We are reading a book called, "Why Societies Need Dissent" by Cass R. Sunstein. It's really very interesting, I recommend it.
Sunstein talks about two experiments at the beginning of his book, by Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram. I'm sure you guys are familiar with these experiments but just in case you're not, here's a link to read about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments
Seriously guys, if you don't know about these experiments read about them, they're way interesting and also a little terrifying.
I want to discuss conformity's importance in regard to the law.
You guys, some laws are effective even when never enforced. To use an example from Sunstein: smoking in public places.
Apparently, practically no police departments ever issue citations about smoking in public places. This is a law that is rarely, if ever, enforced. So why-oh-why do people obey it? This can't be explained with criminal justice's usual crime/punishment explanation!!
Here's Sunstein's explanation: The law expresses the majority's opinion. Thus with especially visible crimes, such as smoking in public, the majority is very likely to voice their opinion and shame the perpetrator. The law isn't self-enforcing, the majority of people enforce the law over the minority!Imagine for a second, seeing someone park in a handicapped spot who isn't handicapped. I, for one, might give them dirty looks, and try and talk loudly to friends about how I hoped that no one ACTUALLY handicapped came along because they would be screwed! People are less likely to park in handicapped spots because they are afraid of public shaming, then because they are afraid of a ticket.
As illustrated by the Milgram and Asch experiments, people desperately want to be accepted by their peers, even to the point of doing what goes against their belief system and intelligence. So, visible crimes that go against public opinion are most likely to be self-enforcing.
One more thing, there was a study done on the citizens of Minnesota regarding tax payment. "When people were told of the risk of punishment, levels were unaffected. When people were told that taxes are used for important goods and services,... compliance levels remained unaffected. But when citizens were told that over 90% of people fully comply with the tax laws, compliance increased. Apparently, those who violate the law are ashamed to learn that their conduct is worse than the overwhelming majority of their fellow citizens." -Sunstein
Isn't that crazy? People want to fit in so much, it makes them not break laws, even non-visible ones. This keeps reminding me of The Emperor's New Clothes. People will go along with just about anything if everyone else is too.
2 comments:
It's really weird that social conformity is such a powerful force. I've always wondered about it, especially because for as long as I can remember I've felt so strongly that conformity erases my individuality and thereby dehumanizes me. Fitting in makes me feel like I'm being rubbed out.
That reminds me of something I wondered about before I came to Berlin. People here supposedly don't jaywalk. Being a native New Yorker, I'm acutely aware of the fact that jaywalking is an inalienable right. What would I do, I wondered, with all that social pressure not to cross against the light.
Well, it turns out I haven't had the *slightest* scruple about crossing whenever I damn well feel like it. That's part of what I like about jaywalking--you make everyone else look like an idiot for standing there on the corner twiddling their thumbs.
And here's the funniest thing, and it's the same here as it was in Seattle, people don't jaywalk--unless you do first! There's a word I learned in biology class a long time ago, 'allelomimetic', that was meant to describe the behavior of cows and sheep. It means what one does, they all do.
What do you think explains such behavior? I've always thought we have a genetic predisposition to want to blend into the crowd because it makes us less vulnerable to being singled out by predators.
Also, you may know about this already, but Shana sent me an interesting article a while back about the tendency of people in groups of like-minded individuals to become more extreme in their views. FYI: The article headline unfairly and wrongly singles out Republicans. http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/bigsort/archive/2008/10/13/extremism-at-mccain-rallies-comes-naturally.aspx
Professor dr. phillips,
I do know about the article Shana sent you, look for a post later today discussing that exact thing!
Also, I want to explain something about the Asch experiment, half of the people who went along with the majority even when it was in direct conflict with their senses, said they did so because they believed that the majority had some information that they didn't. It wasn't just the peer pressure or desire to fit in, they actually thought they must have mis-understood the instructions, or have eye-sight problems.
This is actually very useful and makes perfect sense. I know it's happened to me before that I could have sworn I heard one thing, but it turns out it was a mistake. Following the majority opinion on a thing like that could be helpful.
Things like jay-walking and dressing alike are different from this, because the choice is entirely up to you, there is no right or wrong, which makes it especially strange that people conform to each other.
One of the reasons is that information costs are positive, that is, it costs us time to be experts in everything. So, we rely on other people to tell us what to do, i.e.buying an i-pod because it must be good if everyone has one.
Additionally, my teacher talked about 'pluralistic ignorance'-widespread ignorance about what most other people think. People basically self-sensor based on what they believe other people to believe. This can lead a whole bunch of people to not jay-walk even though they all want to.
To give my opinion, I think that you dislike conformity because you trust yourself to have as good, if not better information as everyone else in society. You have no problem dissenting because you believe your opinion to be valid even in the face of a group of differing opinions. It isn't good enough for you to do something because everyone else is doing it, you want to know *why* you should do it.
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