User:Efontalbert/sandbox

Pluralistic ignorance in social psychology is a phenomenon in which individuals observe others' actions for guidance in an ambiguous enviornment or situation. Such a phenomenon is best illustrated in an example reiterated by Robert Cialdini in which the murder of a young woman was witnessed by several Queens, New York inhabitants, but was never reported to the police until after the young woman was killed. Such inaction can be defined by two Social Psychologists who say no one helped the victim simply because there were so many bystanders witnessing the crime. This unresponsiveness can also be credited to the bystander effect, which states that depending on the number of people present to an emergency situation, the probability of an individual rendering aid decreases dramatically.

Pluralistic ignorance can also be compared to social proofing, a term in social pscychology which states that individuals will deem others' actions in unfamiliar situations as being the right thing to do, and will act accordingly. The darkest example of social proofing and pluralistic ignorace would have to be the Jonestown mass suicides in Guyana, South America. In 1977, cult leader Jim Jones of The People's Temple convinced his cult members to relocate to Guyana, South America. There, the members lived and worshipped Jim Jones until 1978, when the compound was compromised. Quickly, Jim Jones proposed that all cult members drink his grape Kool-aid, which was laced with cyanide. Over 900 cult members died, including small children. Such a large mass suicide could only have been made possible by social proofing and pluralistic ignorance. Once the first peson stepped forward and drank the posioned Kool-aid, that set the methaphorical ball rolling. Being in such a strange environment such as Guyana, South America, the cult memebers were at a loss as to how to respond to such a daring proposal. But after seeing one person followed by many consuming the drink, the members got it into their minds that that was the right thing to do, and conformed. Jim Jones' proposal was also successful because he persuaded only a small amount of the cult members to conform to his wishes. Pluralistic ignorance convinced the remaining group members to partake.