The video shows an experiment on suggestibility performed with preschool children (5 years old). Experiments conducted with children have clearly shown how important it is for every child to be like everyone else. In the video, the actions of five-year-olds in the experiment “Sweet salty porridge” are shown (Passengers, 2018). One part of the porridge is heavily salted, and the rest is sprinkled with sugar. Children are alternately offered to try porridge from the same plate. Everyone is asked in the presence of others what it tastes like. The first three boys were given sweet parts, and they say as it is: that the porridge is sweet. The fourth test child gets the salted part. However, as most of the boys declared that it is sweet, the fourth child agreed with them. At the same time, the child who got the salty part actively refuses another spoonful of such porridge.
Four four-year-old children participated in the second experiment on the video. The kindergarten teacher put two pyramids on the table: one was white, and the second was black. The experimenter and three children say that both pyramids are painted white. The test child agrees with them, however, when he was asked to take the black one, he chose it out of the two. This is despite the fact that a few moments ago he called it white.
The observation of children in the video showed that, despite the fact that children often depend on the opinion of the majority. These suggestibility tests have clearly demonstrated that preschoolers can change their minds or intentionally distort the real situation under the influence of majority opinion. They do not want to be different from others and strive not to distinguish their opinion from the opinion of a group of children.
Reference
Passengers, D. (2018). Me and others [Video file]. Web.