conformity

Hello,

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91912&page=1


This article I found online relates to conformity. A few people in Kokomo reported hearing a humming sound that created many physical discomfort, such as headaches and diarrhea. When others heard about it, they also began to hear the hum and mysteriously reported similar symptoms. This "hum" might have been a real sound, but no one in a town nearby reported hearing this hum. These people claim that these physical symptoms are real. I think this relates to a story in the book about mass psychogenic illness. A teacher reported smelling gasoline and experienced physical symptoms, and soon, other people began to experience them too. This informational social influence happens because as soon as a few people say that the hum made them sick, other people relate their physical symptoms to the hum, and then the hum becomes a main belief of their physical symptoms.

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