According to the working definition used by the APA Dictionary of Psychology, what is conformity?
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Psychology · Foundations
Conformity
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conformity The adjustment of one's opinions, judgments, or actions so they become more consistent with the opinions, judgments, or actions of other people or with the normative standards of a group or situation. Full entry → is adjusting your opinions, judgments, or actions to match a group — the working definition used by the APA Dictionary of Psychology. People conform for two main reasons: to be accepted by the group (normative influence Conformity driven by the desire to fit in, be accepted, and avoid standing out; the group's pull toward belonging. Full entry →), and because the group may hold information they lack (informational influence Conformity driven by treating the group's behavior as evidence about what is correct, especially when the situation is unclear. Full entry →). In Asch's 1950s line-judgment studies, roughly three-quarters of participants went along with an obviously wrong group answer at least once. Conformity is not always bad — but the pull is real, and noticing it is half the skill.
Why this matters
Academically, conformity is a gateway into social psychology: classic research — Asch's line studies, Deutsch and Gerard's two-influence distinction — meets everyday life in a single concept. Practically, it explains real puzzles: why a show of hands feels different from a secret ballot, why a new hire copies the office's unspoken habits, why a crowd that seems to know the way usually gets followed. And it matters forward-looking: the same process that lets teams coordinate smoothly can quietly steer a person toward choices they would never make alone. Noticing when the group is pulling is a life skill — it protects judgment in meetings, friendships, and every group you will join.
The college version
What conformity is
The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines conformity as the adjustment of one's opinions, judgments, or actions so they become more consistent with other people's views or with the normative standards of a group or situation. In plainer words: you change what you do, say, or believe so that it lines up with the group. Two details do real work: conformity covers actions and beliefs, not just visible behavior, and it includes outward going-along (compliance Going along with a request or demand without privately accepting it; a temporary outward form of conformity. Full entry →) as well as private acceptance. Original example: at a staff meeting, Tariq privately thinks the new filing system is worse than the old one, but when everyone else approves it he says "fine, sounds good." His outward behavior changed while his private belief did not — that still counts as conformity.
Why people conform: belonging and information
Psychologists trace most conformity to two motives, a distinction attributed to Deutsch and Gerard (1955). The first is belonging. People go along with a group because they are concerned about what others think of them: they do not want to stand out or look out of step, and fitting in brings acceptance. The second is information. Other people often know things we do not, especially in new or unclear situations, so the group's behavior becomes evidence about what is correct. Original example of belonging: Amara, at a dinner with coworkers she barely knows, orders the restaurant's special like everyone else — even though she would have chosen the pasta. Original example of information: Kenji starts at a new gym and has no idea where weights belong after use, so on his first day he copies exactly how the regulars rack them. One motive is about being liked; the other is about being right.
Normative versus informational influence
The two motives get formal names. Normative social influence is conformity driven by the desire to fit in and be accepted by the group — you go along because you care what the group thinks of you. Informational social influence is conformity driven by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information, and it is strongest when the situation is ambiguous. The distinction is attributed to Deutsch and Gerard (1955). Original example of normative influence: at a concert, when everyone around you stands for the slow song, you stand too even though you would rather stay seated — not because standing is correct, but because being the only seated person in a standing crowd feels like a statement. Original example of informational influence: visiting an unfamiliar city, you see a long lunchtime line outside a small restaurant and join it, reasoning that locals know which place is worth waiting for.
The classic study: Asch's line judgments
In the 1950s, Solomon Asch had participants judge which of three comparison lines matched a target line while a roomful of confederates — people working for the researcher — deliberately gave obviously wrong answers; about 76% of participants conformed at least once by giving the wrong answer too (Asch, 1956). The honest note: conformity rates vary. Replications since show that conformity depends on age, gender, and sociocultural background, with some evidence that overall rates have fallen since Asch's era (Bond & Smith, 1996; Larsen, 1990; Walker & Andrade, 1996). The judgment task was easy and unambiguous, which is why the conformity that occurred is read as social pressure rather than confusion.
What raises and lowers conformity
Three factors appear again and again in the research. Group size: the larger the majority, the more likely an individual is to conform — but only up to a point. In Asch's procedure, conformity increased with majority size up to about seven people and then leveled off; Noba's summary of replications describes increases up to roughly five confederates. Unanimity: if even one other person disagrees with the majority, conformity rates drop dramatically — in Asch's studies, a single dissenter brought conformity down to near zero. Culture: the conformity effect appears in virtually every culture studied, but it is stronger in collectivist countries such as Japan and China, where group goals and harmony are valued highly, than in individualistic countries such as the United States (Bond & Smith, 1996). A related factor: people conform much more when responses are public than when they are private — the reason elections use secret ballots.
