Ever agree in the moment, but then look back and wish you spoke up and said something? This action of wanting to go with the flow is a very real phenomenon. We sit down with two experts to uncover how people’s actions and opinions are altered by conformity bias.
Guest Information:
- Robert Prentice, professor, business ethics, business law, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, faculty director, Unwrapped Video Project, Center for Leadership and Ethics, McCombs School of Business
- Todd Rose, co-founder, president, Populace, author of Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions.
Robert Prentice says that even the smartest people are susceptible to conformity bias. He points to one example at KPMG – a multi-national accounting and consulting firm.
Rose points out that two-thirds of American adults admit to leaning into what he calls self-silencing because they’re afraid to offend their online followers, friends, or work colleagues. He says this silence is dangerous because it leads to false narratives and one-sided opinions.
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