Social Norm Experiment: Scenario 6 -- Facing the Wrong Way in an Elevator

Solomon Asch's Conformity Experiments during the 1950s demonstrated how much individual opinion and even perception of reality can be influenced by others (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2009, 577-579). In the original series of experiments, Asch tested subjects by presenting with a perceptual question that should have been very easy to identify the correct answer but within a group situation in which multiple confederates expressed confidence about the wrong answer. That experiment can be duplicated in many different settings and scenarios.

The reason I selected this particular scenario is that it involves one of the more subtle types of norm violations, as opposed to others that would seem to guarantee a reaction. To my mind, Asch's principle is best demonstrated by an experimental design that excludes other provocations for a response, such as invading someone else's space (e.g. standing...
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