Abstract

The study aims to determine the Effect of Conformity in the decision

making of the College of Business and Accountancy students of the
University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos. An experimental research design
is used in the study utilizing thirty students divided into three groups as
respondents. Each group consists of ten members. The two experimental
groups have three confederates; the first experimental group has lower
classmen confederates while the other group has upper classmen. The mean
of group scores was used to determine to treat the data. Result shows that
there is a significant difference in the level of conformity between the
experimental groups and the controlled group.

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Introduction
We all know that there are many existing studies about conformity. But
what is conformity? Is it about merely following others likes and dislikes? Or
just going along with group pressures?
Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to
what individuals perceive as normal to their society or social group. This
influence occurs in small groups or society as a whole, and may result from
subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt socialization.
An individual may behave in a manner consistent with the group, or
may change an attitude because of group pressure or may have a basic
personality trait of conformity (et.al Lambert).
People conform in different levels sometimes they might go extremes.
In people lives, we really value how others view us. But because of this we
tend to make decisions not for ourselves but for the benefit of the approval
of others. People want to be liked and to be accepted by others, the desire
for us to be accurate and right in the things we encounter in our daily lives
especially when we are in a group resulted for us to conform.
Decisions reached by groups are not necessarily better than those
made by individual sometimes it is a way people insure that it could be
recognize or given into consideration. People make decision independently
when they are alone and when they are in a group they take decisions of the

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members of the group with high status or are confident with their judgment
for them to come up with a decision that go along with others.
Statement of the Problem
This study aims to determine the effect of conformity in the decision
making of UNO-R CBA Freshmen students for the school year 20142015.
Specifically it answers the following questions:
1.

What is the levelof conformity of UNO-R CBA Freshmen students

when pressured and not pressured?

2.

Is there a significant difference in the level of conformity of CBA

Freshmen students who were with lower classmen confederates
before and after being pressured?

3.

Is there a significant difference in the level of conformity of CBA

Freshmen students who were with upper classmen confederates
before and after being pressured?

4.

Is there a significant difference in the level conformity of CBA

freshmen students among controlled and two experimental
groups?

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Hypothesis
The following hypotheses were formulated to answer the foregoing
problems:
1.

There is no significant difference in the levelof conformity of

UNO-R CBA Freshmen students when pressured and not
pressured?

2.

There is no significant difference in the level of conformity of CBA

Freshmen students who were with lower classmen confederates
before and after being pressured?

3.

There is no significant difference in the level of conformity of CBA

Freshmen students who were with upper classmen confederates
before and after being pressured?

4.

There is no significant difference in the level conformity of CBA

freshmen students among controlled and two experimental
groups?

Theoretical Framework and Related Studies

Solomon Asch (1951) conducted an experiment to investigate the
extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person
to conform. Asch studied a group of six subjects (now called participants, due

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to political correctness). He projected a straight line onto a screen, then a

group of three lines of differing lengths: A, B and C, where B was exactly the
same size as the original line, but A and C were very obviously different
lengths. He then asked which line was nearer to the first in length. Only one
of the group of six was a real subject, the other five being associates of Asch.
The real subject was second to last to be asked, and the four preceding gave
false answers (e.g. "A"). The subject would generally follow the answer the
other "subjects" had given, even if plainly incorrect. This did not happen
every time, but 74% went along with what the group said at least once,
producing a level of 32% conformity. When debriefing the actual subjects,
they said they knew the answer they were giving was wrong, but they still
followed the group.
Jenness (1932) was the first person to study conformity, his experiment
involved a glass bottle filled with beans. He asked people individually to
estimate how many beans the bottle contained, then put the group in a room
with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate. He then
interviewed the subjects individually again, and asked if they would like to
change their original estimates, or stay with the group's estimate. Almost all
changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate.
Social comparison theory states that we determine our own social and
personal worth based on how we stack up against others. As a result, we are
constantly making self and other evaluations across a variety of domains (for

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example, attractiveness, wealth, intelligence, and success). Most of us have

the social skills and impulse control to keep our envy and social comparisons
quiet but our true feelings may come out in subtle ways ( LeonFestinger in
1954).
Conformity is often associated with adolescence and youth culture, but
it affects humans of all ages. Although peer pressure may be viewed as a
negative trait, conformity can have either good or bad effects depending on
the situation. (Miller, 2010)
Conformity can also be simply defined as yielding to group
pressures .Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying,
persuasion, teasing, criticism etc. Conformity is also known as majority
influence (or group pressure).It is often used to indicate an agreement to the
majority position, brought about either by a desire to fit in or be liked
(normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to
conform to a social role (identification).( Saul McLeod,2012).
Conformity is generally regarded as a passive form of influence in that
members of the group do not actively attempt to influence others. People
merely observe the actions of group members and adjust their behaviors
and/or views accordingly. The focus of conformity can be either external
(overt behaviors) or internal (beliefs and feelings) in nature. Obedience is a
change in behavior as a result of a direct command from an authority figure
(Leandre R. Fabrigar,Meghan E. Norris).

