Read on Twitter
There's a very interesting column on "information cascade" today in Ananda Bazaar Patrika. It talks of the peculiar phenomena that despite having no evidence, people simply "believe" that BJP will come to power because "everyone else is saying it" +
The writer references "street corner experiment" based on study done in 1960s by psychologists Stanley Milgram, Leonard Bickman & Lawrence Berkowitz. They concluded, "people are highly influenced by what other people are doing." It's called social proof https://www.anecdote.com/2018/02/005-the-street-corner-experiment/
"The researchers asked a single person to stand on a busy street corner in New York City and look into a spot in the sky for 60 seconds. The researchers track who else followed their gaze. Then put a group of 5 people on the street corner & it quadrupled the number who looked up"
"With 15 people standing and staring at a single spot in the sky, 45% more pedestrians stopped to join them. This is called social proof. We tend to do the same things we observe other people doing."
To sum up, some people call it a forgone conclusion that the BJP will win +
To sum up, some people call it a forgone conclusion that the BJP will win +
Because they believe everyone around them is saying the same, bec they think "they must have some info that I do not have. Why else would everyone be saying it?" When in reality, polls outcomes are impossible for the ordinary person to predict bec they don't have access to data
And they, in their turn, pass it on to 15 others and together they stand at a street corner and look up at the sky.
How to reverse this? The writer suggests that if someone's saying that a certain political party will win, for eg, BJP, ask them how do they know this?
How to reverse this? The writer suggests that if someone's saying that a certain political party will win, for eg, BJP, ask them how do they know this?
Ask them questions about how they have come to this conclusion? Don't let people get away with vague "gut feelings" bec predicting polls isn't a layperson's job. It's a scientific process.
For those who can read Bengali. https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/bjp-it-cell-is-advertising-their-propagandas-before-wb-assembly-election2021/cid/1262914
For those who can read Bengali. https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/bjp-it-cell-is-advertising-their-propagandas-before-wb-assembly-election2021/cid/1262914
