How Far Will People Go to Fit In? 

This might be the same subject matter, but I've noticed this happens at school too. I'm always the person who raises their hand and ask a question, and then later I figure out that people had the same question, they were just afraid of asking because most of our class didn't raise their hand. Anyone else have that happen? I feel like it happens a lot.

say what is right, even when its unpopular

Telling the teacher he's wrong was the only way I voluntarily participated in class...

We must all face the choice between what is right, and what is easy. -Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

One time there was this girl in my class being bullied in front of the entire class and no one said anything bc the kid who was doing it was "popular" and no one stood up to him. When it got to the point where she ran out of the room crying, I finally said something. The kid went off on me and tried to bully me too, but after I said something other people did too. Sometimes it only takes one person for other to feel they can step in too. He ended up getting sent out(finally) after then trying to attack the substitute teacher. Hated that kid so much

Well, whenever I think that discording will lead me into a fruitless discussion I'll simply stay quiet. Time is precious.

You know that kids who try to correct a teacher are often sent to the principals office and disciplined these days for being disruptive and interrupting. You see parents posting about it online and how stupid it is.

I told a physics teacher he was wrong once. Back in 1979 I said that Pluto was (at the time) closer to the sun than Neptune. He laughed at me. I was, of course, right. I didn't back down.

I read the title as "How far will people go to get fit". Thanks brain, I know I'm overweight already! PS. Brit is such a cool host, btw.

Last school I year I had to keep myself from interjecting during high school lectures and correcting the teacher many time. I held back simply out of respect to authority and seniority. Although it practically made me squirm in my seat to let it go.

Actually I experienced something like this in middle school. A teacher was explaining an algebra problem and didn't carry over the negative properly. I was the only one who noticed and went to the front to point it out. After trying to explain and getting silence for a few moments I started thinking I was wrong. Until she said "Out of seven classes today, you are the only person who has said something".

The whole thing about not correcting a teacher reminded me of a time I did that in second grade... My teacher was saying that "dice" was a singular noun and not a plural one, and I insisted she was wrong to the point of having to go to the dictionary. I didn't get in trouble for it but it raised a bit of a scene, and my parents were glad that I knew what was right but gently scolded me for being somewhat tactless. ...That's still a particular grammatical pet peeve of mine when people get that wrong, and to another extent I still don't regret speaking out about that.

I'm not sure what to say in this comment because there are no other comments. There are 9 likes so I'm going to say "Keep up the great work!".

I think the interpretation you're applying is too narrow. I mean, if I was the subject of the study, I probably would agree with the group some or most of the time not because I wanted to fit in, but because I'd think something MUST be wrong with me, maybe thinking I'm tired and can't see the lines well, or something along those lines

I heard that people will go as far as refreshing a channel repeatedly to be the first person to comment so they can say FIRST so that people like them and feel like they fit in.

Quotes for lonely people “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” "Enduring loneliness is much better than suffering from the compromises of a force community." "Lonliness is a tax we have to pay to atone for a certain complexity of mind"

I've never been the type to agree with people just because they're the majority. I know this because it's been a real problem with getting along with people, always butting heads with groups of people in school and poly over ideas and methods. Really can't blame people for wanting to conform, it's pretty miserable to fight people over things and being punted out for it.

i love this host so much lmao i hang on to every word she says its so easy to pay attention when she's talking! love the content + the way y'all present it!!

I had this very experiment done on me at my school. Unfortunately I didn't have my glasses on that day and while the ones I could 100% determine were intentionally wrong I did pick the proper answer, the ones that were questionable I conformed to the group mostly on the basis I just couldn't see well enough and was not aware of what the hell was going on.

I'm such an anticonformist I'm going to say I'm a confomist. No one does that.

I lied being religious in my community even though I'm agnostic for the past 2 years

OK, i'm not saying that I'm smarter than Asch, and if I read the paper, I might find my answer but, how do we know that the people who voted with the majority did it more out of self doubt that they were correct, and not out of a sense of conformity?

I'm the type of person that would gladly raise my hand and get scolded for telling the teacher that they're wrong, as long as they are wrong.

Now I have a teeny tiny bit more respect for people who dislike videos like this --I appreciate their independence and willingness to express themselves, despite popular consensus.

I've never sat quietly while a teacher explained something wrong😂😂😂 That's probably why I got in trouble for "talking back".

Pledge of allegiance... I got so many dirty looks for not standing up and doing it. But a stupid pledge doesn't mean anything, you can be patriotic without it, and even doing it doesn't mean that you really are patriotic. It's pointless, and I don't waste my time or energy on pointless things.

This reminded me of 1984 where Winston says "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four".

