Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions

By Todd Rose Hachette Books, 2022

Dr. Rose begins his book with the residents of Elm Hollow in 1928. “Elm Hollow” was a small, sleepy town of a few thousand people, largely isolated from much of the rest of the state, where everyone in the town seemed to know everyone else. A doctoral student in the then-still-brand-new field of social psychology moved to the town for his doctoral work. He got to know the residents fairly well, and he kept a journal of his findings. He quickly found that most of the residents were not who they appeared to be in public. For example, while an overwhelming majority of residents said that smoking and drinking and playing card games with face cards (a social prohibition surviving from colonial times, when Puritans detested British royalty), most residents, nevertheless would smoke or drink or play card games with face cards in the privacy of their own homes, or with close friends. What could account for the apparent disconnect between what town residents would say in public, and what they would actually do in private? Indeed, the researcher discovered that most residents, despite their own private views about smoking and drinking and cards, nevertheless believed that most of the town thought such activity was immoral. Again, why?

As it turns out, in Elm Hollow, one particular town resident ruled the roost and actively set the social “tone” for the town. She had money, was the largest contributor to the church, and was otherwise perceived as one of the town’s leading citizens. When she passed away, though, the residents quickly came to realize just how many of them did not object to smoking or drinking or cards, and the social prohibitions quickly faded from the scene. Today the story seems almost charming and antiquated. Who could ever have thought that playing card games with face cards is immoral?

But the story of Elm Hollow plays out again and again. Even if people may not personally support a particular social custom or norm, they will nevertheless follow it if they believe that most of society supports the custom or norm. The desire to fit in, and the safety of conformity, often prevents change or allows is now possible to interact only with those of a like mind, to live in a “bubble” with like-minded individuals, and therefore to conclude that your view and the view of those in the bubble with you are the majority view. for the continuance of customs which a majority doesn’t support — simply because people don’t communicate or make assumptions that aren’t true.

Dr. Reed tells us that: “collective illusions are social lies. They occur in situations where a majority of individuals in a group privately reject a particular opinion, but they go along with it because they (incorrectly) assume that most other people accept it. When individuals conform to what they think the group wants, they can end up doing what nobody wants.” And so, society follows paths that, with more open communication and honesty, it might not otherwise follow.

There are other factors that influence collective illusions. Hear a story often enough, even if it is completely false, and you will start to believe it is true (advertisers love this). Your brain will often fill in gaps, and take shortcuts, that lead to false conclusions (this is how optical illusions work). People on opposite sides of an issue, or in competing groups/teams/political parties, often hold negative thoughts about those on the other side, even though there is far more that they have in common.

And then there is the internet, and social media, and the rise of a fragmented (and often biased) media. It is now possible to interact only with those of a like mind, to live in a “bubble” with like-minded individuals, and therefore to conclude that your view and the view of those in the bubble with you are the majority view.

Dr. Rose believes that it is possible to limit and combat the problem of collective illusions, and it begins with self-awareness. We can’t fix the probably of collection illusions if we don’t see that they exist. Too often we simply conform without asking why, without stopping to think if conforming makes sense. There was never truly a national toilet paper shortage, but suddenly we saw stories and all rushed out to stockpile toilet paper. The emperor had no clothes, but everyone saw them. Our brains are hardwired to follow the herd, but we need to move past that herd mentality.

In Collective Illusions, Dr. Rose provides numerous examples of how we, as a society, make bad or incorrect choices based on nothing more than false ass umptions and a fear of rocking the boat. Change begins with self-awareness of the problem, and so perhaps this book can help lead to better outcomes. At a minimum, it should help us all to understand that we need to better communicate and not just make assumptions about others.

THE JUDICIAL PALATE | BY SUSAN E. POPPITI, ESQUIRE