of out-groups (“enemy” is too evil, weak, or stupid to bother with), self-censorship (doubts from group consensus are not expressed), illusion of unanimity (everyone agrees with everyone else), and self-appointed mindguards (members protect group from information that is contradictory or problematic to group’s cohesiveness) (Janis, 1972). If a group of individuals came together they would engage in these symptoms of groupthink, resulting in a “bad” decision-making process producing less than optimal outcomes. Furthermore Janis (1982) found that there are three types of antecedent conditions, or conditions that lead to concurrence seeking, that result in observable consequences, which is the low probability of a successful outcome. The three types of antecedent conditions include the cohesion of the group, the organizational structural faults, and situational fa... ... middle of paper ... ...especially when decision-making. It can also help us better predict results that have occurred because we have some insight as to why certain individuals behaved in some way. Furthermore Dongsong Zhang examined the role people’s cultures have in regards to the majority influence in groups. After assessing participants among various cultures via group tasks and experiments, he concluded that national culture significantly affects majority influence (Zhang, 2007). He defines majority influence as the “attempt by a majority of group members to impose their common position on group dissenters during group decision making” and says majorities have the (Zhang, 2007). Businesses and corporations around the world are composed of multi-cultural individuals and work groups, so it is essential that they understand the challenges these various cultural backgrounds present.

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