Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Causes Conformity?Famous Experiments on ConformityTypes of ConformityFactors That Can Influence ConformityPotential PitfallsFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Causes Conformity?
Famous Experiments on Conformity
Types of Conformity
Factors That Can Influence Conformity
Potential Pitfalls
Frequently Asked Questions
Close
Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
Social pressure can sometimes lead us to change our behavior, a process known as conformity. This can sometimes be overt, like being pressured to behave in a certain way, or a more subtle influence that causes you go along with the rest of the group.
Conformity is the act of changing your behaviors to fit in or go along with the people around you.
Keep reading to learn more about how conformity works, how different types of conformity can influence your behavior, and what you can do to resist giving in to social pressure.
Each situation is different, but researchers suggest that there are many reasons why people conform.It isn’t always a bad thing. Consider this: in many cases, looking to the rest of the group for clues about how we should behave can be helpful.
Other people might have greater knowledge or experience than we do, so following their lead can actually be instructive.
In some instances, we conform to the group’s expectations to avoid looking foolish. This tendency can become particularly strong in situations where we are not quite sure how to act or where the expectations are ambiguous.
In 1955, Deutsch and Gerard identified two key reasons why people conform: informational influence and normative influence.
Informational Influence
Informational influence happens when people change their behavior to be correct.In situations where we are unsure of the correct response, we often look to others who are better informed and more knowledgeable and use their lead as a guide for our own behaviors.
In a classroom setting, for example, this might involve agreeing with the judgments of another classmate you perceive as highly intelligent.
Normative Influence
Normative influence stems from a desire to avoid punishments (such as going along with the rules in class even though you don’t agree with them) and gain rewards (such as behaving in a certain way in order to get people to like you).
How to Do a Conformity Experiment
Conformity is something that happens regularly in our social worlds. Sometimes we are aware of our behavior, but in many cases, it happens without much thought or awareness on our parts.
While conformity isn’t always a negative influence, sometimes it causes us to go along with things that we disagree with or behave in ways that we know we shouldn’t.
Some of the best-known experiments on the psychology of conformity deal with people going along with the group, even when they know the group is wrong.
Jenness’s 1932 Experiment
In one of the earliest experiments on conformity, Jenness asked participants to estimate the number of beans in a bottle. They first estimated the number individually and then later as a group.
After being asked as a group, they were asked again individually. The experimenter found that their estimates shifted from their original guess to closer to what other group members had guessed.
Sherif’s Autokinetic Effect Experiments
In a series of experiments, Muzafer Sherif asked participants to estimate how far a dot of light in a dark room moved. In reality, the dot was static, but it appeared to move due to something known as the autokinetic effect. Essentially, tiny movements of the eyes make it appear that a small spot of light is moving in a dark room.
When asked individually, the participants' answers varied considerably. When asked as part of a group, however, Sherif found that the responses converged toward a central mean.
Sherif’s results, published in 1935, demonstrated that in an ambiguous situation, people will conform to the group, an example of informational influence.
Asch’s Conformity Experiments
In thisseries of famous experiments, conducted in the 1950s, psychologistSolomon Aschasked participants to complete what they believed was a simple perceptual task. They were asked to choose a line that matched the length of one of three different lines.
When asked individually, participants would choose the correct line. When asked in the presence of confederates who were in on the experiment and who intentionally selected the wrong line, around 75% of participants conformed to the group at least once.
This experiment is a good example of normative influence. Participants changed their answer and conformed to the group in order to fit in and avoid standing out.
Stanford Prison Experiment
While this is one of the most famous psychology experiments on conformity, it is important to note that it has been criticized extensively, and its results have been questioned.In addition to the ethical issues with the study, recent examination of the research methods and procedures has cast serious doubts on the study’s findings, validity, and authenticity.
Normative and informational influences are two important types of conformity, but there are also a number of other reasons why we conform.
Normative Conformity
This type of conformity involves changing one’s behavior in order to fit in with a group. For example, a teenager might dress in a certain style because they want to look like their peers who are members of a particular group.
Informational Conformity
In this case, conformity is looking to the group for information and direction (this happens when a person lacks knowledge). Think of attending your first class at a new yoga studio. You would probably watch what others were doing to see where you should hang your coat, stow your shoes, unroll your mat, and so on.
Identification
Identification is conforming based on social roles. In other words, a person might change their behavior to fit with what might be expected of a person in that specific role. The Stanford Prison Experiment is an example of this type of conformity.
