1

Conformity

Conformity

Shaghayegh Goodarzi (202223)

School of Health Science, University of Georgia

Introduction to Psychology for Medical Professions

Dr. Maia Jintcharadze

June 11, 2022

 2
Conformity

conformity, the process whereby people change their beliefs, attitudes, actions, or perceptions to
more closely match those held by groups to which they belong or want to belong or by groups
whose approval they desire. Conformity has important social implications and continues to be
actively researched. (John M. Levine, 2020)
Conformity is not always the norm
“Anyone who looks outside the window at daily events around the globe will find that […]
resistance, conflict and change are as normal as the sun rising.” (Turner, 2006; p.42)
Understanding when we conform has all kinds of practical real-world benefits, depending on
your aims: it can help you understand your own behavior as well as understand how others will
behave under a variety of different situational pressures.
Conformity begins with 3 people
One of the most important factors affecting whether or not people conform is the size of the
group around them. Maximum conformity is seen when groups reach between 3 and 5 people.
Add more people and it makes little difference, less than 3, though, and conformity is
substantially reduced (Bond, 2005).
Social conformity starts at age 12
Children start conforming with others from the age of 12 onwards (Large et al., 2019).
Before that, children largely do their own thing and are unaffected by others. From 12, though,
people are more strongly influenced by society. Some older children in the study followed other
people’s advice even when they knew it was wrong. It is well-known that adolescents are
especially susceptible to social influence.
Good moods lead to conformity
Moods can have complex effects on conformity, but there’s some evidence that we’re more
likely to conform when we’re in a good mood than a bad mood (Tong et al., 2007).
One dastardly emotional technique for increasing conformity is using fear-then-relief. Make
someone afraid of something, then relieve that fear, then they’re more likely to do what you want
(Dolinski & Nawrat, 1998).
Non-conformity is a sign of intelligence
Being a free spirit and refusing to conform with others is a sign of high IQ (Muthukrishna et al.,
2015)
People with higher intelligence are less likely to follow the crowd, preferring to make their own
decisions. Those with higher IQs only follow the crowd strategically.
Potential Pitfalls of Conformity
While it is often beneficial to fit in with a group, sometimes conformity can have undesirable
consequences. For example, feeling like you have to change your appearance or personality to be
a member of a group might lower your self-esteem.
Succumbing to peer pressure could lead to risky or illegal behavior, such as underage drinking.
Or, conformity might lead to a bystander effect, in which going along with the group means
failing to act when someone is in need.
A desire to conform might also limit your openness to new ideas or arguments. And conforming
with a group could even result in feelings acts of prejudice (Kendra Cherry, 2022)
 3
Conformity

Reference

Levine, J. M. (2020, January 28). conformity. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/conformity

Turner, J.C. (2006), Tyranny, freedom and social structure: Escaping our theoretical prisons.
British Journal of Social Psychology, 45: 41-46.

Bond, R. (2005). Group size and conformity. Group processes & intergroup relations, 8(4), 331-
354.

Large, I., Pellicano, E., Mojzisch, A., & Krug, K. (2019). Developmental trajectory of social
influence integration into perceptual decisions in children. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, 116(7), 2713-2722.

Tong, E.M.W., Tan, C.R.M., Latheef, N.A., Selamat, M.F.B. and Tan, D.K.B. (2008),
Conformity: moods matter. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 38: 601-611.  

Dolinski, D., & Nawrat, R. (1998). “Fear-then-relief” procedure for producing compliance:
Beware when the danger is over. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 34(1), 27-50.

Chudek, M., Muthukrishna, M., & Henrich, J. (2015). Cultural evolution. The handbook of
evolutionary psychology, 1-21.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-conformity-2795889