Allison Mao Week 12: The Strength of Mob Mentality
You’ve probably heard of the phrase “mob mentality” before. When you hear this phrase, what comes to mind? It may be choosing to side with a group of abusers instead of helping a victim, or going against your morals to participate in something you know is wrong just because those around you are promoting it. Why is mob mentality so strong, and is there any way to avoid it?
An excellent example of the power of groupthink was when, in 1935, Solomon Asch conducted an experiment testing to see how easily others would go against their better judgment in order to fit in with the pack. This was set up by putting a participant in a room with seven others who were actually stooges, meaning they had pre-rehearsed roles in the experiment. This experiment involved participants looking at a picture of a single line and picking out which line matched its length among the other lines as shown below.
It’s quite clear that B is the line that’s closest to the target line. Both A and C are much shorter than the target line, unlike line B’s almost identical match. I’m joking, of course. You probably would not have changed your answer to B just because I claimed that line was closest in length to the target line. Then how did one-third of participants conform to these incorrect views?
Since the participant was seated near the end of the row, their answer would be heard after a large number of people had already considered an answer unanimous. With such a large amount of participants all choosing the exact same incorrect answer, the pressure was heightened in the group. Some participants had different explanations as to why they conformed. One participant genuinely believed that the group was correct despite the lines clearly not matching up in front of his eyes. He chooses to ignore his own judgment for a so-called “truth” that he sees others believing in. Applied to real life, this is able to explain how some people may end up doing things that they know are not good for them or not right, such as drinking while underage. Another participant chose to conform to the group because he wished to avoid the awkward feeling of being an outcast. In real life, the morally righteous may not speak up about their beliefs in the face of an immoral majority either. This could lead to societies being governed by immoral ideas, such as Hitler’s Germany in the 1940s. If those who knew Hitler’s ideas were incorrect but saw everyone around them following his ideas, conforming to those immoral ideas would only lead to the strength of those ideas increasing.
Knowing how strong the urge to conform is, how can we possibly stand up against mob mentality? Embracing critical thinking would greatly improve your chances of not conforming to the crowd. Confidence is key when it comes to standing up to the mob mentality.
Hi Allison! Your blog’s message on mob mentality holds tremendous prevalence in our current society, as you have drawn patterns in human behavior to everyday practices, desires, and politics. I appreciate the detailed description of Solomon Asch’s findings. Honestly, I felt that I would have conformed to the answers of the other stooges, as I align with one of the participant’s desires to “avoid the awkward feeling of being an outcast.” Adding on to your mention of Hitler’s Germany, mob mentality is what empowers propaganda’s grip over entire countries repeatedly throughout history. Immoral ideas take precedence over individual beliefs for the sake of desperate patriotism and unity. Even today, in the United States, a sense of mob mentality affects our politics. Thanks to the two-party system, the media has become increasingly polarized, with significant speakers or candidates demonizing others for their political beliefs. To me, this represents an online form of mob mentality, in which despite the right to anonymous voting, a significant portion of the population conform to popular beliefs. Although the United States deeply values free speech, it often feels as if society is hostile towards original opinions. Are there any ways to create an environment that fosters conversations between different sides, rather than letting mob mentality divide the population into two definite groups?
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! Thank you for sharing this blog about mob mentality because I have been seeing examples of it online recently, and this blog helped me understand why it happens. With a flurry of artists releasing new music in these past couple weeks, I see people form strong opinions regarding the quality of an album without even listening to the entire thing—it seems as if they see other people voicing their dislike of an album and they decide to conform to what appears to be the popular belief. Even if the album meets expectations, community members seem to hate it, and this is likely in part because the people who actually like the album are too afraid to express it. I have also seen myself fall victim to this mob mentality—as you said, some participants in the Solomon Asch experiments denied their own observations in favor of believing their group, and I have sometimes seen myself do the same for music. I find that I am more likely to like an album if I have heard people say it is great. Your inclusion of an image from the Solomon Asch experiment (and the explanation you had right after it) was a great example of how strong mob mentality is—when you claimed that the Target Line matched Line B, I actually doubled back to the image to check because you had tricked me into believing I had made a mistake. After this demonstration, I will definitely ensure that I learn from the recommendations in the conclusion of this blog so that I do not continue to fall victim to mob mentality.
