Social Influence On Conformity

A norm is a set of rules based on socially or culturally shared beliefs of how an individual is “supposed to” behave. They regulate behaviour within a group. Conforming to group norms results in a positive and valued social identity and we receive the desired respect from others. Conformity is an indirect form of social influence that involves a change in behaviour in order to fit in with a group. The need to belong plays a strong role in the desire to conform to group norms.
Conformity is something that happens daily in our social worlds. Although we are sometimes aware of our behaviour, in many cases we conform without being very aware that we are doing so. Sometimes we go along with things that we don’t agree with or we behave in a way that
The subjects were placed in a dark room and asked to estimate how far a dot of light moved. In reality the dot was not moving but it appeared to move due to something known as the auto kinetic effect which is an eye illusion where very small movements of the eyes make it appear that a small spot of light is moving in a dark room. When the subjects were asked individually, they established their own individual norms for the judgment and their answers varied considerably (2-6 inches). When they were asked as part of a group (2-3 people) and asked to all agree on the same thing, Sherif found that their responses mingled towards a central mean, noting the tendency to compromise. Sherif's subjects were not aware of this social influence and when they were asked directly if they were influenced by the judgments of the other people in the group during the experiments, most of them denied it. Afterwards, the subjects were tested one at a time again and most of these now conformed to the group judgment they recently made. A subject who had previously settled on an estimate of 2 inches or 6 inches was more likely to say the light was moving about 4 inches after their experience with the group. They had changed due to the group experience, increasing their conformity to group norms. The ecological validity of the experiment is pretty low due to the lab
Psychological researchers have been interested in the degree to which people follow or rebel against social norms for a long time. Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments designed to demonstrate the power of conformity in groups. According to some critics, some of the individual subjects may have been motivated to avoid conflict instead of a desire to conform to the rest of the group. Nevertheless, many social psychology experts believe that while real-world situations may not be as clear cut as they are in the lab, the actual social pressure to conform is probably much greater, which can dramatically increase conformist