Conformity is when someone changes their behaviour to match that of other people.[1][2]
It can happen for personal and social reasons. Personally, people conform because they have expectations for themselves. They might believe that behaving a certain way will help them reach a goal. Conformity can also happen because of other people’s influence. People will conform to be liked or to be a part of a group.[3]
Conformity happens in different levels.[1][2][3] Furthermore, the reasons that someone conforms for and what they hope to get out of it, are often linked.[4] Growing up, children learn by copying the behaviours of others. They rely on other’s opinions to be true or on their behaviour to be appropriate.[5] Furthermore, the size of the group matters when conforming.[1]
People conform for normative and informational reasons.[5] Additionally, there is a difference between compliance, identification and internalization.[4]
There is much research on conformity.[1] Two of the most famous conformity experiments are those by Sherif (1935)[6] and by Asch (1955).[7]
↑ 1.01.11.21.3Coultas, Julie; van Leeuwen, Edwin J. C. (2015). "Conformity: Definitions, Types, and Evolutionary Grounding". Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology. Evolutionary Psychology. pp. 189–202. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12697-5_15. ISBN978-3-319-12696-8.
↑ 5.05.1Deutsch, M.; Gerard, H. B. (1955). "A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgement". The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 51 (3): 629–636. doi:10.1037/h0046408. PMID13286010. S2CID35785090.