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Conformity defined here by the fact that an individual displays a

particular behavior because it is the most frequent the individual witnessed
in others has long been recognized by social psychologists asone of the main
categories of social influence. Surprisingly, it is only recently that conformity
hasbecome an active topic in animal and comparative biology. As in any new
and rapidly growing field,however, definitions, hypotheses, and protocols are
diverse, not easy to organize in a coherent way, andsometimes seriously in
conflict with one another. In particular, wepropose that the notions of
informational and normative conformity, until now, have been
littlerecognized in recent literature can resolve some important
controversies. In turn, research on animalculture should be of great interest
to social scientists, because understanding human culture and
humanuniqueness requires an evolutionary analysis of our cognitive
capacities and their evolutionary origins.
Conformity refers to the tendency of people to alter their behavior as a
result of group pressure. This tendency takes place at all different ages and
at all different types of social gatherings. It is a natural human tendency to
want to be like everyone else, and the result of being like everyone else is
that people will accept you. Being accepted by other people is a huge desire
by most people in the world (Rieck).
Conformity involves developing attitudes, opinions, and behaviors to
match the attitudes of a specific group. Most people conform to the standard

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values,also called norms, of many groups without stress and often without
even knowing that they are doing so. By itself conformity is neither good nor
bad.Some degree of conformity is necessary for societies to function. For
example, when you stop at a red light, you are conforming to the law and to
the general agreement that for the good and safety of society, a red light
means stop. You stop, even though most of the time there is not a police
officer on thescene to enforce the law.Conformity is tied closely to the issue
of peer pressure. Although people feel peer pressure their entire lives, young
people who are seeking to define themselves are generally most influenced
by the values and attitudes of their peers. Adolescents often encourage
friends to do or try things that they themselves are doing in order to fit into
to a group. The encouragement can be positive (studying hard to get good
grades) or negative (drinking beer after the football game).Deciding how
much and which group's values to conform to are one of the majorstresses of
adolescence. Trying to conform to the behaviors of a group thatgo against
one's own beliefs in order to be accepted creates a great deal ofinternal
conflict and sometimes external conflict with family members and friends
from an earlier time. Defining oneself as an individual and developing
aconstant value system forces young people to confront issues of conformity
and non-conformity. This is a major challenge of adolescence.
Decision making is a thought process of selecting a logical choice from
the available options. When trying to make a good decision, a person must
weigh the positives and negatives of each option, and consider all the

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alternatives. For effective decision making, a person must be able to forecast

the outcome of each option as well, and based on all these items, determine
which option is the best for that particular situation.( Andrew O'Connell
2012).
Significance of the Study
The present study may be beneficial to the following:
Students. Results of this study may provide information to make
students be aware of the effects of pressure groups on their own decision
making skills. Thus improving their decision making skills in addition to
helping them recognize its importance in their daily life.
Teacher and Counselor.This study may provide information to teachers
and counsellors on how pressure groups may influence students conformity
thus affecting their personal relations and academic pursuits.
Future researchers. Relevant results of this study may encourage
future researchers to conduct a similar study on the effects of conformity on
the decision making. They may replicate the study to provide more
information about conformity and other conditions affecting it.
To Future Studies and Research. This study provides specific details about
theories, concepts and literatures which are essential in the accomplishment
of studies related to conformity and other conditions affecting it. The

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researchers attest the factuality of all information included herein which

makes this study a very reliable source of information.
Scope of the Study
The study focused on the effect of the conformity in the
decision making of the thirty (30) freshmen CBA students of the University of
Negros Occidental- Recoletos during the academic year 2014-2015.

Schematic diagram

Not
pressure
Groups

Pressure
Groups

Lower
classm
en

Decision
Making

Upper
classme

Conformity
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Definition of Terms
For purposes of clarity and understanding, the following terms
are conceptually or operationally defined for the readers.
Conformity.behavior that is the same as the behavior of most other
people in a society, group, etc. (Merriam-Webster).
As used in this study, it is the act of following the answer or the choice
of others without knowing if it correct or incorrect.
Pressure Group.an interest group organized to influence public, a group
of people who share an interest, concern, or set of opinions (MerriamWebster).
As used in this study, it refers to the group introduced to the
experimental group that would influence the group or participants in the
study.
Decision Making. As used in this study, it is the act of selecting a
particular answer for a particular question given.

