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View Full Version : Study proves 95% of people follow the leader




devil21
01-18-2012, 10:19 PM
I don't make any claims about the accuracy of this study but I thought their conclusions were interesting for various reasons.

http://www.naturalnews.com/034676_sheeple_study_psychology.html#ixzz1jqjo20yM



(NaturalNews) Scientists at the University of Leeds have conducted research that proves the tendency many have to act like sheep, unwittingly following crowd as if they didn't possess a reasoning mind. While this tendency may have its uses in some situations, such as planning pedestrian flow in busy areas, it doesn't inspire a ton of hope for humankind.

The study showed that it takes a minority of just five percent to influence a crowd's direction - and that the other 95 percent follow without even realizing what is going on.

Professor Krause, with PhD student John Dyer, conducted a series of experiments in which groups of volunteers walked randomly around a large hall. Within the group, a few received instructions regarding where to walk. Participants were not allowed to communicate with one or intentionally influence anyone.

The findings in all cases revealed that the informed individuals were followed by the others in the crowd, forming a self-organizing, snake-like structure (or flock of sheep, take your pick).

more at link

Detailed companion article here:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/02/15/herd-mentality-explained/1922.html

Xenophage
01-18-2012, 11:00 PM
That write-up makes patently absurd, unscientific claims that do not correlate to the findings of the study. The writer is a good example of a sensationalist that doesn't understand science and attempts to use scientific studies to support a foregone hypothesis.

The most that you can say about this study is that it indicates herd-like behavior in a very specific situation: when the vast majority of a crowd of humans are completely in the dark about what they should be doing in a given situation, and have no goal. It is logical to assume in such a situation that following the people who seem to *know* something is a better course of action than striking out on one's own with zero information.

This study says absolutely nothing about more complex social interactions, let alone people's propensity for adopting one another's abstract thoughts and ideas. The hypothesis posited by the author, that most people are *intellectual* sheeple, is probably true - and we have lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that - but to prove it scientifically would require an entirely different sort of experiment.

Edward
01-18-2012, 11:15 PM
That write-up makes patently absurd, unscientific claims that do not correlate to the findings of the study. The writer is a good example of a sensationalist that doesn't understand science and attempts to use scientific studies to support a foregone hypothesis.

The most that you can say about this study is that it indicates herd-like behavior in a very specific situation: when the vast majority of a crowd of humans are completely in the dark about what they should be doing in a given situation, and have no goal. It is logical to assume in such a situation that following the people who seem to *know* something is a better course of action than striking out on one's own with zero information.

This study says absolutely nothing about more complex social interactions, let alone people's propensity for adopting one another's abstract thoughts and ideas. The hypothesis posited by the author, that most people are *intellectual* sheeple, is probably true - and we have lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that - but to prove it scientifically would require an entirely different sort of experiment.

Uh, I agree.

RDM
01-18-2012, 11:24 PM
I read this story and the only image that is stuck in my head is this:
http://gifs.gifbin.com/320sw0sw7847.gif

onlyrp
01-18-2012, 11:59 PM
they basically define "sheeple" or "herd" as anybody who does not have extraordinary desire to rebel, stand out, or take lead. The 5% are considered by most to be psychopaths and control freaks, that leaves the rest of us.

TheBlackPeterSchiff
01-19-2012, 12:15 PM
Where do I fit, I just want to do my own thing and be left alone.

Indy Vidual
01-19-2012, 12:19 PM
Where do I fit, I just want to do my own thing and be left alone.

Try it and see what happens; Depends on what "your own thing" is.

WilliamC
01-19-2012, 12:20 PM
Where do I fit, I just want to do my own thing and be left alone.

You are obviously the source of all problems since you don't want to conform or take charge.

/sarc

ZanZibar
01-19-2012, 12:22 PM
Think of someone who is of average intelligence. And realize that half of the people around are dumber than that.

tfurrh
01-19-2012, 12:27 PM
http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/02/15/herd-mentality-explained/1922.html

better article.

Bosco Warden
01-19-2012, 12:44 PM
That write-up makes patently absurd, unscientific claims that do not correlate to the findings of the study. The writer is a good example of a sensationalist that doesn't understand science and attempts to use scientific studies to support a foregone hypothesis.

The most that you can say about this study is that it indicates herd-like behavior in a very specific situation: when the vast majority of a crowd of humans are completely in the dark about what they should be doing in a given situation, and have no goal. It is logical to assume in such a situation that following the people who seem to *know* something is a better course of action than striking out on one's own with zero information.

This study says absolutely nothing about more complex social interactions, let alone people's propensity for adopting one another's abstract thoughts and ideas. The hypothesis posited by the author, that most people are *intellectual* sheeple, is probably true - and we have lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that - but to prove it scientifically would require an entirely different sort of experiment.

Good reply, void seeing what world we live in today. While it may not be the "science" you seek, the results are overwhelming in favor of this article.

example: Why do voters vote against the very thing they say they are protesting? and this occurs time and time again.

