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Conformity
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Social Influence
• How behavior is influenced by the social
environment and the presence of other
people
• Conformity
• Obedience
• Helping Behaviors
Conformity
• Adopting attitudes or behaviors of others
because of pressure to do so; the pressure
can be real or imagined
• 2 general reasons for conformity
– Informational social influence refers
to behavior that is motivated by the
desire to be correct
– Normative social influence—behavior
that is motivated by the desire to gain
social acceptance and approval.
Solomon Asch (1907-1996)
• Social psychologist who researched
the circumstances under which people
conform
1907-1996
Asch’s Experiments
on Conformity
Previous research had shown people will
conform to others’ judgments more often
when the evidence is ambiguous
Asch’s Experiments
on Conformity
• All but 1 in group was
confederate
• Seating was rigged
• Asked to rate which line
matched a “standard”
line
• Confederates were
instructed to pick the
wrong line 12/18 times
1
Standard lines
2
3
Comparison lines
Asch’s Conformity Study
Asch’s Conformity Study
Asch’s Experiments on Conformity
• Results
– Asch found that 76% participants conformed to at least one wrong
choice during multiple trials.
– BUT when data from all the trials was combined, subjects gave
wrong answer (conformed) on only 37% of the critical trials.
– Means that almost 2/3 (63%)of people did not conform & said
correct answer even when others said the wrong one
– However, Control group that responded alone (no group present)
chose correctly 99%.
• Why did 1/3 of participants conform to clearly
wrong choices?
– informational influence?
– subjects reported having doubted their own perceptual abilities
which led to their conformance – didn’t report seeing the lines the
way the confederates had
Factors Increasing Conformity
•
•
•
•
The person feels incompetent or insecure.
The group has three or more people.
The rest of the group is unanimous.
The person is impressed by the status of
the group.
• No prior commitments were made.
• The group is observing the person respond.
• One’s culture encourages conformity.
Factors Decreasing Conformity
• When we have an ally in our dissent
from majority opinion, even if the
dissenter’s competence is questionable.
Effects of a Nonconformist
• If everyone agrees, you are less likely to
disagree HOWEVER…
• If one person disagrees, even if they give
the wrong answer, you are more likely to
express your nonconforming view
• Asch tested this hypothesis
– one confederate gave different answer from others
– conformity dropped significantly
Culture & Conformity
• In general, levels of conformity have steadily
declined since Asch’s original study of U.S.
college students in the 1950s
• Individualistic cultures tend to emphasize
independence, self-expression, and standing
out from the crowd; thus the whole notion of
conformity tends to carry a negative
connotation
• Collectivistic cultures, however, publicly
conforming while privately disagreeing is
regarded as socially appropriate tact or