From: Van oost Kenneth (kennethvanoost@belgacom.net)
Date: Fri 09 May 2003 - 19:20:55 GMT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vincent Campbell" <VCampbell@dmu.ac.uk>
> Anyway, one of the points about groupthink is that in allows for meme
> transmission, without necessarily belief transmission. The Man Utd fan
> sitting in a London pub may give way to overwhelming numbers of Arsenal
fans
> on the issue of which is the best footballl team in England, and appear to
> agree with them.
Vincent,
This has to do with what is called the group polarization effect_ two
theories spring out, persuasive arguments and social comparison theory.
The former is related to the result of the content of group discussion,
those discussions are merely biased in the direction of initial
inclinations.
That 's Arsenal is the best...
The latter holds that people share in a cultural value that supports one
direction or the other for the issue at hand. In the context as above,
the Man Utd fan wants to be at least as ' good ' as most other pub-
dwellers. In fact he shuts up, 1_ he don 't wants to get into trouble
and 2_ his silence is closer to the cultural idea that keeping his mouth
shut will save his life.
The pressure of the group unfolds a position of the individual more
extreme than the one he had just before coming into the pub.
The Man Utd- fan still believes his side is the best; but for more
understandable reasons, without thus the necessarily belief-
tranmission that Arsenal is the best, he shares the common
memeplex in that time and place.
Regards,
Kenneth
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