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Chapter 2
Method
This chapter includes the research design, participants, instruments,
procedures which contain data gathering and data analysis and statistical
treatment that were used in the study.
Research Design

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The researchers considered to use a experimental research design. The

study is controlled in the sense that the researchers control (1) how
subjects are assigned to groups (2) which treatment each group receives.
In the analysis phase, the researchers compares before and after group
scores. Based on the analysis, the researchers draw a conclusion about
whether the treatment (independent variable) had an effect on the
dependent variable.
Sample
This study about conformity and decision making involve 30 freshmen
students purposely selected from the College of Business and Accountancy
of University of Negros Occidental- Recoletos for the Academic year 20142015.
Instruments
The researchers will use three (3) crystal jars with the same length and
width. The jars contain flower shape marshmallow. The first jar has 140
pieces, second jar has 90and the third jar has 30. The researchers have
paper and pen to write down participants responses.
Procedures
This research study will used the three (3) jars containing different
numbersof marshmallows inside. The students will choice among the jar that
has the highest number of marshmallow inside. The students were group into
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three. The first group will be the control group the treatment will be the same
and there will be no confederates to be introduce. The second group will be
the experimental group with three (3) lower classmen confederates that will
be part of our instrument. The third group will also be an experimental group
with three (3) upperclassmen confederates. The confederates for the
experimental groups have agreed in advance what their responses would be
when ask on what jar to choose and that was choosing the wrong jar. The
real participants did not know this and was led to believe that the other three
participants in two experimental groups were also real participants like
themselves. Each person in the room had to state aloud their own answer
which was recorded by the researchers. The participants will also state the
scale of the confidence they have with their answer. The scale was from 1
to10.
Statistical Treatment
In determining the answers of the study the researchers used the following
statistical methods applicable in solving problems:
In problem 1 median rank is used to know the level of conformity of CBA
freshmen students when pressured and not being pressured.
In problem 2 and 3 theresearchers used Wilcoxon Signed Rank to determine
the level of conformity for those students who were with lower classmen and
upperclassmen confederates before and after being pressured.

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In problem 4 t-test was used to know if there is significant difference in the

level conformity of CBA freshmen students among controlled and two
experimental groups.

Chapter 3
Results, Discussion and Implication
This chapter presents the result of the study and its discussion including the
implication.

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Results
Table 1
Levels of Conformity in each group

Variable

Median

Control group

10

10.00

Experimental

10

8.50

10

8.00

group 1 with
lower classmen
Experimental 2
group with upper
classmen

Table 1 indicates the median rank of each group, showing that controlled
group has the highest level on conformity with a median of 10.00. The lowest
level of conformity is the experimental group with upperclassmen with a
median of 8.00.
Table 2
Wilcoxon Signed Rank on the level of conformity in experimental
group

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Variable

p-value

Significance

Lower classmen

.457

Not significant

Upperclassmen

.043

Significant

As shown in Table 2 the p-value of experimental group with lower classmen is

.457 that is not significant. While the experimental group with
upperclassmen has a p-value of 0.043 that is significant.
Table 3
Kruskal Wallis on levels of Conformity as a whole

Variable

t-value

Df

p-value

Significant

As a whole

8.973

.011

Significant

As drawn in Table 3 the t-value is .973 with a frequency distribution of 2. The

p-value of .011 shows a significant difference in the level of conformity
among the groups as a whole.

Discussion
The purpose of this study is to know the significant level of conformity to the
different indicated variable.

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Result in table 1 shows that the level of conformity of the students between
pressured and not pressured groups are comparatively different wherein the
controlled group appears to be on the highest rank among the other groups.
Furthermore, the level of conformity of the group that is presented by
lowerclassmen as confederates relatively increases than to those group
presented by upper classmen. The pressure presented to the participants
affects their level of conformity resulting to their decision.
In table 2, the result shows that the p-value of experimental group with lower
classmen as confederates is .457 which means that there is no significant
difference in the level of conformity before and after they were pressured.
However, the p-value of the group of students who was with the upper
classmen is .043 which means that there is a significant difference in their
level of conformity before and after they were pressured. The pressure given
by the upper classmen affects the decision making than the pressure
projected by the lower classmen.
The result in table 3 shows that there is a significant difference in the level of
conformity of CBA freshmen students as a whole. The pressure given to the
participants affects their decision making.

Implication

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1 If students were asked individually, they are more likely to have their
own decision/answer.
2 The students are more likely to conform to the decision of the group.
3 When students were pressure their level of conformity varies according
to seniority of other participants.
4 The students do not conform likely with their same age bracket.
5

Chapter 4
Conclusion and Recommendation

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Conclusion
Based on the findings, this conclusion was drawn.
1.

The researchers found out that there is a significant difference in the

level of conformity of the students when being pressured.

2.

The level of students conformity changes when pressured by

upperclassmen and remain the same when pressured by lowerclassmen.

