Keyword navigation of this article : Detailed explanation of group psychology effects, herd psychology experiments, the difference between group polarization and risk transfer, group thinking and wrong decision-making cases, bystander effect and diversified ignorance, psychological group behavior research, social slackness and free-ride effect, application of social promotion and inhibitory effects, deindividualization effect and network behavior, how minorities affect groups
In life, we are often influenced by the behavior, attitude or words of others. When you see others like a video, you may also press 'Like' without thinking; when you discuss things with friends, you find yourself increasingly agreeing with them, even if you didn't think so at first. This phenomenon that is affected by groups is not just the experience of individuals, but a very important type of phenomenon in psychology, which is collectively called the 'group and herd psychological effect.'
In the field of social and personality psychology, such psychological effects are systematically studied and verified through experiments. Understanding these psychological effects not only helps us to be more clear about how our behavior in groups is shaped, but also helps us make more sober and rational judgments in study, work, and interpersonal communication.
As a group animal, humans are often influenced by other members of the group. This influence is not only reflected in obvious obedience and imitation, but also hidden in various psychological mechanisms of group interaction. This article will provide a systematic and detailed explanation of the most representative psychological effects in the field, helping you to fully understand their definition, background, core principles, experimental support, realistic application and critical perspective.
This article will explain the following classic psychological effects in detail:
- Asch Conformity Effect
- Bystander Effect
- Pluralistic Ignorance
- Risky Shift Effect
- Group Polarization
- Groupthink effect
- Social Facilitation/Inhibition
- Deindividuation Effect
- Social Loafing Effect
- Free-rider Effect
- Minority Influence Effect
- Herd Effect
- Catfish Effect
Asch Conformity Effect
What is the Ashi herd effect?
The Ashi conformity effect describes people who may give up their true views when facing group opinions and choose to be consistent with the majority, even if they know they are wrong. This shows that in order not to be different from others, we often choose to 'follow the majority' .
Background source and classic experiments
Psychologist Solomon Asch designed a classic experiment in the 1950s. He invited some participants to conduct the 'line segment length judgment' test. There was a correct answer in the test, but other participants were actually 'child care' arranged in advance and they deliberately said the wrong answer. It turned out that about 75% of real participants chose the wrong answer in at least one trial, just because most people said that.
Principle analysis
- Normative social impact : People want to be accepted and don’t want to be different from most people.
- Informational Social Impact : People are more willing to trust the judgment of the majority when they are uncertain.
Application example
- Students in the classroom dare not question the teacher’s statement, even if they have any questions;
- I saw most comments on the Internet that support a certain point of view, and I also tend to accept it;
- The higher the sales volume of 'hot' products on the market, more people follow the trend to buy them.
Critical thinking
Herd behavior can sometimes help us make decisions quickly, but it can also suppress independent thinking and even lead to wrong choices. Especially in situations where rational analysis is required, blind adherence to the herd may have negative consequences.
Bystander Effect
What is the bystander effect?
When many people witness an emergency at the same time, everyone is more reluctant to take action because they think 'others will help.' This is the bystander effect.
Background and experimental basis
Social psychologist Latane and Darley did an experiment. They asked the subjects to hear the sound of someone 'suddenly sick' in the room next door. It was found that if the subjects were alone, they were more likely to seek help quickly; but if they thought there were others present, they were less willing to act.
Explanation of reasons
- Dispersed responsibilities : Feeling 'it's not my own business';
- Social reference : If others don’t move, I won’t move either;
- Fear of making mistakes : worrying about misjudging the situation, it seems like you are making a big deal.
Realistic application
- When encountering street disputes, many people watch but no one helps;
- At work, no one takes the initiative to take on a task because everyone is waiting for others to come forward.
How to deal with it
If you need help from someone, it will be more effective to call someone for help than to “help everyone”.
Pluralistic Ignorance
What is the effect of multiple ignorance?
The multivariate ignorance effect refers to: when a group of people are actually uneasy or disagree with a certain behavior or opinion, but they think others support it, so they choose to be silent or agree, resulting in a wrong group consensus.
