This makes sense because self-esteem rises when we know we are being accepted by others, and people with lower self-esteem have a greater need to belong. Supporting this idea, research has found that people who have lower self-esteem are more likely to conform in comparison with those who have higher self-esteem. People prefer to have an “optimal” balance between being similar to, and different from, others (Brewer, 2003). When people are made to feel too similar to others, they tend to express their individuality, but when they are made to feel too different from others, they attempt to increase their acceptance by others. In Asch’s study, for instance, despite the strong situational pressures, 24% of the participants never conformed on any of the trials.

There are usually some people willing and able to go against the prevailing norm. Person DifferencesĮven in cases in which the pressure to conform is strong and a large percentage of individuals do conform (such as in Solomon Asch’s line-judging research), not everyone does so. In this section, we will consider how personality variables, gender, and culture influence conformity. Explain the concept of psychological reactance and describe how and when it might occur.Īlthough we have focused to this point on the situational determinants of conformity, such as the number of people in the majority and their unanimity, we have not yet considered the question of which people are likely to conform and which people are not.Review research concerning the relationship between culture and conformity.Summarize the social psychological literature concerning differences in conformity between men and women.

Ipos 5 cases bff