Recommendations
Based on the results of this study, the following recommendations were
identified.
1.

To the students, they must continue to be an effective decision maker

as a member of a group and as an independent individual.

2.

To teachers and professionals, that they see how each members of

group affects or impacts others around them.

3.

To parents, that they may see how their child makes decision that

affects their daily life situations.

4. To future researchers, they may able to develop this study by adding more
variables and using different methods to come up with an improved result
related to this study.

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References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/social-comparison-theory
http://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27, 279-296.
http://mindsandmodels.blogspot.com/2014/02/jenness-1932.html
http://freespace.virgin.net/kerridwen.red/ASnotes/Conformity.htm
http://www.businessdictionary.com
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pressure%20group
http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0075.xml
Psychological Bulletin 2011 American Psychological Association
2012, Vol. 138, No. 1, 126 145
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/huber195/psy1001spring12/2012/04/conforming-tosociety.html
www.proquest..com
www.freecomputerbooks.com
Psychology Journal Edition 2013

Tables and Figures

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Descriptives
Groups
Conformi
ty
Posttest

Contorlled

Statistic
9.70

Mean
95%
Confidenc
e Interval
for Mean

Lowe
r
Boun
d
Uppe
r
Boun
d

9.35

10.05

5% Trimmed
Mean

9.72

Median

Experiment
al (lower)

Conformi
ty
Posttest
Groups

Mean

30
30

8.97

10.00

Variance

.233

Std. Deviation

.483

Minimum

Maximum

10

Range

Interquartile
Range
Skewness

1
-1.035

.687

Kurtosis

-1.224

1.334

8.70

.423

Mean

95%
Lowe
Confidenc r
e Interval
Boun
Std.for Mean
Minimu d Maximu
Deviati
m
m
Uppe
on
r
Boun
d
1.033
6
10
5% Trimmed
Mean

2.00

Experiment
al (Upper)

Std. Error
.153

.830
Median

7.74
Percentiles
25th
9.66

75th
50th
(Median)

8.00

9.00

10.00

2.00

3.00

8.78
1.00
8.50

Variance

1.789

Std. Deviation

1.337

Minimum

Maximum

10

Range

Interquartile
Range
Skewness

2
-.711

.687

Kurtosis

.130

1.334

Mean

8.50

.224

95%
Confidenc
e Interval
for Mean

Lowe
r
Boun
d
Uppe
r
Boun
d

7.99

9.01

5%Ranks
Trimmed
Mean

8.44

Median

8.00

Variance

.500

Std. Deviation

.707

Minimum

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Conformity
Posttest(Lower) Conformity
Prestest(Lower)

Conformity Posttest
(Upper) - Conformity
Pretest (Upper)

Negative
Ranks
Positive
Ranks
Ties

N
3a

Mean
Rank
2.33

Sum of Ranks
7.00

3b

4.67

14.00

4c

Total

10

Negative
Ranks

6d

5.33

32.00

Positive
Ranks
Ties

2e

2.00

4.00

Total

10

2f

a. Conformity Posttest(Lower) < Conformity Prestest(Lower)

b. Conformity Posttest(Lower) > Conformity Prestest(Lower)
c. Conformity Posttest(Lower) = Conformity Prestest(Lower)
d. Conformity Posttest (Upper) < Conformity Pretest (Upper)
e. Conformity Posttest (Upper) > Conformity Pretest (Upper)
f. Conformity Posttest (Upper) = Conformity Pretest (Upper)
Test Statisticsa

Conformity Posttest(Lower) Conformity Prestest(Lower)

Conformity Posttest
(Upper) - Conformity
Pretest (Upper)

Z
-.744b
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

.457

.043

a. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

b. Based on negative ranks.
c. Based on positive ranks.
Test
Statisticsa,b
Confor
mity
Postte
st
Chi8.973
Squ
are
df
2

Appendix B

Asy
.011
mp.
Sig.
a. Kruskal
Wallis Test
b. Grouping
Variable:
Groups

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25

Appendix A

University of Negros Occidental Recoletos

College of Arts and Sciences
Social Behavioral and Social Work Department
Bacolod City
Feb 10, 2014

Mr. Lino Sumbillo

Director -SDPC
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos

Dear Sr. Sumbillo;

A Greeting of Peace!

We the 4th year Psychology students are currently conducting an

experimental research on The Effects of conformity of UNO-R CBA
Freshmen students.
In connection with this, we would like to ask permission from your
good office to allow us to administer the test to the whole class section of C
-02 .A student depending on the time of their availability.
Your immediate response to this request is highly appreciated. Thank
you very much.

Respectfully yours,
Ape , Decy Jade
AB Psychology

Noted By:
Celo Magallanes
Adviser

Guinto, Nikki

AB Psychology III

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