Horrors of Groupthink

To punk artist Henry Rollins, being inactive and unimaginative is among the biggest errors one can make. He wrote, “I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone.” As well as being the frontman for the band Black Flag, Rollins was an advocate for social change. He challenged himself to break the mode as a musician, poet, radio host, and actor. Rollins is intense in whatever he does and refuses to stop creating. Rollins tells his audiences to travel unbeaten paths, to do things in their own way, and grab onto the unique qualities that make them different.

Rollins also questions groupthink, an attribute that drives much of our social interactions. Groupthink can pull society down. It occurs when group members prioritize unanimity over a realistic appraisal of a situation. It leads to people accepting lies, joining hate groups, promoting conspiracy theories, and making poor political decisions.

Groupthink fails to consider all factors and alternatives before reaching conclusions. It occurs when social identities are so embedded in the group’s psychology that individuals won’t act on their own conclusions. Though facts may be disputed, group cohesion is stronger. It’s what drives religion, racism, and legislation. Congressional groupthink that holds political parties as more important than the citizens they serve, threatens democracy.

In the 1950s, The Asch Conformity Study conducted a series of psychological experiments about why don’t act independently. The study concluded that people are more prone to conform than they believe they are. In Asch’s experiments, people who were in on the experiment (plants) pretended to be regular participants alongside unaware subjects. All participants were shown a line segment and then asked to choose a matching line out of a group of three segments of varying lengths. When subjects were given the test privately, they all choose the right length. But when the plants were with the subjects, 75% of the subjects changed their mind after hearing the plants select an incorrect length.

Asch’s study led to the following conclusions:

• Conformity increases when more people are present.
• Conformity increases when the task is more difficult. People look to others for information on how to respond.
• Conformity increases when other members of the group are viewed as more powerful, influential, or knowledgeable.
• Conformity decreases when people respond in private.

Over the years, Asch’s research inspired many other social scientists to look into motives as to why people conform.

• Some individuals are motivated to avoid conflict.
• Collectivist cultures are more likely to conform.
• People are more likely to conform in situations where they are unclear on how to respond.

The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted in 1971 reconfirmed the power of groupthink. It was set up to study what happens when you put good people in a evil place. It had to be stopped after 70 students, randomly assigned as guards or prisoners, became so immersed in their roles that it affected behavior to the detriment of their health. The prisoners cowered and were traumatized while the guards became aggressive. The experiment ended less than a week after it started.

Conformity appears to be a regular part of most social circles. Understanding the mechanisms of groupthink can help you make sense of why people go along with the crowd even when the choice seems out of character. It can be dangerous as it was on the January 6th insurrection.  But, by being aware of the pressure to conform, it’s possible to analyze what is going on and see how other people’s behavior is influencing your choices.

It is difficult to be yourself and speak up for what you value. We have only to look at Liz Cheney to see how she has been targeted for standing up for the truth. Though I don’t agree with many of her policies, I admire her courage. Riddled by threats, much like Salman Rushdie, she is a target of radical thinking. 

Traveling unbeaten trails, seeing issues in broad light, and being willing to stand up for the truth against those who pressure you to conform—that is what individuality and freedom are really about.

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