Conformity
Conformity is changing a judgement or an action to match a group. Solomon Asch demonstrated it in the 1950s with a task so easy that error was nearly impossible: participants said which of three lines matched a reference line, while several confederates answered before them and, on selected trials, all gave the same wrong answer. About a third of responses went along with the obviously wrong majority, and roughly three quarters of participants conformed at least once, though most participants got most trials right. Asch also found that a single dissenting confederate collapsed the effect, which matters as much as the headline number.
Why it matters
It shows that group pressure distorts even unambiguous perceptual judgements, and that one visible dissenter is usually enough to break the pressure.
Also written: social conformity, normative influence
Where it comes up
Read about Conformity on Wikipedia
Sources
- Conformity Wikipedia
- Asch conformity experiments WikipediaThe actual numbers, which are more qualified than the usual textbook retelling.
- Social psychology Wikipedia
