When Social Conformity Overrides the Truth

Social pressure can damage our ability to see reality.

Social psychologists long ago proved something utterly terrifying: people will deny what they see with their own eyes to conform to what others say.

In a famous 1951 experiment by Solomon Asch, people looked at a picture of three lines (below) and were asked to choose which line was the same length as a “target” line, right in front of them.

The correct answer was obvious.

But person after person gave the wrong answer, out loud, when others chose the wrong line. Even with the truth in plain sight.

Watch the video, see for yourself.

If people will say something blatantly false to agree with strangers, imagine what happens when the truth is more complex and ambiguous—as with most social, cultural, and political issues.

And imagine that it’s not just strangers in a psychology lab, but people whose approval actually matters.

But we don’t have to imagine. It’s happening all around us. Otherwise sane people say things that are batshit crazy. Right out loud. They’ll insist the truth is a lie, right is wrong, and up is down. And huge numbers jump on the bandwagon.

It gets worse. In the Asch line experiment, people who gave wrong answers fell into three groups:

1. Those who saw the truth but knowingly lied to go along.

2. Those who saw the truth but thought they must be mistaken.

3. Those who, after hearing others’ wrong answers, literally saw the lines differently—their perception of reality was compromised.

Conformity damages our ability to see reality.

There’s a fourth group, though not tested in this experiment: those who see reality but stay silent when those around them spout insanity.

What will you do when the pressure is on?

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