Thinking alone, Acting together : A Study on Conformity in Group Behaviour

Conformity, which means changing how you act or think to fit in with the group, is a strong way for people to influence each other, especially teens. This study examined whether students altered their responses in public under conditions of unanimous group pressure, in contrast to their private opinions. Initially, participants engaged in a group task where four confederates deliberately provided identical responses to specific opinion statements. After recording the participants' public responses, they filled out a private questionnaire with the same questions mixed in with filler statements. There was a clear difference: some people gave the same public answer as the group, but later said something different in private, which shows strong normative social influence.