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Am I the only one who got stuck in a luggage carousel crowd and learned about herd mentality?
We all just circled around, copying each other's confused looks without a clue.
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the_leo7mo ago
Asch's conformity experiments show we'll follow a crowd even when we know it's wrong, like at baggage claim.
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emma8257mo ago
Seriously, @the_leo, that baggage claim example is spot on. I read something once about how this even works with something simple like crossing the street. People will often step into the crosswalk against the light if a few others start doing it first, even if they see the red hand. It's a weird group think that just kicks in. Your post made me remember that. It's a scary way to see how easily we can all just go along, even when our own eyes tell us something different.
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emma8257mo ago
Okay, but is following the crowd at baggage claim really that big a deal? Most of the time it's just people being lazy or not paying attention, not some deep mind flaw. Like, if everyone rushes to one carousel, it's probably because they saw a bag that looks like theirs, not because they're blindly going along. These tests show a trend, but in real life, it's often more about simple mistakes than giving up your own choice.
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