Experimental verification
In one experiment, smoke began to rise from the room. If the participants were alone, they would often call the police immediately; but if there were two indifferent 'child caregivers' in the room, most participants would be indifferent when they pretended to be nothing.
Principle analysis
- Think others know more than themselves;
- Fear of 'making a fuss' or 'making a fool'.
Examples in life
- In fact, the students didn’t want to postpone the exam, but because no one objected, everyone thought that “I am the only one who doesn’t want it”, so they were collectively silent;
- At the employee meeting, someone proposed an unreliable plan, but everyone thought that others supported it, so they did not refute it.
Coping suggestions
Creating an environment of open communication that makes people dare to tell the truth can break this 'silent misunderstanding'.
Risky Shift
What is the risk transfer effect?
After group discussion, decisions made may be more risky than individual decisions . In other words, the more people, the more courage you are.
Experimental support
Research found that people were cautious when making decisions independently, but after discussion in groups, the decision became more radical and willing to take more risks.
Why is this happening?
- There is a sense of responsibility among the group;
- The voices of the group encouraging adventure are amplified;
- I feel that 'there are too many people and the courage is strong.'
Application example
- When starting a business, teams are prone to adopt overly aggressive strategies;
- In teenagers, it is easy to do more dangerous behaviors, such as racing, challenging the limits, etc.
Group Polarization
What is the group polarization effect?
When a group of people with similar opinions come together to discuss, everyone's views become more extreme and firmer .
Experimental research
Psychologist Moskovic found that during the discussion, if the group originally tends toward a certain direction, this tendency will be amplified after the discussion.
Formation mechanism
- Spheric effect: only voices that are consistent with one's own opinions;
- Want to show that you are 'more firmer' and make more extreme opinions;
- Confirmation bias: Only accept information that supports your own opinions.
Life examples
- In the online community, one view is repeatedly reinforced, and in the end the entire group falls into an extreme position;
- Investors collectively buy or sell impulsively during investment group discussions.
Groupthink effect
What is the group thinking effect?
In order to maintain 'unity' and 'consistent', groups ignore different opinions and even make wrong judgments. This situation is called the group thinking effect.
Experiments and cases
Psychologist Jannis studied multiple failed decision-making cases and found that in order to avoid conflict, many members in the group suppress their true views.
Characteristics
- Too confident in the group;
- No one wants to object;
- Focus only on information that supports decisions and ignore risks.
How to avoid
- Encourage different voices;
- Arrange the “opposition role”;
- Invite external opinions before making a major decision.
Social Facilitation / Inhibition
What are the social promotion and inhibitory effects?
- Social fostering : Better perform when doing tasks that are good at under the gaze of others;
- Social suppression : Under the gaze of others, perform worse in tasks that are not good at.
Experimental Basics
As early as 1898, Triplett observed that in bicycle competitions, players performed better when there were spectators.
Cause analysis
- Focus on concentration;
- Inspire motivation;
- You may also make mistakes due to nervousness.
application
- Students are prone to performing abnormally in the examination room;
- Experienced speakers are more expressive to the audience.
Deindividuation effect
What is the deindividualization effect?
When people are in groups and are 'overwhelmed', they will lose their self-control and show unusual behaviors.
Expression method
- Speaking online is even more extreme;
- It is more likely to be involved in aggressive behavior or vandalism in groups.
reason
- Anonymity: No responsibility for the actions;
- Strong sense of group identity;
- Emotions are easily driven by the group atmosphere.
How to prevent
- Enhance your sense of responsibility;
- Encourage independent thinking;
- Reduce group anonymity.
Social Loafing
What is the social slack effect?
When people do things on a team, everyone may reduce their efforts because they think others are doing the same.
Experimental examples
Latani's experiment found that the more participants in the rope draw competition, the smaller the actual effort of individuals.
Coping method
- Clarify division of labor;
- Set personal goals;
- Performance is disclosed and promotes a sense of responsibility.
