Haritosh SrivastavFounder & Head Coach, Confident Storytelling Hub

Have you heard about the Railway Test

5 May 2023 · 1 min

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In this short commentary, the speaker introduces a social‑psychology experiment attributed to German scientist Elisabeth Nobel Newman, known as the "railway test." The experiment demonstrates that individuals who hold a minority opinion while physically positioned in a visible, exposed spot (e.g., on a train carriage) are far more likely to stay silent than to voice dissent, illustrating the "spiral of silence" phenomenon. The speaker then connects this insight to leadership practice, arguing that leaders have a responsibility to actively identify and empower those with differing viewpoints, providing them a safe platform and encouragement to speak up despite perceived bias.

Chapters

There was a special experiment done by a German scientist named Elisabeth Nobel Newman, which talks about a railway test. And what this test or experiment consisted of— if you are in majority in front of people, if you are on a train bogey and you have a different opinion than the majority of one, there is a very high probability that you will keep silent versus being outspoken. And this is what is also sometimes called the spiral of silence, where if you have a different opinion, you feel you are in minority, you will not out-speak others, you will not talk about that. And as a leader, it is our responsibility to identify people who have a different opinion and give them the platform, give them the encouragement and support to be able to voice their opinion irrespective of the bias that we have.