Choices made in a crowd feel smaller than they are. The crowd goes home; the choice stays with you.

Groups dilute the feeling of responsibility without dividing the actual consequence. With ten people around, a decision feels like a tenth of a decision, and the part of you that would normally object goes quiet because nobody else is objecting. Then everybody disperses to their own house and the outcome has one name attached to it. Yours.

When you notice the group deciding something you would not decide alone, say so, even badly. Ask what you would do if the others were not there, and use that answer. One person hesitating out loud gives everyone else permission to as well.