Participants are told they are taking part in a vision test
They are seated in a room with other ‘participants’ taking part in the same test
These people are actually stooges
Every participant is shown a line… …and then asked to choose the matching line from a group of three lines of different lengths
A B C
Each participant is asked to individually select the matching line and give their answer out loud to the group…
A B C
Participants conform to the group answer about a third of the time, even when they report afterwards that they knew the answer was wrong
In a control group where everyone writes down their answers privately, participants chose the correct line 98% of the time
Why?
1. People want to fit in with the rest of the group — giving a different answer puts them at risk of being singled-out
2. Some people also believe the group is better informed than they are, so they change their mind