Free-Rider Effect
What is the free-ride effect?
Free-Rider Effect refers to the phenomenon that in a group or group, some members use the efforts and resources made by others, but do not actively contribute or even participate in the work at all. In other words, it is 'I will enjoy the success of others working.'
Give an example
- In class group assignments, some people do not participate, but their signed scores are the same;
- In the company's team project, some people 'swipe' but get the same reward.
Solution
- Establish a punishment mechanism;
- Assessment of individual contributions;
- Incentive mechanisms target individual performance.
Minority Influence Effect
What is the minority impact effect?
The effect of minority influence means that although it is in the minority, as long as it expresses firmness, consistency and rationality , it can also change the views of the majority. In people's daily lives and social interactions, the opinions of the majority often dominate and are recognized and adopted by the majority, but this does not mean that the views of the minority have no influence. The effect of minority influence shows that the persistence and rational expression of a minority can inspire the majority to rethink their views and even bring about changes in social concepts and behaviors.
Experimental support
Psychologists Muzafer Sherif and Serge Moscovici are important scholars studying the influence of minorities. In the famous 'Color Illusion Experiment' in 1969, Moskovic made a few people insist on wrongly calling blue green, which led to some participants starting to doubt their judgments, and some even accepted the statement of the minority.
Core mechanism
- Consistency : The views of minority members are consistent and seem to be convincing.
- Firmness : The minority expresses firmly and does not compromise easily.
- Rationality and logic : Propose reasonable arguments to inspire most people to reflect.
- Heuristic processing : Most people will consider and process information more carefully after hearing the minority perspective.
The effect of minority influence tells us that even a few voices, as long as they are properly approached, can bring profound changes . This provides a psychological foundation and confidence for innovation, social change and personal expression.
Realistic application
- Technological innovators promote new technologies to be widely accepted;
- pioneers in social movements change public attitudes;
- Small and medium-sized teams of the enterprise put forward new ideas and influence company decision-making.
Herd Effect
What is the herd effect?
Herd Effect (also known as Herd Behavior) refers to the tendency to imitate the behavior of the majority or group when making decisions, even if these behaviors may be contrary to their original judgment. Just like a flock of sheep following the leader, even if you don’t know the destination, when humans face uncertainty or group pressure, they often choose “what others do, I do as well.”
This psychological effect is a form of social influence and is a core concept in the field of attitude and persuasion . It reflects that people tend to give up independent thinking in a group environment and follow other people's trends and choices.
Background and source of the herd effect
The herd effect was not a psychological term, but an observation and description of 'group behavior' in economics, sociology and animal behavior. In psychological research, it gradually evolved into an explanation of conformity .
In the 1960s, American psychologist Solomon Asch systematically revealed the herd tendency of humans under group pressure for the first time through a series of experiments, laying the foundation for the later research on the 'herd effect'.
The core principle of the herd effect
The psychological mechanism behind the herd effect can be attributed to the following points:
- Informational Influence: When a person faces a strange or uncertain situation, he will think that other people's behavior reflects the 'correct' judgment. Therefore, they tend to rely on group actions as the basis for decision-making. Example: When ordering in a restaurant, if you don’t know which dish is delicious, you will order “the one that everyone ordered”.
- Normative Influence: Humans are social animals that desire to be accepted and do not want to be excluded. In order to gain a sense of belonging or avoid being regarded as 'outliers', individuals will actively imitate other people's behavior. Example: Most colleagues work overtime, and you may stay and pretend to be busy even after you finish the work.
- Cognitive load transfer: When the brain processes information overload, following others’ practices can save the cost of thinking, also known as “lazy brain strategy.”
Classic experiments and cases
Asch Conformity Experiment
In the experimental setup, the subjects need to determine which wire is as long as the standard wire. When most 'childcare' deliberately give wrong answers, about 75% of people choose to follow the wrong answer at some point .
This shows that even when faced with obviously wrong information, people may give up their correct judgment in order to societies.
