Social Compliance

Kay 2022-10-15 09:45:17

At the beginning of the show, Darren Brown first showed off a small experiment. Pretending to be a police officer to induce a coffee shop clerk to kidnap a child. "It is surprisingly easy for a person to pretend to be an authority figure, such as a police officer, and then order a stranger to do something they would not normally be able to do." This extreme example leads to social compliance (Social Compliance) )the concept of. Next, THE SHOW IS ON.

How did Darren Brown break through the psychological defense of ordinary citizen Chris step by step?

First of all, the selection of experimental subjects is very critical. Darren Brown found three actors who stood and sat down with the bell, and chose based on whether the candidate subjects conformed to the crowd. Finally, four subjects with strong social compliance were identified and falsely claimed to have been eliminated.

One of the protagonists of this experiment, Chris, is a 29-year-old single creative director who looks quite nice, not like someone who can make THE PUSH. The first manipulation was to help Tom, the charity project director who had filled up the sausage rolls because of a problem with the vegan food truck, put a vegan flag on the sausage rolls. Probably out of the mentality that it's not a big deal, Chris fell into this trap without the slightest doubt. "Once you do a small favor, there will be big things for you to do later." From putting up a vegetarian flag to sending Chris to bring clothes, champagne and a briefcase, the trivial things are gradually strengthening Chris's social compliance. And because the program team deliberately concealed it, as the only person on the scene who didn't wear formal clothes, Chris, who didn't know anyone, was inferior and nervous. The psychological suggestion is gradually strengthening.

The first climax is the anger and sickness of the big boss Bernie. Tom asks Chris to move the body to the big box because people are coming in. The guests deliberately mistook Chris for Bernie, and introduced him to the stage to speak at the subsequent party. Out of the psychology of not letting the large-scale event fall into embarrassment and revealing the truth, Chris still chose to submit to the stage.

The first resistance was after the box containing the body was photographed so that the truth would not be discovered. Before this, Chris had been passively submissive, and this time he refused Tom's request to open the box. And when Tom let him find out that it was a false alarm, he still obediently transported the body downstairs, and when he learned that an accident in the car could not be caused, he obediently transported it to the stairs. Tom has been comforting Chris that everything is about the bigger picture and everything will be back on track after the party.

The second revolt took place in the stairwell. When Tom asks Chris to kick the body to create the bruise from the fall, Chris refuses.

In the middle, there was an episode where the boss's wife explained that the boss was just sleeping sickness. The two told the board of everything and went back to the stairs to find that Bernie had woken up in a rage, and threatened to terminate the cooperation and send them to prison.

The third and most important resistance. The board of directors instigated Chris to push Bernie downstairs for self-protection. I think this party is very important foreshadowing).

In the end, Chris did not finish THE PUSH, and was the only one of the four experimenters.

Many people have a herd mentality. In order to make themselves fit in the society, they will consciously follow the footsteps of others. When faced with an authoritative person with a high social status who is considered to be trustworthy or a leader who seems to have a clear mind, there will be trust and dependence, and they will be subconsciously commanded and controlled by him. Start small, escalate, and in the end, there may be serious consequences. And the lack of self-confidence and discomfort in the big environment will deepen this sense of insecurity. It's time to jump out of the comfort zone, abandon the fear of being abandoned, and think independently.

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Extended Reading

Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge quotes

  • Derren Brown: These are some clips of celebrities talking about the charity to make it more convincing. They knew it wasn't real.

  • Sign: George Lucas Stage.