Fundamental concept in social psychology

Conformity refers to changing one's behavior or thinking to align with a group standard

Types of Conformity

Compliance

Compliance involves outwardly adopting group behaviors or beliefs without personally subscribing to them

Internalization

Internalization occurs when an individual genuinely accepts group norms and values as their own

Identification

Identification happens when an individual conforms to the expectations of a group they value and want to be a part of

Types of Social Influence

Normative Influence

Normative influence is driven by the desire to be liked and accepted by others, leading individuals to conform to group norms

Informational Influence

Informational influence occurs when individuals look to the group for guidance in uncertain situations

Unanimity within the group

When everyone in the group appears to agree, individuals are more likely to conform

Group size

Larger groups tend to exert more pressure to conform, but this effect plateaus after a certain size

Task difficulty

Conformity may increase when individuals doubt their own judgment in challenging situations

Solomon Asch's line judgment experiments

These experiments revealed the extent to which social pressure can cause individuals to conform to an obviously incorrect majority

Muzafer Sherif's studies using the autokinetic effect

These studies demonstrated how people's perceptions can converge in ambiguous situations

Philip Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment

This experiment showed how social roles and expectations can lead to dramatic changes in behavior

Common behaviors influenced by conformity

People often follow social cues in public and conform to cultural norms and personal preferences

Conformity bias

The tendency for individuals' decisions to be swayed by the opinions and behaviors of others, which can lead to suboptimal outcomes