Conformity[Asch, 1951, 1955, 1956]

• Is the test line equal in length to A, B, or C?

• Small (3 of 4) majorities are sufficient to elicit substantial conformity with a wrong result

• Any opposition can have a major effect; even a single dissenting individual can nullify the effect!

Asch Results: The Pressure to Conform

Condition Error rate

Subject is alone 1%

With 1 person who says “A” 3%

With 2 persons who say “A” 13%

With 3 persons who say “A” 33%

With 6 persons who say “A” and 1 person who says “B”

6%

Decision Making

Dr. Joe O’Mahoney 200707906133649

Learning objectives

• To critique rational approaches of decision making

• To understand the benefits and drawbacks of group decision making

• To understand and apply the concept of groupthink

• To learn some examples of decision-making

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‘Rational’ Decision Making

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• Traditional Types– Forcefield analysis

– Pareto diagam

– Cost / Benefit diagram

• Assumptions– Rational

– Objective

– Omniscient

Rational Decisions?

• Juries give more extreme punishments than individuals

• 75% people will kill others when told to do so by an authority figure

• You are ten times more likely to report an incident if you’re alone

• You are 30 times more likely to give an (incorrect) answer if your peers do

• Enron, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Bay of Pigs, Iraq…..

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Logical Constraints

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• Epistemology– Can’t predict the (social) future

– Can’t prove Cause and Effect

– Luck?

• Decision based on – Organisation benefit?

– Stakeholder benefit?

– Individual benefit?

Psychological Constraints

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• Conformity Bias (Kelman, 1958)

• Risky Shift e.g. surgery (Stoner, 1961)

• Polarisation e.g. French vs. Americans (Moscovici, 1969)

• Social Loafing e.g. Tug-of-war (Ingham, 1974; Latane, 1974)

Social Constraints

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• Cultural Norms

• Socialisation

• Obedience to Authority

Group Think (Janis, 1972)

• Disasters– Pearl Harbour, – Bay of Pigs, – Watergate, – Challenger

• Commonalities– Under pressure to make decisions– Isolation of group from outside– High stress from external threats– Feeling of invulnerability– Social pressure to conform– Stereotyping of dissenters

• Today– Iraq?– De Mendez shooting?

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Group Decision Making

• Advantages:– Multiple views and types of expertise– Social facilitation due to directed open discussion– Brainstorming might lead to creative solutions

• Disadvantages:– Often fails to equal the best individual solution– Polarization effect (e.g., “risky shift” phenomenon)– Social loafing (pool, elevator experiments)– In general: No optimal decision rule exists for more than 2 options

• Importance of HOW process is managed– Facilitators– Turns in speaking– Pros and cons

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