Wisdoms of Crowd Effect
🧠Psych - 204/300
Hello,
Is it February already? Felt like the new year just started yesterday..
Anyhow, let’s get us weekly dose of psychology by learning about Wisdoms of Crowd effect.
Wisdoms of Crowd Effect
The wisdom of the crowd is a fascinating phenomenon that has been studied by researchers in fields such as psychology, sociology, and economics.
The basic idea is that a large group of people is often able to make better decisions or predictions than a single expert because the group can draw on a wider range of knowledge and expertise.
This is due to the fact that each person in the group has their own unique perspective and information, and when these individual perspectives are combined, the result is a more accurate and complete picture of the situation.
Example
One of the famous example of the wisdom of the crowd is the "Coxcomb"experiment, conducted by Sir Francis Galton in 1906.
In this experiment, Galton asked a large group of people to estimate the weight of an ox by individually writing down their estimates.
When he calculated the average of all the estimates, he found that it was remarkably close to the actual weight of the ox.
This experiment demonstrated the power of the wisdom of the crowd to make accurate predictions, even in situations where the individual members of the group may not have had any specialized knowledge or expertise.
What do I need to know?
One of the key factors that contributes to the wisdom of the crowd is diversity.
When the members of a group have diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise, the group is better able to draw on a wide range of knowledge and perspectives, which can lead to more accurate decisions and predictions.
Another important factor is independence. When members of a group are able to think and make decisions independently, without being influenced by others, the group is better able to arrive at a collective decision that reflects the true beliefs and opinions of its members.
References & Studies: -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_the_crowd
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wisdom-crowds.asp