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! Thank you for sharing this blog on the pertinent topic of mob mentality in regard to our life in the 21st century. I enjoyed reading this blog, and especially enjoyed the trick that you played in the middle paragraphs relating to mob mentality between the author (you) and the readers of this blog. The real-life and interactive example helped make the example you presented about the Asch experiment hold all the more powerful. Based on the information I gathered from reading your blog, it appears that mob mentality can be an incredibly destructive force. Not only is it destructive, but it seems that it is quite easy to be sucked into. Like you mentioned, some of history's most disturbing events, including Hitler's Holocaust were brought about by mob mentality. While there are several examples in the past of mob mentality, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the implications of mob mentality in the future.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the widespread nature of social media and the internet and the pervasive nature of algorithms which sow discontent and pit people against each other, I believe that the impacts of mob mentality may become even more disastrous in our current age. One example of this are members of hate groups using the internet and messaging apps to converge at scales that would not be possible without the internet. The internet's ability to demolish barriers and borders and connect people in an incredibly accessible manner make it so that group think or mob mentality has a much broader reach than ever before. That is why, like you alluded to in your blog, it is important to employ critical thinking and self reflection whenever possible. This is one of the only ways that the impacts of mob mentality in the 21st century can be curtailed. Thanks once again for sharing!
Hi Allison! When I first began reading your blog and heard the phrase "mob mentality," I recognized the topic from something I learned in English last year and immediately thought of the power of group influence. The tendency for individuals to abandon their judgment or moral compass to conform to the beliefs or actions of a larger group. It's a phenomenon that can lead to harmful behavior, such as bullying or discrimination, as individuals become swept up in the collective mindset of the group. The example of Solomon Asch's conformity experiment showcases the strong urge to conform, even when faced with clear evidence contradicting the group's consensus. It's shocking to see how easily people can be influenced by the pressure to fit in or avoid social rejection, even at the expense of their own beliefs or principles. To fight against mob mentality, embracing critical thinking is essential. By questioning and evaluating the information or beliefs presented by the group, individuals can resist the impulse to blindly conform and make independent judgments based on reason and evidence. Just having the courage to speak out against injustice, even when it's unpopular, can help disrupt the cycle of conformity and promote positive change. Overall, your blog effectively described the Solomon Asch experiment and discussed what it takes to defeat mob mentality. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison,
ReplyDeleteYour informative blog on mob mentality can relate to so many issues in society today. Whether the issues be small or large, the decision making has been mainly based on what other people have been doing, creating more followers compared to independent thinkers. It is interesting how quickly people can change their minds even though they are well aware that there is some kind of problem in that decision. You brought up a great example, the Solomon Asch experiment, in which a person was placed with actors to determine the matching line. That experiment has revealed much about how we think, and if we hear someone go against what we believe in, then we begin to question ourselves. This idea can be seen in different aspects of society and a main one I have noticed recently is in voting. The primary elections are currently happening in many different states, and when I hear people thinking about who they would vote for and why, they would name a candidate and their reasoning would be because other people are voting for that candidate. I always wondered why people would simply follow the majority rather than making an independent decision, and it is clear now that people assume whatever the majority believe is the best thing to believe in. Sometimes it can feel forced for a person to accept widely held beliefs in order to fit in with the rest of the crowd as it can be intimidating for them to think for themselves and go in a different direction, and that is what mob mentality has normalized in our society. It seems as if we simply stop questioning ideas and just go with the crowd, which can potentially be a harmful action with negative benefits later on in life. It is great you wrote about this topic as it is extremely important to understand and to make sure we stop making the same mistakes.