Circling Science

Synchrony and destructive obedience

Scott S. Wiltermuth · 2012

Evidence
Experiment
Kind
Journal article
peer-reviewed
Method
Experiments in which participants walked in step with an experimenter, or did not, before being asked to kill insects in what seemed a separate study
Published
Social Influence, 7(2), 78–89
Fields
Synchrony

Mechanisms

Studies a process a circle relies on, such as disclosure or synchrony, wherever it happens.

After walking in step behind a leader, people said they felt closer to him and agreed more readily to his request to kill sow bugs, in what they believed was an unrelated experiment.

What it doesn’t show

Short lab experiments with one unusual request. They show that synchrony can strengthen a leader’s hold in the lab, not how often that happens in real groups.

Summary based on the abstract.

Directions that build on it

  1. Closeness or conformity

    Builds on 5 works · 2 funding routes

    When a circle falls into step, do its members grow closer, more conforming, or both?

Links

Cite

Wiltermuth, S. S. (2012). Synchrony and destructive obedience. Social Influence, 7(2), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510.2012.658653