| Aim | To experience the influence of group pressure |
|---|---|
| Duration | 15-20 Min |
| Number of participants | any |
| Age | - |
| Difficulty | medium |
| Conditions | Divide the room into two areas. There has to be enough space for the participants to walk from one area to the other. |
| Material | Six easy questions with a correct and an incorrect answer written on sheets of paper, one sheet marked “A”, one marked “B”. |
| Preparation Devise six easy questions which all the participants should be able to answer (e.g. the capital cities of EU-countries) as well as the correct and one incorrect answer to each question. Prepare instruction sheets for every participant except one, reading: “Give correct answers to the first three questions and incorrect ones to questions 4, 5 und 6.” Prepare an instruction sheet for only one member of the group reading “Participate actively and answer the questions to the best of your knowledge.” Explain to the young people that there are certain boundaries which need to be respected. Also explain the importance of self-confidence and the influence of group pressure. |
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| Description Hand out the instruction sheets to the participants. Make sure they cannot see each other’s sheets of paper. Remember who received the instructions differing from the others. Ask the participants to stand in the area corresponding to the “right” answer (according to the instructions). Do so also for questions 2-6. Except for one person, all group members will probably answer questions 4-6 incorrectly, as they were instructed. After the activity, ask the person who had to “stand alone” if he/she felt the group pressure. Also ask other participants if they would go to the right answer, even though the rest of the group does it differently. |
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| Source | ECPAT Netherlands |
| Tags | Group pressure, self-reflection |