PSY100H1 Lecture 19: Lecture 19
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PSY100H1 Full Course Notes
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When situations are ambiguous and we"re not sure what to do or what is right, we rely upon others to make these judgments, and we come to believe in these judgments. The autokinetic effect is an optical illusion: in a dark room, a single point of light will, after a period of time, appear to move back and forth. 75% of time people conform at some point. 1/3 of time people conform at any given time. Increasing the size beyond three doesn"t really do anything. Even if you have a group of 5 people, if even one person gives the right answer, most people will give the right answer. Even if dissenter is wrong they will still tend to resist the group pressure. Therefore, groups are most powerful when they are unanimous. But break this unanimity and people will be more likely to go their own way.