I was the dumb kid who corrected his ninth grade English teacher's spelling and grammar. The whole class seemed to look at me "as a bull looking at a bastard cat". It happened more often than it should have. She only argued with me once, but I was able to prove that I was correct. After that, she'd just glare at me and correct her writing. In retrospect I probably would have had more friends if I were more conforming.

Yeah, there were so many times I knew my teachers had no idea what they were talking about, but I usually kept quiet because I found their incompetence fairly amusing, and to not embarrass them in front of the entire classroom. For their sake I waited until class was over and corrected them in private, which proved even more amusing because, with the class no longer present, they would try really hard to convince me they were right, only to have me prove to them how wrong they were, and I would conclude my lesson before joining my peers in recess by saying "class dismissed!" Our education system is pretty pathetic!

A common issue shared by each of these studies is a lack of consequences for the subjects' responses, regardless of conformity, unlike with real interactions.

I read an article titled "Conformity starts young." It studied babies and conformity. One baby was taught how to get a treat by pushing certain buttons,(Or something, the details were kind of vague) but when put in a room with untrained babies, most played "stupid"

"Pretended you'd read a certain book when you hadn't" and yet I still got 87% on the essay I wrote about that book. I think that classifies as winning

I once called out a teacher in high school because what he was saying didn't make any sense. He said that he had explained it wrong just to see if the students were listening.

I was not giving a standing ovation! I was getting up to leave!

Hey, if my teacher says something wrong, I'm the first one to correct them.

Whilst I was already aware of the general topic, I hadn't considered the power of the defector until now. If you're going to have meeting where you need people to speak honestly, I'm now thinking that it may be worth deliberately planting a defector to demolish the conformity effect at the beginning of the meeting.

I think it's worth considering with these experiments they seem to measure conformity however you could also suggest they measure how willing people are to trust their own perception over a group. That is if I see something and 99 other people see it differently it's much harder for me to say with confidence I am right even if I think it is 'clear'

This also leads into the "second person" effect. That a second person on any issue is the real hero of a stance because once a second person stands with the first, more people will join. That's why it's important to bring one or two people with you that agree with you if you're ever giving a controversial speech.

No, I did not. Earn your applause. Further, my teachers hated me because I always questioned them.

Damn, my A Level Psychology exam on conformity was _yesterday_...this video would have been extremely helpful if it'd been uploaded one day sooner :'D

This is fantastic. I like the lead in before the title. And Brit is an awesome person to watch.

The defector part of the experiment is why I actively try to be nonconformist (as much as I think I can get away with before I make anyone upset) -- I want to remind people, if even only on a subconscious level, that they don't have to conform either.

2:24 This is one of the internet's most glorious pictures. I can't.

I'm actually really surprised only 37% of the subjects conformed to the group. I expected it to be way higher

I remember being 12 years old, going through a quiz with four other classmates. The question "how many counties are there in Norway?" came up, with three alternatives, and I knew the answer to be 19. My classmates, however, were convinced it was 27. I asked them to tell me these 27 counties. They couldn't. I told them the 19 counties. They thought it more likely that I was forgetting the last 8 counties, than that four people were wrong, and the awful thing about it was that I started to think that too. Even though I was very certain, I too began to think that maybe four against one means I'm the one in the wrong. And so I agreed to the wrong answer. I quickly learned my lesson though.

I always used Asch's study in social influence essays.

Even tho pretty much all of my school friends were drinking alcohol at their home parties, I refused to drink alcohol with them, because of my moral against alcohol and it's bad effects on you.

Did an exam on this yesterday. It might be helpful to add that People may not do the same thing when faced with a less trivial decision. People are less likely to conform because irl it actually matters.

For years, I'd claimed to have read 1984 having not actually done so. Now that I have, memories on the subject are a bit of a mixed bag. It's a good book, no denying that. But it's heavy. Upsettingly heavy. Yes, the danger of absolute societal documentation is intense. Yes, the love sparked solely out of recognition for someone who conforms to the very mandatory rules, but does not support them internally is frightening and inspiring. Yes, the the events after the lobotomy are terrifying. For for me, the scene that hit hardest in the most concerning ways. The detail that, for me, struck the most brutal chord as far as the overall oppression was concerned, was the man they were starving to death. Described as having so little fat and even flesh, that his face looked like skin stretched over a skull, every contour visible, every unique change to the bone. That a man in the "holding cell" throwing him a crust of bread, maybe 3-4 calories worth of energy, MAYBE, the starved man lunging for it, and the subsequent brutal beating it caused. I can't think of a single thing that more expresses absolute power over a living soul. That more expresses brutal cruelty and inhumanity.

nope; I've more than once called out an educator for being incorrect

full disclosure, I pictured Bruce Campbell as the doctor.

the nail that stands tall gets hammered. we all want to be excepted yet want to be different.

