CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE

CONFORMITY – A change in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined group

pressure.
Acceptance – conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with
social pressure.
Compliance – Conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied
or explicit response while privately disagreeing
Obedience - A type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct
order or command.
Conformity -result of group pressure
Acceptance – conforming and believing
Compliance – conforming but not believing
Obedience – complying due to command or requirement
Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies
Sherif’s Studies on Norm Formation - Muzafer Sherif used in his studies a visual
illusion called autokinetic effect. A phenomenon of visual perception in which a
stationary, small point of light in a dark space appears to move. Subjects were
asked to estimate how far has the point of light moved— though the light didn’t
move at all. At first, their answers varied, but when placed in a group, their
estimates gradually became similar, forming a shared norm. Later, even when
tested alone, participants stuck to the group’s answer
- The study shows how powerful social influence can be, leading people to
conform to group opinions—even when they are unsure of the facts
Asch’s Studies on Group Pressure - Solomon Asch’s experiment demonstrated
how people conform to group opinions, even when the correct answer is obvious.
Participants were asked to match a line’s length with three given choices. At first,
they answered correctly, but when a group of accomplices purposely gave wrong
answers, 75% of participants conformed at least once, doubting their own
judgment. Though 63% of responses remained independent, the study highlighted
how social pressure influences decisions
- The study shows that individuals conform to a majority opinion, even when it
is clearly wrong, due to the desire for social acceptance or fear of standing
out
- If people conform to such small pressures, how much more would they
comply when directly ordered to do something
Milgram’s Obedience Studies - Stanley Milgram’s experiments tested how far
people would obey authority, even when it meant harming others. Participants
believed they were part of a learning study where they acted as "teachers",
delivering electric shocks to a "learner" (actually an actor) for wrong answers. As
the shocks got stronger, the learner cried out, screamed, and then went silent. The
experimenter kept urging the participant to continue. Even though people thought
they would stop early, 65% kept going to the highest shock level (450 volts),
following orders despite their discomfort.
- The study shows that people obey either out of fear or out of a desire to
appear cooperative—even when acting against their own better judgment
and desires
What breeds Obedience?
Victim’s Distance - People obeyed more when they couldn’t see or hear the
victim. Obedience dropped when the victim was in the same room or had to be
physically harmed.
- People find it easier to be cruel online or in situations where they don’t
directly see the impact of their actions.
Closeness & Legitimacy of Authority - Obedience was higher when the
authority figure was present. It dropped when orders came over the phone or from
an unqualified person
- People tend to obey authority figures without question, especially in person
Institutional Authority - People obeyed more when the experiment was at Yale.
Obedience decreased in a less prestigious setting.
- People trust established institutions, sometimes without question
Group Influence - Seeing others resist authority made participants more likely to
do the same.
- Resistance to unjust authority is easier when others take a stand
What Predicts Conformity?
Group Size - Oftenly, Larger group size leads to higher conformity
Field experiment by Milgram and his colleagues (1969)
- Increasing the number of people beyond five yields diminishing returns
(Gerard et al., 1968; Rosenberg, 1961)
- The same is also true online
- When reading a false news headline on social media, people were less likely
to believe it if several others commented that it was untrue (“Fake story!”)
(Colliander 2019)
- People were twice as likely to “like” content on Facebook if they saw that
three people (versus one) had liked the content (Egebark & Ekstrom, 2018)
- The way the goup is “packaged” also makes a difference
 - David Wilder (1977) gave students a jury case. Outcome: The agreement of
independent small groups makes a position more credible
Unanimity - When a group is in total agreement, people are more likely to conform.
However, if even one person disagrees, conformity drops.
- Lindsey Levitan and Brad Verhulst (2016) asked college students to privately
state their views on issues such as gun control, the death penalty, and
abortion. When they later restated their views before others who thought
differently, they were less likely to change their position if they had even one
ally.
- Main point: Conformity experiments teach the practical lesson that it is easier
to stand up for something if you can find someone else to stand up with you
Cohesion - A “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound
together, such as by attraction to one another
- The more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members. In
other words, a group of your closest friends would influence you more than a
group of acquaintances you don’t feel very close to
- Other Examples where cohesion applies:
- Facebook likes from friends are four times more likely to prompt us to also
“like” something than a Facebook like from a stranger
- Opinions from someone outside the groups we identify with sways us less
than opinions from someone within our group
- People comply more readily with requests from those said to share their
birthday, their first name, or features of their fingerprint
- People within an ethnic group may feel a similar “own-group conformity
pressure” — to talk, act, and dress just as everyone else does in their own
group
Status - People are more likely to conform to individuals with higher social status,
authority, or expertise.
- People are more likely to jaywalk when someone else does and not jaywalk
when someone else doesn’t, especially when the other person is well-dressed
and thus appears to be high in status (Mullen et al., 1990)
- Other Examples
- Junior group members con form to their group more than senior group
members (Jetten et al., 2006)
- chimps are more likely to imitate the behaviors of high-ranking group
members (Horner et al., 2010).
- Jeff Galak and his colleagues (2016) found that women who recently moved
to a neighborhood higher in status than the one they left were more likely to
buy the type of shoes favored in the new neighborhood, but those who
moved to a lower-status neighborhood were more likely to ignore the local
norms
Public Response - Public response refers to how individuals react or express their
opinions, behaviors, or decisions when they are observed by others.
- Social pressure influences individuals to align with group opinions, especially
in public settings.
- Solomon Asch Conformity Experiment (1951)
- When faced with group pressure, do we change our opinions more when
responding in front of others or when answering privately?
- Example: In public, Romeo & Juliet are expected to hate each other because
of their families. However, in private, they express their true feelings and
refuse to conform to the feud’s expectations. This mirrors how people may
conform publicly due to social pressure but hold different private beliefs
Prior Commitment - Prior commitment is a principle in social psychology that
refers to the tendency of individuals to stick to their initial decisions or statements
after having made a public commitment.
- 1980 Preakness Stakes
- Prior commitment restrain persuasion
- Example: Suppose a person publicly declares their strong support for a
particular candidate before an election. Later, even when presented with
compelling evidence that another candidate might be a better choice, they
are less likely to change their stance

