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Contents 1 What is conformity 1.1 Two kinds of conformity 1.1.1 Compliance 1.1.2 Acceptance 1.2 Conformity and self-esteem 1.3 When is conformity most likely to occur? 1.3.1 Group size 1.3.2 Public announcments 1.4 What are some classic experiments in conformity?

What is conformity

A change in belief or behavior as the result of real or imagined social pressure

Two kinds of conformity

Compliance

• Conformity that involves acting in a certain way to please others, while on a personal level, the individual disagrees
• Compliance is more likely to occur in the face of authority
  • An individual is more likely to comply with a boss than a co-worker because the boss holds more authority

Acceptance

• Conformity that involves both acting in a certain way from social pressure and personally agreeing with that actions being performed
• An individual can conform because of social pressure and at the same time maintain the personal belief that their actions are of value

Conformity and self-esteem

• Individuals with low self-esteem are more likely to conform than those with high self-esteem (De Charms and Rosenbaum, 1957)
  • Conformity can be a way for an individual to feel secure about themselves
• Authoritarian individuals conform more
  • This is likely due to their respect for the power of authority which isn't a reflection of their self-esteem (Elms and Milgram, 1969)

When is conformity most likely to occur?

Group size

• The bigger a group is, the more likely conformity is to occur

Public announcments

• If an individual publicly announces something, that individual is less likely to alter what they said
• If an individual never publicly announces something, they are more likely to alter whatever belief it is that they may have.
  • When you are young, by voicing opinions, you are more likely to maintain them

What are some classic experiments in conformity?

• Cialdini's Littering experiment
  • People conform to descriptive norms rather than injunctive norms
• Milgram's Study of Obedience
• Sherif's studies of norm formations (Sherif, 1935, 1937)
  • An optical illusion was used to make people believe that a dot was moving when it really was not
  • They were asked how far it had moved
  • Once they heard others answers, they always altered their estimations so that they were closer to the others estimates
• Asch's Conformity Study (Asch, 1955)