This made me cry actually.. Just speak up if you think what's happening is wrong even if nobody else would agree with you!

When these videos go into more detail than some of my third year lecturers...

If you don't say something when you notice a teacher making a mistake, then it might be because you don't want to create a scene. I don't think it's always bad to appear to conform in situations like these. It's just an advantageous tactic to not get into uncomfortable situations whose immediate outcome might be counter-productive and whose long-term ramifications don't appear significant. (i.e. "That the Berlin Wall fell in '89 and not in '90 might probably not ruin my classmates entire life and they will find out eventually anyway. Spares me appearing like a know-it-all, I really don't want the attention right now.") It depends on the personality of the teacher though. If one knows that the teacher doesn't have too big of an ego one might be more inclined to say something, because then it might actually lead to a productive outcome. How things appear to be are not always how they are. There can often be mutliple reasons for the same observed behaviour, not just one. But then again I don't know the minutiae of these studies and whether or not they controlled for this as well. These are just some thoughts regarding what was being said in this video.

I noticed this back in my 6th grade history class. We just had a simple 'warm up' where our teacher wanted us to count the number of US Virgin Islands. I ended up being the only person who counted the number correctly out of my entire class of over 30 students. But when I kept hearing everyone saying the wrong number, I kept double guessing myself. I recounted and recounted, thinking I had just messed up somewhere. Just before giving in my paper I crudely scribbled out my original answer and went with whatever else said. Luckily my teacher saw what I had written and asked me why I changed it. When I told him everyone else said something else and so I figured I must've just been wrong, he told the entire class that I had been the only one to get it right. I wonder if it was because it was in such overwhelming numbers? Arguing with 5 people that they're wrong is much easier then when over 30 people agree on the wrong answer.

I remember once telling a teacher he was wrong. It was about the Hawthorne effect.

Once called out a teacher for consistantly only using boys names in maths probelems, and when teacher asked if any of us disliked our form classes (eg class 1-A or 1-B) in assembely, I was the only one out of a hall of nearly 200 kids to raise their hand(i got a prize for that). So i don't think these experiments would work to well on me i'm now good at following crowds

It makes sense. We know people are sane so the more that everyone thinks one thing, the more you feel like there’s something wrong with you as opposed to everyone else.

In these experiments the stakes weren't all that important, but what happens when there's someone injured in need of help, outside in a populated city environment, when you clearly see that every single person chooses to ignore this individual in need? Do you break with conformity and offer assistance? or at least call for help?

Sometimes, there's nothing wrong with being the majority. If everyone says the answer is C and you think it is B, don't assume that the majority is wrong and that you're right. There is a good chance that the majority is right. The key here is to not be too attached or proud of both your individuality or your sense of belonging in a group. Being too individualistic or perpetually trying to fit in is detrimental because you either become close-minded due to your stubborn individuality or become gullible when you fit in too often, so you must find the right balance between what you think is right and what others think is right. Perhaps both you and everyone is wrong, or even partially right, because the answer is actually both B and C, a synthesis between the individual and the collective.

although most people conformed at least once, everyone went against the crowd the majority of times they were asked what they thought... but don't let details get in the way of a good story

The last effect is why Cassie Jaye's movie The Red Pill is so very scary to certain people who thrive on pressuring others into this kind of conformity.

That's why I don't have any friends

If you're ever unlucky enough to go through jury selection, convincing the lawyers that you are a non-conformist is a good way to disqualify yourself.

99% of the time it's just so much easier to do the thing, whatever it is. There's lots of reasons "fitting in" to a certain degree is a huge advantage. Standing up for a performance that was kinda meh isn't going to hurt you or anyone. Remaining seated might just cheese off your friends and cause completely unnecessary strife.

This explains why 40% of Trump voters surveyed, WHILE LOOKING AT THE LABELLED PICTURES, still said they thought the picture of Trump's inauguration looked like it had more people in it.

Yup. I actually do this all the time without thinking. Most of the time I act compulsively agreeing with others, and I don't process it consciously. But I kinda feel like I'm not thinking by myself. Then when I'm alone I think about it and realise that I was just acting as a sheep by default. I find it interesting.

Can we have more interesting psych stuff please? I need this in my life.

Terrorism also goes along with "fitting in". Some people want to belong so badly they pretty much erase their sense of self in favor of the group.

Could listen to her all day long.

A lot of times this occurs I wouldn't say you "change" your opinions or beliefs but you don't suspend them for the duration of the conversation/study to avoid telling someone they're wrong when correcting them is trivial

2:24 Everytime...

