Dr. Todd Rose

It's meant to get you to stop because something you're doing is wrong and you might be in danger.

So this is what happens to your brain.

But that's not even the most interesting thing.

The clever part was then at the end of the study, you're in the task, they come and say, oh, I'm so sorry.

For some reason, the equipment didn't record your responses.

Would you mind just quickly doing the task again?

We're not going to record your brain.

Just quickly do the task again.

They randomized the couple hundred pictures.

They iterate them again.

Lo and behold, most people moved their scores to align with the group and they didn't even know they did it.

You interview them after, they're like, no, that didn't affect me at all.

So when I say it's hardwired, that's what I mean.

Even as something as subjective as attractiveness, we just want to be with our groups.

And there's a lot that we'll do to maintain that group alignment.

Didn't even contemplate it.

You just went with it.

It's coming back to that need to belong that we just talked about and the possibility of conformity there.

Because the norm in our society is when you go out socially, you drink.

And people that don't drink aren't fun.