Financial bubbles and investment behaviors
In the field of economics, the herd effect is widely used to explain stock market bubbles. When more and more people invest in a popular industry, later investors often follow up without judgment, resulting in inflated asset prices - this is a typical 'fed investment'.
Realistic application of the herd effect
- Social platform algorithm: 'number of likes', 'number of views' and 'number of comments' will affect people's judgment of content. 'This video has 1 million views, so it must be worth watching' - this is a true portrayal of the psychology of the sheep.
- Business and consumption behavior: Merchants often use copywriting such as 'best-selling money', 'everyone is buying', and '1,000+ people have purchased', and use the herd effect to increase the purchase rate.
- Queue effect: Long queues at the entrance of a shopping mall or restaurant will attract more passers-by to queue up - even if you don’t know what the line is selling in front of the line, you will think it is “definitely good”.
Critical Analysis and Thinking
Although the herd effect can simplify decision-making and enhance a sense of security, there are obvious risks:
- The herd effect may lead people to make wrong decisions, such as investment scams, malicious snap-ups, rumors spread, etc., all because people blindly follow others rather than make independent judgments.
- In educational and work scenarios, excessive compliance with mainstream opinions can easily suppress innovation and kill individual expressions.
- Certain social behaviors may be unconsciously manipulated, such as live gift-making, fundraising lottery draws, hot topics, etc., which amplifies the irrational consumption brought about by the influence of the group.
How to identify and deal with the herd effect in life?
- Stop and think independently : When you find that you are just 'because others do this', it may be the herd effect.
- Examining information source : Is it because platforms, algorithms, advertising or environments create the illusion of 'mainstream trends'?
- Refer to the majority, but do not blindly follow : Other people’s choices can be used as reference, but you must retain “your own judgment.”
Catfish Effect
What is the catfish effect?
Catfish Effect refers to the introduction of a competitive and positive individual (i.e., 'catfish') in a relatively comfortable or lack of motivation to encourage other members to break their inertia, stimulate their potential, and improve the overall efficiency and performance of the team. The catfish effect is a concept derived from business management and social psychology, which vividly describes the phenomenon of stimulating the vitality and motivation of the original team or individual through the introduction of competitors or 'scramblers', thereby enhancing the vitality and motivation of the original team or individual, thereby enhancing the overall performance.
Background source
The name of the catfish effect comes from the traditional fishing story of Norwegian fishermen: In a fishing warehouse that is rich in salmon, fishermen will put several catfish in order to prevent the salmon from dying due to lack of activity. The catfish are lively and active, and when swimming, they activate the salmon's mobility, making the salmon vibrant and easier to preserve and transport.
Psychology and management borrow this image to describe the role of a 'catfish' in the team - that is, those who drive team progress through competition and challenges.
Core mechanism
- Competitive incentives : The newly added 'catfish' brings pressure and motivates team members to not be willing to fall behind;
- Breaking the inertia : The team may have been slack off due to habits or comfort zones and was awakened by the 'catfish';
- Improve alertness and innovation : Members actively improve and innovate their working methods to maintain their strengths.
Experimental and realistic applications
- Enterprise management : introduce capable and dynamic newcomers to promote team performance improvement;
- Sports competition : Strong external opponents stimulate team members to work hard to train and improve their strength;
- Education field : Excellent students join the class and motivate other students to work harder.
Critical Analysis
Although the catfish effect can stimulate vitality, excessive competition may lead to excessive pressure, internal conflicts within the team and even vicious competition. Managers need to weigh competition and cooperation, make rational use of the role of 'catfish' to avoid disrupting team harmony.
Summarize
The psychological effect of 'group and herd' is everywhere. From daily social interaction, classroom learning, company meetings, to online behavior and consumption decisions, group influence deeply shapes our judgments and behaviors.
Understanding these psychological effects can help us think more consciously whether our behavior is 'blindly following', and can also make more reasonable strategic arrangements in areas such as management, education, and marketing.
Continue to pay attention to the series of articles in 'Complete Psychological Effects' and explore more secret weapons of psychology in depth.
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