Biology Forums - Study Force

Explain conformity and discuss the social factors that influence the level of conformity.

Conformity is the tendency of people to change their behavior as a consequence of group behavior. Sometimes, when you belong to an organization or group like a club, school committee, fraternity, or sorority, you may just go along with one of the group’s ideas even though you know that it is bad, perhaps even unethical. Almost everyone conforms to social pressure from time to time.
There are several social factors that influence the level of conformity. The first is unanimity. If all confederates give the wrong answer, the subject is more likely to conform. However, if one confederate gives the correct response, the level of conformity drops by three-fourths. Another factor is difference in the wrong answer. Knowing that someone else in the group differs from the majority, even if that person holds a different view from us, can make us less likely to conform. A third factor is size. The size of the majority makes a difference, but only up to about five or six subjects. People are no more likely to conform in a group of fifteen subjects than in a group of five subjects.