WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:07.000 (Music) 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.000 David: What if we told you that you could get people to say and do things that they didn't agree with... 00:00:14.001 --> 00:00:14.010 Joseph: Sounds good. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.000 David: To agree to things that they knew were wrong... 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:18.000 Joseph: Like it. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:26.000 David: And in the process lower the quality of their lives and the lives of others around them; sometimes even catastrophically so? 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:36.000 Joseph: All right, now you got me. It sounds terrifying doesn't it? But the fact of the matter is, it happens every day. In fact you do it every day and you're subject to it every day. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:42.000 The best way to understand a phenomenon like this is to try to recreate it in a laboratory. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:53.000 What we're about to show you is a very simple experiment inspired by renowned social psychologist, Solomon Asch. And it will reveal this shockingly common form of mind control. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:01:01.000 David: We sat seven teenagers around a table and asked each in turn to answer a very simple question. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Joseph: Which of the three lines does this object match in length? Now, it was obviously line C. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:11.000 Now here's the intervention, the trick we're testing with this experiment. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:17.000 Joseph: The first teenagers are confederates, they're in on it. And they were instructed to give the wrong answer, A. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:28.000 David: This answer was so obviously wrong. But what would the actual person who was not in on it, the one the experiment was designed to observe, what would they say? 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Student: Any questions? 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.002 Confederate: A 00:01:31.004 --> 00:01:32.006 Confederate: A 00:01:32.008 --> 00:01:33.010 Confederate: A 00:01:34.006 --> 00:01:36.006 Test Subject: A 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.000 He gave the obviously wrong answer. What a pushover 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:45.008 Well, a pushover but in good company. The surprise here is he's not the exception, he's the rule. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:47.000 Test Subject: A 00:01:47.002 --> 00:01:47.010 Test Subject: A 00:01:48.004 --> 00:01:48.010 Test Subject: A 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:59.000 Joseph: About two-thirds of any group independent of age goes along, regardless of gender, background. Most of us are suckers. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Social influence is a potent power. So here we have a textbook example of this deceptively simple form of mind control. We got these teenagers to consciously ignore what they knew to be right. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:15.000 And we could've gotten two-thirds of you, remember, so don't think you're above it. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:24.000 Oh, not at all. In real life, think of how many smart people have made stupid decisions because social forces overwhelm their better judgment. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:30.000 There are benefits to following the crowd. Relying on group wisdom is cognitively efficient. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:39.000 And often cognitively superior. We are social learners. And derive great benefit by leaning on the judgment of others. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Joseph: Even when a subject spoke their mind, it was torture to do it. Watch this girl's face. Social influence is a powerful thing. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.000 Test Subject: C 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:54.000 So the question becomes, can we get more of the benefits and fewer of the costs? 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:02.000 What if we replayed the same scenario with the teenagers and added one person, just one, who expresses polite doubt to the crowd. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.000 Confederate: I guess I saw it different because... looks like it was C to me. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.004 Confederate: Maybe I saw it differently, but I think it's C. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:15.000 Confederate: Um, I might see it differently but I think it's C. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:16.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:17.000 Student: How about you? 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:18.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:20.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:21.003 --> 00:03:22.004 Test Subject: C 00:03:22.006 --> 00:03:23.006 Test Subject: C 00:03:23.008 --> 00:03:24.008 Test Subject: C 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:26.000 Test Subject: C 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:31.000 David: Astounding. 95 percent now expressed their true opinions. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:35.000 So here's some BS you can use. What's the point here? 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:45.000 David: It's the power of one. We have an innate fear of being shunned by valued groups. When you feel like you're the odd person out, don't stifle your concerns. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Simply express them respectfully. It turns out this small dissent can provide powerful permission to the silent concerns of others. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:04.000 Joseph: Yes, you don't have to risk being an outcast in order to test your concern. You don't have to scream and yell. You don't have to call others names. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.000 The quiet, polite expression of doubt can turn the rest of the group from zombies into thinkers. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:10.000 I'm David Maxfield. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.000 And I'm Joseph Grenny. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.000 And that's all the B.S. for today. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.000 (Music) 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:22.005 David: Subscribe to our channel and sharpen your behavioral science skills with our latest videos and updates. 00:04:22.005 --> 00:04:26.010 Click here to subscribe where we always promise to share some BS you can use. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:30.000 Joseph: What are the advantages of working as a group? 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:36.000 First of all, I think we're social animals and we're just more comfortable when we bounce ideas off of each other. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.000 But I think it's also the diversity of knowledge and experience that everybody brings. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:49.000 Yeah, it seems to me like one of the critical factors is creating a group where dissent is a norm and conformity isn't necessarily the highest value.