2:24 Nope that is definitely not me. I have had lengthy discussions with my teachers about subjects including when I found out my science teacher didn't know plasma was a separate state of matter, or there were more than seven senses.

I have been through so much gas lighting abuse that this would convince me that what I was seeing was wrong. I don't trust my own perception anymore.

I think that the desire to fit in and the desire not to stand out are different. With standing ovation, or not pointing out a teacher's mistake, it's usually more like "let me just not attract any attention to myself", with lying about having read a book, this is more like trying to fit in.

I know I absolutely would not conform to strangers, I might conform to people who are friends. But I thrive on opposing popularity

For an extreme example of Social Compliance look at Derren Brown's 'Pushed to the Edge'.

I thumbs up this video because I saw a lot more thumbs up than down.

3:55 also they really liked the other person who also said something else. very interestibg study.

Michael's Stevens Mind Field episode on that topic is freaking awesome too! :)

As with all of these psychological studies, one of the best indicators of whether you fall into these groups is past behavior. Being made aware of it doesn't necessarily help.

No, I’m usually the one in the class who point’s out the teacher’s mistake.

Yeah, but... to where do those coordinates belong? I've been unable to pay attention once I spotted them.

Fascinating data, however if I may add something I have discovered: If you ever stood up at work to share your view on a subject, and everyone was silent and you felt they were appalled, you forever never express your opinion to a crowd again. It's quite painful to be ostracized like that and it only takes one traumatic incident to prevent it in the future. -- plus, the person who was the subject may have figured it was a trick question ...so best to be 'normal' regardless of if you are right or not. It seems to save us from such a painful situation. That phenomenon may be why groupthink can be strong even for 'individualists' and/or those that think for themselves when on their own.

This experiment isn't that alarming, necessarily. I conform when the stakes are low (for example, bar arguments). I wonder, what would the results have been if there were a significant reward--say $20 for each correct answer--attached. Psychology people, are there studies that answer this question?

So always ask yourself "could someone else out there disagree too?"

What if I told you I've never fallen for conformity? I do not agree just because others do, I am skeptical of everything's and everyone, I'd happily stand off and argue with people that even agree with me, and I'm hated because I'm overly truthful an accurate, even if it means burying someone's ego or flawed opinions.

I'd like to see another study which has 2, 3, 4 and more subjects to see how many people need to agree for there to be no more fitting in. Will one person on your side make you sure? Or will it have to be 4?

Honestly, I would definitely go along with the others because I'd assume that if a everyone else would say something else than me, than I'd probably be wrong.

That's why I always try to speak up. If a conversation seems like a lot of people have this stupid opinion with no retort, I'll speak up. Someone else always pops up that agrees. Some people fear being the only one, I don't, I've been there done that, so i'll get the ball rolling.

But the truth is, the pressure from other minds make you question your validity and your mind when it comes to facts

Sometimes not fitting in and saying the truth may cost you your job, as it was the case for James Damore at google. I still find it important to do it even when there are risks.

Where can i find more informations about this and other studies? I really like when you present and explain the concepts in this way. Do you have a course on psychology, where i can learn more about?

I occasionally stay silent when I know people are wrong because I feel like they need to figure it out for themselves. As a side note, I hate working with others because people are dumb. Or rather, I am smarter, and I'm blindsided by that. I got to remember that I am a bit of a genius. I don't know, it's just normal for me. I forget that everyone else is weird. I mean, I have never lived in someone else's body, so I have nothing to compare my experience with. Or something like that. I also need to remember that sleep and food are things. Or is that just the price of being a genius? I have to have something to balance it out. That would be an interesting experiment... Is there a correlation between genius and... What is it called?... Some *thing* that is considered a weakness... I should really get to bed... The later it gets, the less sense I make, and I can't form proper sentences that make sense to others when I am in need of rest... But I always have a hard time articulating my thoughts. I make perfect sense to myself... Why does mind reading have to be impossible!? Then people would understand the things I don't have words for. Like the sensation of being sick. I'm only guessing that what I'm feeling is a certain symptom when I tell people how I feel. Why is it so confusing!? I just want to explain it when I am in pain. Is that so hard? I really need to sleep before I say something like giant eagle feet.

Hey, that was my exact science fair project in 7th grade!

Rimmer's dad did this to him once on Red Dwarf but with colours

great info, thanks.

Sooooo, is Presenter Brit (sp?) going to be doing more presentations? She has a very clear, crisp & informative style. Start the chant...."Bring Back Brit!", "Bring Back Brit!"...............

A teacher has said wrong things in a classroom plenty of times... I learned early not to correct them, because its "undermining their authority".