Social psychologist Irving Janis coined the term groupthink to describe how people often respond differently in a group context than they might if they were alone. Another interesting topic of sociological study is the area of deviance and social control. The textbook provides multiples examples from history where groupthink may have influenced people to participate in socially deviant behavior that they might have otherwise avoided.
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:
Option 1: Share an example from your personal experience (of your own or of someone you know), or an example from history, where groupthink may have influenced people to behave or arrive at a decision in a way that many individual members privately might have avoided or thought unwise.
Option 2: Complete an observation: In a safe environment, perhaps around family or friends, select one of the social norm violations below to conduct in a social experiment:
Take food off of someone else's plate
Constantly interrupt when someone else is talking
Stand really close to someone when talking with them