Evaluating explanations for conformity

RESEARCH SUPPORT (NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE): There is research support for the notion of ISI. Jenness (1932) asked participants to individually estimate the number of white beans in a jar, before discussing their answers as a group. Jenness found that when the participants were given a second opportunity to individually estimate the number of white beans, most of them changed their original answer and brought their original estimate closer to the group estimate. This suggests that the participants changed their original answer because they believed that the group had more knowledge collectively, and was more likely to be right, thus demonstrating the power of informational social influence.

RESEARCH SUPPORT (INFORMATIONAL SOCIAL INFLUENCE): There is also research support for the notion of NSI. Asch found that the real participants gave visibly incorrect answers on a line judgement task, due to the influence from a larger group of confederates. When the participants were questioned, following the study, many explained that they had changed their answers in order to fit in and to avoid social rejection from the group. This suggests that the participants experienced NSI and conformed because they wanted to fit in and avoid social rejection.

CONFORMITY IN THE REAL WORLD:  Field experiments have also demonstrated the power of normative social influence. Schultz et al. (2008) examined conformity in hotels to understand whether a perceived group behaviour could influence people to act in an environmentally friendly way and reuse their towels. The participants were hotel guests who were randomly allocated to an experimental or control condition. In the control condition, a door hanger provided guests with information about the environmental benefits of reusing their towels. In the experimental condition, the door hanger provided additional information and stated that 75% of hotel guests reuse their towels each day.  Schultz et al. found that the hotel guests in the experimental condition were 25% less likely to ask for a fresh towel each day, in comparison to the control condition. These results demonstrate the power of conformity in the real-world as the hotel guests conformed to fit in with a perceived group.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES:  Research suggests that individual differences may play a significant role in conformity. Perrin & Spencer (1980) conducted a version of the Asch experiment using engineering and mathematics students. Unlike Asch, they observed only one conforming response in 396 trials. While these results could be attributed to the subjects that the students were studying and their own confidence in the task, it does demonstrate the power of individual differences on conformity and how the original results found by Asch may provide an unrealistic view of conformity.