The best explanation of public passivity

[Thor]

I was flipping channels last night and happened upon this program on the Discovery Channel. "Head Games - Conformity"

As I watched, it became clearer and clear as to how sheeple are formed, and what mechanisms drive them to conform to the crowd.

My wife was watching with me and looked at me as said "Ron Paul supporters are not conformists."

I highly recommend watching this if you get the Discovery Channel. Set your DVR to record it.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/head-games/

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/head-games/episode-guide.html

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=1.403.26545.42896.1



What would you do if someone blatantly cut the line in front of you? Would you follow directions on a sign even if they made no sense? Would you crack under the collective stare of a group of strangers? And WHY? Unbeknownst to us, our brains dictate much of our behavior. In this episode of HEAD GAMES we will explore the science behind conformity.

As humans, we have an uncanny ability to quickly conform to written and unwritten laws of society. Is it simply cultural? Or are we hard-wired to act a certain way in groups? Scientists are still searching for answers, but one thing is certain: without conformity, humankind's greatest accomplishment — civilization — would have never happened.

This episode of HEAD GAMES reveals just how ingrained we are to follow the rules and conform to the herd — whether we know it or not. In one experiment, a group of people try to convince random passerbys on the street to see a snake in a tree when, in fact, no snake is actually there. The results may amuse and even shock you. So get in line; the show is about to begin!


Only 1 more airing of Conformity! Others subjects coming up.

Jun 10, 3:00 pm

[Anti Federalist]

This has long been understood.


and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

People, for the most part, do not want or care about liberty.

They want what people have always wanted:

To be fed, entertained and to exercise power over their fellow man.

[Thor]

The show goes more into the pack mentality and fitting in and following others and what people of authority tell you, no matter how ridiculous.

[Proph]

Saw most of it last night. I especially liked the experiment where there were ~8 actors and 1 subject. The actors would stand every time a buzzer buzzed, and sit when that same buzzer buzzed again a few seconds later. The people leading the experiment would pull an actor out every once in a while for an "interview" or something.

Eventually, the subject was all alone; yet, he still kept standing up and sitting down. The kicker? When they introduced a new subject (non-actor), this procedure was passed onto him (by the original subject)... and he complied. All I could think of when I saw that was, "Gubberment."

[Anti Federalist]

How far the conformity will go.

In conformance to authority, people will butcher their own children.

Stanford prison experiment

The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted at Stanford University from August 14 to August 20 of 1971 by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo.[1] It was funded by the US Office of Naval Research[2] and was of interest to both the US Navy and Marine Corps as an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners.

Twenty-four male students out of 75 were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The participants adapted to their roles well beyond Zimbardo's expectations, as the guards enforced authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture. Many of the prisoners passively accepted psychological abuse and, at the request of the guards, readily harassed other prisoners who attempted to prevent it. The experiment even affected Zimbardo himself, who, in his role as the superintendent, permitted the abuse to continue. Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days. Certain portions of the experiment were filmed and excerpts of footage are publicly available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

[Thor]

Saw most of it last night. I especially liked the experiment where there were ~8 actors and 1 subject. The actors would stand every time a buzzer buzzed, and sit when that same buzzer buzzed again a few seconds later. The people leading the experiment would pull an actor out every once in a while for an "interview" or something.

Eventually, the subject was all alone; yet, he still kept standing up and sitting down. The kicker? When they introduced a new subject (non-actor), this procedure was passed onto him (by the original subject)... and he complied. All I could think of when I saw that was, "Gubberment."

The subject (the mark as they called him) was alone and still standing and sitting when the bell went off even though no one else was in the room, then the one who entered who he "taught" was an actor as well. But yes, to me, it shows how the GOP brainwashes people, and then those people spread it to others even when alone.

It also was interesting how there was not snake in the tree, yet non-actors SWORE they saw it and KNEW it was there. All to fit in, be a part of the crowd.

The people walking in a circle on the red line was amazing too. Follow authority, no matter how silly. (TSA pat downs anyone)

In watching virtually every experiment, all I saw was GOP manipulation and the people that buy into and spread the GOP / Romney mantra, no matter how irrational.

[WarNoMore]

This has long been understood.



People, for the most part, do not want or care about liberty.

They want what people have always wanted:

To be fed, entertained and to exercise power over their fellow man.

Or to be healthy, happy, and socially respected. Also love plays a big role in many people's lives. Liberty not so much, especially when the illusion of freedom is in place and the infringements on liberty really don't effect their own lives enough for them to care. People have enough to occupy themselves with in their own life, they don't want to take on the country's/world's burdens too.

[jkr]

THERE ARE four LIGHTS
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6GRr7OZbIA/TX4NSB9iSWI/AAAAAAAAC9g/K81sZ3QtSnU/s400/picard2.jpg

[CaptUSA]

Scientists are still searching for answers, but one thing is certain: without conformity, humankind's greatest accomplishment — civilization — would have never happened.

Yeah, I call Bullshit! In fact, nearly every single one of the advancements that make civilization possible happened when someone bucked conformity. Then, the masses followed. If not for individuality, civilization would have never happened.

[Original_Intent]

13 years of public indoctrination of "learned helplessness" plays a big role.

[Thor]

Yeah, I call Bullshit! In fact, nearly every single one of the advancements that make civilization possible happened when someone bucked conformity. Then, the masses followed. If not for individuality, civilization would have never happened.

Agreed. With the snake in the tree experiment, they tested with 1 person looking up at the branches and nobody stopped, when 2 people (both actors) started looking up, then some people stopped, but not everybody. When it got to 4 or so people looking, many people all started stopping and looking up.

So it takes a leader, to convince a couple other people, to get the masses going.

[AGRP]

Yeah, I call Bullshit! In fact, nearly every single one of the advancements that make civilization possible happened when someone bucked conformity. Then, the masses followed. If not for individuality, civilization would have never happened.

Agreed. Look at music or trends. The sound that is new, different, and catchy rises to the top and it gets copied and sampled by other artists.