What is conformity?

Social influences Conformity can be regarded as one form of social influence which describes the tendency to align ones attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with a group. Thus, it can be regarded as a 'majority influence' or simply group pressure. Research has found that conformity can occur in response to real stimuli (the physical presence of the group) or to imaginative stimuli (societal norms and expectations). Scientists believe that conformity is driven by 3 key motivations. The agreement with the majority position is either driven by the desire to fit in (normative influence), the wish to be right (informational) or to conform to a social role (internalisation). The latter is regarded as the most persistent form of conformity, as internalisation leads an individual to accept the behaviours and beliefs of the majority and internalise  them. This means that those collective attitudes become part of his or her own belief system which, once internalised, persist regardless of whether the group itself is present or not. Classical studies on conformity - Ash (1951) - Milgram (1963) - Zimbardo (1971) Although these studies might be outdated in terms of their methodology and are certainly ethically questionable, their findings provide us with a unique insight into the human nature of conformity. Let us take a closer look at Ash's study.