Compliance
Complianceis changing one’s behavior while still internally disagreeing with the group. For example, you might read a book for your book club and really enjoy it. But at your meeting, you learn that the other members all disliked the book. Rather than go against the group opinion, you might simply agree that the book was terrible.
Internalization
This type of conformity involves changing one’s behavior to be like another person. You might notice this in a friend who’s taste in music or movies shifts to match that of their romantic partner.
Conformity doesn’t happen in every situation. Some people might resist conformity while being more susceptible to these influences in others. It’s important to remember that human behavior and psychology are complex. People may conform in some situations and not in others, depending on factors including:
What to Know About the Hive Mind Mentality
Potential Pitfalls of Conformity
While fitting in with a group is often beneficial, conformity can sometimes have undesirable consequences. For example:
Takeaways
Understanding conformity can help you make sense of the reasons why some people go along with the crowd, even when their choices seem out of character for them. It can also help you see how other people’s behavior may influence the choices you make.
Frequently Asked QuestionsCompliance is changing one’s behavior in response to a request to do so, such as a friend asking you to give them a ride. It’s not the same as obedience (for example, a student following a school rule) because the request came from someone who doesn’t have authority over you.Conformity is more subtle. It is when you change your behavior (consciously or unconsciously) not based on a request, but based on a perceived need to fit in with those around you.Learn More:What Is Compliance?Research shows that conformity to peers peaks in mid-adolescence, around age 14. At this age, children spend more time with peers and their influence is strongest.In more individualistic cultures, people are less likely to conform. In collectivist cultures, conformity is more valued.Learn More:Individualistic Cultures and BehaviorConformity bias is the tendency to make decisions or judgments based on other people’s behavior. Once one person in a class cheats on a test, for example, others may be more willing to cheat because they see that it is acceptable to the group.
Compliance is changing one’s behavior in response to a request to do so, such as a friend asking you to give them a ride. It’s not the same as obedience (for example, a student following a school rule) because the request came from someone who doesn’t have authority over you.Conformity is more subtle. It is when you change your behavior (consciously or unconsciously) not based on a request, but based on a perceived need to fit in with those around you.Learn More:What Is Compliance?
Compliance is changing one’s behavior in response to a request to do so, such as a friend asking you to give them a ride. It’s not the same as obedience (for example, a student following a school rule) because the request came from someone who doesn’t have authority over you.Conformity is more subtle. It is when you change your behavior (consciously or unconsciously) not based on a request, but based on a perceived need to fit in with those around you.
Learn More:What Is Compliance?
Research shows that conformity to peers peaks in mid-adolescence, around age 14. At this age, children spend more time with peers and their influence is strongest.
In more individualistic cultures, people are less likely to conform. In collectivist cultures, conformity is more valued.Learn More:Individualistic Cultures and Behavior
In more individualistic cultures, people are less likely to conform. In collectivist cultures, conformity is more valued.
Learn More:Individualistic Cultures and Behavior
Conformity bias is the tendency to make decisions or judgments based on other people’s behavior. Once one person in a class cheats on a test, for example, others may be more willing to cheat because they see that it is acceptable to the group.
What Is the Bandwagon Effect?
7 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Kyrlitsias C, Michael-Grigoriou D, Banakou D, Christofi M.Social conformity in immersive virtual environments: The impact of agents' gaze behavior.Front Psychol. 2020;11:2254. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02254
Morgan TJ, Laland KN.The biological bases of conformity.Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087
Le Texier T.Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment.Am Psychol.2019;74(7):823-839. doi:10.1037/amp0000401
Knoll LJ, Leung JT, Foulkes L, Blakemore SJ.Age-related differences in social influence on risk perception depend on the direction of influence.J Adolesc.2017;60:53-63. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.07.002
Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.Groups, Leadership and Men.Carnegie Press.Breckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.Cengage Learning.Eysenck MW.Psychology: An International Perspective.Psychology Press.Jenness A.The role of discussion in changing opinion regarding a matter of fact.J Abnormal Social Psychol.1932:27(3):279-296. doi:10.1037/h0074620Sherif M.A study of some social factors in perception.Arch Psychol.1935(187):60.
Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.Groups, Leadership and Men.Carnegie Press.
Breckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.Cengage Learning.
Eysenck MW.Psychology: An International Perspective.Psychology Press.
Jenness A.The role of discussion in changing opinion regarding a matter of fact.J Abnormal Social Psychol.1932:27(3):279-296. doi:10.1037/h0074620
Sherif M.A study of some social factors in perception.Arch Psychol.1935(187):60.
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