In a similar finding, people were asked to consider this statement: “Free speech being a privilege rather than a right, it is proper for a society to suspend free speech when it feels threatened.” Asked this question individually, only 19 percent of the control group agreed, but confronted with the shared opinion of only four others, 58 percent of people agreed. These results are closely connected with one of Asch’s underlying interests, which was to understand how Nazism had been possible.
People lose their autonomy of thought when facing group opinions.
