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The main position in, In Groups We Shrink, is so true when applied to

situations of aggregation of a large number of people. As stated in, In Groups

We Shrink, in large groups we are reluctant to deviate from the norm, however,

if alone we often act without even hesitating. We can apply this to everyday

situations as with, The Lottery. Why are people so hesitant to act out when in

large groups? There may be a broad spectrum of reasons from the mentality of

"diffusion of responsibility" to the fear of ridicule.

It seems as if within a group we act as single entity instead of a group

of individuals. "In groups we shrink" may sound paradoxical but it is evident

to be true. In a group we tend to think singularly instead of groups of many

single individuals. This could be due to the fact that people are afraid of

ridicule. So afraid that nobody is willing to do the morally correct thing.

As in The Lottery, we see that people are reluctant to act out against

the remainder of the group. Why did the town's people just stand by and take

part in the senseless stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson? Why didn't anyone intervene?

Nobody was willing to be an individual and step up to take responsibility and

put an end to the senseless lottery.

Another good example of the reluctance to act against the group would be

the Rodney King incident. As the officers clubbed, electrocuted, and beat

Rodney King to a bloody pulp, onlookers just looked on. Nobody did anything to

stop the senseless beating. It was obvious that the police officers were using

excessive force. Someone even shot the whole incident on videotape. Despite

the number of onlookers, to no one's surprise, not a single...