You have probably wondered why most people have a tendency to follow the dictates of the majority .

Psychology has tried to find out what makes people bow to group pressure, what are the causes of gregarious behaviour, what is the nature of group pressure and to what extent an individual is able to give up his or her own criteria in favour of the masses.

Conformity: definition

conformism can be defined as those modifications or changes that occur in a person’s behaviour or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from people or groups of people.

Several experiments that bring us closer to the phenomenon of conformism

One of the most significant psychological experiments was conducted in the 1950s by Solomon Asch. I propose that you put yourselves in the following situation.

You’re volunteering to participate in an experiment in perceptual judgment. In a room with other participants, the experimenter shows you all a straight line (line X), at the same time he shows you three other lines of comparison (lines A, B and C). The task is to determine which of the three lines is the same length as the X-line.

You clearly know that the correct answer is line B and you will tell the experimenter this when it is your turn. However, the first participant answers that it is line A, so you are logically surprised by their answer. When it is the second person’s turn, he answers line A as well, probably this second answer will surprise you even more and you will start thinking how can this be, if it is clearly line B? But when it is the third person’s turn and he also says line A, you examine the lines once more and begin to doubt and wonder if you might be wrong. A fourth participant, in his turn, answers clearly line A. Finally, your turn comes and naturally you answer line A, you knew it from the beginning.

This is the conflict experienced by the participants in the Asch study. The experiment was simple: it consisted of gathering university students and showing them the different cards with the standard line and three other lines for comparison. The participants had to respond out loud, and the experimental subject was never in the first positions to respond, so that the rest of the participants who were accomplices of the experimenter could give the agreed wrong answer before the subject.

Group pressure ‘changes’ our perception

The results of the experiment showed that when the subject was not subjected to group pressure and was allowed to make a series of judgments on line length alone, there was an almost total absence of errors, given the simplicity of the task. In the cases in which the subject was faced with a unanimous majority that responded incorrectly, approximately 35 percent of all the answers were incorrect , they yielded to the incorrect judgments made by the accomplices .

Other experiments similar to Asch’s

The Asch experiment has been replicated in more than one hundred studies in different countries showing identical results. The results show that in the face of a majority that makes an erroneous judgement, people tend to settle for the wrong social perception .

In a situation where there were no restrictions on individuality, no sanctions against nonconformity, participants tended to be complacent. Why did participants bow to the opinion of others?

The causes and factors of conformity

The agreement was due to two possible causes: they were convinced, in the unanimous opinion of the majority, that their opinion was wrong or they followed the opinion of others in order to be accepted by the majority or to avoid the rejection that the disagreement would produce in the group. In other words, the subjects had two goals: to be right and to ingratiate themselves with the rest of the group. In many circumstances, both goals can be satisfied with a single action.

In Asch’s experiment, if the opinion of others on the length of the lines were the same as his, both goals could be met. However, both goals were in conflict, producing the effect of conformity . The effect of accommodating the responses of others has less to do with imitation than with the need to reduce the dissonance between one’s perception and the judgments made by others.

Factors that increase or decrease compliance

1. Unanimity

The unanimity or lack of unanimity in the opinion of the majority, is one of the crucial factors that determine the propensity of the subject to conform. If one of the members of the group gives a different answer to the majority, the pressure towards conformity is drastically reduced and the probability that the subject is more inclined to give his or her opinion increases.

In other words, it is enough for one person to provide a different response for the conformism to be reduced and the power of the group to be diminished . However, if there is unanimity, it is not necessary for the volume of the majority to be high for it to cause maximum conformism in one person. The tendency to adapt to group pressure with a unanimous majority is practically the same regardless of the number of people in the majority.

2. Commitment

The commitment is one of the factors that can reduce conformism, when individuals have publicly committed themselves to a judgment or an opinion before hearing the opinion of the majority, there is a greater likelihood that the person will maintain his or her opinion and not accommodate those of the majority .

3. Individual variables: self-esteem and capacity

There are certain individual variables that increase or reduce conformity. In general, people with a poor opinion of themselves are more likely to bow to group pressure in order to avoid rejection than those with high self-esteem. Another factor to consider is the person’s belief in his or her own ability to perform the task successfully. For example, in the Asch experiment, those subjects who were allowed to judge the length of the lines indicating the correct answer were less likely to be satisfied than those who were not allowed to perform the task previously.

4. Group composition

The composition of the group exerting the pressure is another factor modulating the effect of compliance. Thus, a group will be more effective in inducing compliance if it is composed of experts , if the members are important to the individual and if they are in some way similar or comparable to the individual, such as classmates.

5. Sense of group belonging

The valuation of group membership influences the degree of compliance. Thus, those who value group membership and feel only moderately accepted will show a greater tendency to adapt to the norms and guidelines created by the group than those who feel totally accepted.

6. Authority

Finally, the authority increases conformity. In those situations where the opinion or judgement comes from an authority figure, the appearance of authority may give legitimacy to an opinion or request and generate a high degree of conformity . As was found in another of psychology’s most famous experiments, Milgram’s experiment in which the majority of participants showed obedience to authority.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this experiment manifests the great influence that others have on our own elaboration of beliefs and opinions. It also shows that in some cases we are easily manipulated and can vary our most subjective beliefs such as ideals, political tendencies and even our own tastes.

Bibliographic references:

  • Aronson, E. (2000). El animal social: Introducción a la psicología social (8th ed. in Alianza Editorial.) Madrid: Alianza.
  • Paéz, D., and Campos, M. (2005). Culture and Social Influence: Conformism and Innovation. Social Psychology, Culture and Education. (pp. 693-718) Dialnet. Retrieved from: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codig…