Occam's Banana
01-19-2012, 12:49 PM
Think of someone who is of average intelligence. And realize that half of the people around are dumber than that.
That should be "median" - not "average."

onlyrp
01-19-2012, 02:23 PM
LOL@ title change

Pericles
01-19-2012, 02:30 PM
People do respond to leadership. Have a plan and set about doing something. Some people will come along, and the more success you have, the more people will follow along.

thoughtomator
01-19-2012, 02:31 PM
Having been in positions of leadership in the past, I can tell you that if you have a clear, logical path that really does have everyone's best interest in mind, and you articulate that, they will follow you to the ends of the earth.

onlyrp
01-19-2012, 02:43 PM
That should be "median" - not "average."

they're mostly very close.

Occam's Banana
01-19-2012, 03:05 PM
they're mostly very close.
Technically, maybe (especially for normal distributions - such as intelligence).
But the sense & meaning of "average" doesn't support the "half are below average" notion.
So if you use the "average" wording, someone who's just as pedantic as I'm being (but more of an asshole) can come at you with a "you must be in the bottom half" troll.

onlyrp
01-19-2012, 03:07 PM
Technically, maybe (especially for normal distributions - such as intelligence).
But the sense & meaning of "average" doesn't support the "half are below average" notion.
So if you use the "average" wording, someone who's just as pedantic as I'm being (but more of an asshole) can come at you with a "you must be in the bottom half" troll.

got it.

you might have a greater gap is statistics such as age, income, but IQ is definitely one of the classic bell curves from my experience.

Danke
01-19-2012, 03:14 PM
Poll: 73 Percent Of Americans Unable To Believe This Shit (http://www.theonion.com/articles/poll-73-percent-of-americans-unable-to-believe-thi,1537/)

PRINCETON, NJ–According to the latest Gallup Poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday of this week, nearly three out of four Americans can no longer believe this shit.


In addition to the 73 percent of poll respondents who described this shit as "beyond belief," 9 percent said they could "hardly" believe this shit, with another 5 percent "just barely" believing it. An additional 13 percent said they "couldn't give a flying fuck about the whole goddamn thing."


The poll also found that the National Shit-Credulity Index (NSCI) has hit an all-time low, with only 2 percent of Americans describing themselves as "fully confident of [their] capacity to believe this shit."


"The American people have had to deal with this kind of shit for years," Gallup Organization president Lee Sanderson said, "but now, for the first time, it appears that the vast majority of them just can't fucking believe it anymore."


"In all honesty, who can blame them?" Sanderson added. "Regardless of one's political affiliation, socioeconomic status, religion or just about any other viewpoint, you've got to admit, the shit that's been going on lately is way out of hand."


In the wake of the poll, many activists are calling upon America's leaders to get their shit in gear.


"The American people have had it up to here with this shitheap," said James Schuerholz, president of the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation. "There is a public mandate for our leaders to cut this shit out, and it's high time they finally did."


Despite Americans' incredulity over this shit, historians note that this sort of shit has been going on for years and is unlikely to end anytime soon.


"Contrary to popular belief, this type of shit is hardly anything new," Harvard University American history professor Lawrence Coombs said. "The same shit was going down 50, 100 and 150 years ago. The only difference was, back then, you never read about that shit in the newspapers."


Calling the American people's enormous shit-belief capacity "one of the cornerstones of our democracy," U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) stressed that it is the patriotic duty of all citizens to grant our leaders the benefit of the doubt with regard to their shit.


"If the American people are no longer willing to believe this shit, who will?" Kerry said. "Somebody's got to take this shit at face value. Otherwise, why are we even doing all this shit in the first place? I am truly saddened by the lack of faith that the citizens of this country are willing to put in my shit, as well as that of my esteemed colleagues. We must repair our society's fraying trust in the shit of our elected officials, or you would not believe the kind of hardcore, heavy-duty shit that will come down."


"America," conservative author and social critic Patricia Stouffer said, "is seriously losing its shit. But we've got to somehow hold our shit in place until all this passes. We've got to learn to believe in shit again. After this latest shitstorm, it may take years to accomplish, but we must somehow find the strength to put our trust back into the nation's shit."


Despite such impassioned calls for faith in the U.S. political system and all the shit that comes with it, if the Gallup Poll is any indication, the majority of Americans are no longer willing to put up with the shit.


"Fuck that shit," said Evansville, IN, day-care provider Helen Reiderer. "I'm tired of hearing about it. Do they actually expect us to still believe that load of shit?"


"If you ask me, the shit is about to hit the fan," said Reiderer's husband Frank. "As far as I'm concerned, all that shit is just too much to be believed."


Another disgruntled citizen, Wenatchee, WA, tractor salesman Tom Huard, summed up the sentiments of most Americans when, holding up the front page of the local newspaper to friend Benjamin Pritchard, he said, "Jesus, Ben, can you believe this?"


"Shit, no," Pritchard replied.