Why Conform?
- People conform for various reasons, often to fit in with a group or to make
sense of uncertain situations.
Normative Influence - Normative influence occurs when individuals conform to
fit in, gain social acceptance, or avoid rejection.
- Concern social image produces normative influence.
- Example: A student laughs at a joke they don’t find funny because their
friends are laughing
Informational Influence - Informational influence happens when people
conform because they believe others have more knowledge or a better
understanding of a situation.
- Desire to be correct produces informational influence.
- Example: During an emergency, if most people run toward an exit, others
will follow, assuming it’s the safest option
Personality
- People Pleasers People Pleasers High agreeableness and high
conscientiousness
Culture
 - Individualistic (Western) - U.S. adults believe that children who conformed
were less intelligent (Clegg et al., 2017).
- Collectivistic (Asian) - Pacific Islander thought confirming children were
more intelligent (Clegg et al., 2017)
 BIOLOGICAL WISDOM - “When we think about getting sick, we
embrace the perceived safety of fitting in with the group."
- conformity is not always negative. During a disease outbreak
following social norms has public health benefits.
 SOCIAL CLASSES
- Working – class People – prefer similarity to others
- Middle – class People – more strongly preferred to see themselves
as unique
Social Roles
- "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They
have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many
parts.” Willian Shakespear, As you like it , 1623
- Roles have powerful effects. As you internalized the role, self-consciousness
subsides. What felt awkward now feels genuine.
- Ex. Moving from one culture to another
- Role reversals can help each understand the other
- It often comes in pairs defined by relationships.
Do we ever what to be different?
- Social psychology's emphasize on the power of social pressure must be
joined by the complementary emphasis on the power of the person.
- To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation – Lichtenberg Aphorisme,
1764-1799
Reactance
- Theory of Psychological Reactance
 A motive to protect or restore one's sense of freedom. Reactance arises
when someone threatens our freedom of action.
Rebel- version of "You can't tell me what to do
- “Boomerang Effect"
 When attempts to restrict a persons freedom it often produce an
anticonformity.
-Lesson: Do what I do, not what I say is right.
Asserting Uniqueness
- People feel better when they see themselves as moderately unique and act in
ways that will assert their individuality.
- Though not wishing to be greatly deviant, most of us express our
distinctiveness through our personal styles and dress
 "Spontaneous Self-concepts"
 -one is conscious of oneself insofar as, and in ways that one is different.
(McGurre et al., 1979)
SUMMING UP
Do We Ever Want to Be Different?
- Conformity is neither all bad nor all good. We, therefore, do well to balance
our “me” and our “we,” our needs for independence and for attachment, our
individuality, and our social identity. We have to know in ourselves when to
conform and not to conform