tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post5695849823800555625..comments2023-10-31T10:57:37.652+00:00Comments on Epiphenom: Religious services, not belief, make you want to kill strangersEpiphenomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-27909927858703785622009-02-25T21:02:00.000+00:002009-02-25T21:02:00.000+00:00Andy, no doubt there's some connection to group th...Andy, no doubt there's some connection to group think. Talking of which, here's an <A HREF="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/surprising_insights_from_the_social_sciences/?page=2" REL="nofollow">interesting recent study</A>:<BR/><BR/><I>ONE OF THE most famous phenomena in social psychology is groupthink, the tendency of a group to converge on a consensus without much critical evaluation, even if the consensus is wrong. Various remedies have been proposed over the years, but some management researchers are presenting an interesting new angle on it. They invited a couple hundred members of fraternities and sororities to participate in a problem-solving experiment. The students were given 20 minutes to read a murder mystery and deduce the most likely perpetrator out of three suspects. Individually, only 44 percent of the students got it right, which is slightly better than chance. The students were then sorted into groups of three, all from the same fraternity or sorority, and were given 20 minutes to come to agreement on the most likely suspect. After a few minutes, a fourth member was added to the group - sometimes from the same fraternity or sorority, sometimes from a different one. If the new member came from a different fraternity or sorority, the group performed objectively better then the totally homogeneous groups (75 percent vs. 54 percent correct), and members with incorrect guesses were much more likely to change their minds. Nevertheless, the homogeneous groups perceived themselves as having more confidence, consensus, and effective interaction.</I>Epiphenomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-42214952805823031532009-02-24T15:57:00.000+00:002009-02-24T15:57:00.000+00:00It makes you think: Is it the meeting that causes ...It makes you think: Is it the meeting that causes people to egg one another on? Comparisons of board rooms and large corporations behaving badly towards society and the public come to mid, especially the banks recently.<BR/><BR/>Has there been any work on the types of decisions made in concert as opposed to solo? Could they be more "extreme" if taken collectively? Or is vice versa true?pepandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09599396554613400894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-90990528123167745682009-02-22T00:55:00.000+00:002009-02-22T00:55:00.000+00:00Fascinating research.I find it interesting that it...Fascinating research.<BR/>I find it interesting that it applies across various countries and religions. <BR/>My first thought was that the specific messages being presented in Israeli mosques and synagogues might be the significant factor but the research seems to imply that the mere fact of attendance at services that has more influence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-61154334969919048932009-02-21T22:10:00.000+00:002009-02-21T22:10:00.000+00:00Hi Kevin, thanks! :)Hi Kevin, thanks! :)Epiphenomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-90307821723912197182009-02-21T19:36:00.000+00:002009-02-21T19:36:00.000+00:00I just wanted to say...this is quickly becoming on...I just wanted to say...this is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs. Useful and interesting research presented very clearly. Keep up the good work!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com