The honest note and the honest framing
The honest note: conformity is not always bad. Following a group's norms is a large part of how groups coordinate — people queue in order, speak quietly in libraries, put litter in a container. Original example: a classroom norm of raising a hand before speaking makes the class run smoother, and the new student who copies it is learning the group's code, not being weak. The honest framing: conformity is the glue and sometimes the trap. The same mechanism that bonds groups can steer individuals into harm when the perceived norm is wrong. Research on descriptive norms — what people believe most others actually do — shows that misperceived norms shape real behavior: students who overestimate peers' drinking tend to drink more to match a norm that does not exist (Neighbors et al., 2007). Original example: Sana guesses that everyone in her class goes out four nights a week and pushes herself to match that imagined pace. The group was the glue; the imagined norm was the trap. Conformity itself is neither good nor bad — what matters is what the group is pulling you toward, and whether the group actually knows.
Eli explains
The same idea, in plain words
Explain it like I’m 10
Conformity is going along with the group — changing what you do, say, or believe so it matches everyone else. You do it for two reasons. Sometimes you want to be accepted, so you match the group to fit in; that is normative influence. Sometimes you genuinely do not know what is right, so you copy people who seem to; that is informational influence. It is one of the most ordinary things humans do. In a famous experiment from the 1950s, most people gave an obviously wrong answer at least once, just because everyone around them had. But conformity is not automatically bad: following the group can be smart when the group knows the way, and harmful when the group is wrong. The skill is noticing when it is happening.
Picture it like this
Think of a standing ovation. One person rises and you stay seated, no problem. Two more stand and you start wondering if you missed something. By the time most of the hall is on its feet, staying seated feels like a public statement — so you stand too, even though you thought the show was only okay. That is conformity in miniature: the bigger and more united the crowd, the stronger the pull, and you often go along before you have decided to.
Where the picture stops working
A standing ovation is over in seconds, costs you nothing, and never changes what you privately believe. Real conformity is slower and quieter: it can shift your actual judgment, last for years, and operate without you noticing. And unlike an ovation, where everyone can see you, some of the strongest conformity happens in private, where nobody is watching you at all.
Worked example
Maya is in a study group preparing for a statistics exam. She works a practice problem and gets C. The other four students all got B. She rechecks her arithmetic — still C. But the group is confident and has been right all semester, so part of her assumes she must be missing something: that is informational influence, using the group as evidence. Another part of her simply does not want to be the only person who is wrong out loud in front of four people: that is normative influence, the pull to be accepted. Maya writes down B. Later, alone, she works the problem again and finds the step she had done correctly — C was right. Her behavior conformed while her belief never did, a textbook case of outward going-along without private acceptance, which is exactly what the working definition of conformity allows.
Key takeaway
Conformity is adjusting what you do, say, or believe to match a group — driven by the pull to belong and the pull to be right. It is neither good nor bad on its own; what matters is what the group is pulling you toward.
Quick check
3 questions here, of 5 in this lesson’s practice set. Answers stay hidden until you check.
In Solomon Asch's line-judgment studies from the 1950s, participants sometimes gave obviously wrong answers because confederates had given them first. Which statement about the results is accurate?
Choose an answer, then check it.
On her first day at a new office, Priya sees everyone in the kitchen put used mugs in the left sink, although a sign above the right sink says "Mugs here." Unsure where the dishes actually go, she puts her mug in the left sink with everyone else's. Which type of social influence is mainly operating?
Choose an answer, then check it.
Study tools & related lessonsYou’ll learn to · Common mistakes · Easily confused · Key vocabulary · Related
You’ll learn to
- Define conformity using the working definition from the APA Dictionary of Psychology.
- Distinguish normative influence from informational influence, using an original example of each.
- Explain what Solomon Asch's line-judgment studies showed about group pressure, and why conformity rates vary.
- Describe how group size, unanimity, and culture affect the strength of conformity.
- Analyze a real-world situation to identify which type of social influence is operating and whether going along helps or harms.
Common mistakes
"Only timid or weak-willed people conform."
Everyone conforms sometimes. In Asch's studies, roughly three-quarters of participants went along with an obviously wrong group answer at least once. Conformity is a normal response to being in a group, not a character flaw.
"If I still privately disagree, it was not conformity."
Conformity includes temporary outward going-along as well as private acceptance, per the APA Dictionary's definition. Agreeing aloud while doubting inside — compliance — is still conformity.
"The bigger the group, the more people conform, without limit."
Conformity rises with majority size only up to a point — roughly five to seven people — and then levels off. Adding more members does not keep increasing the pull.
"Asch proved that people cave in almost every time."
About 76% conformed at least once, but that is not the same as conforming on every trial, and later research shows rates vary with age, background, and whether responses are public or private. One dissenter can drop conformity to near zero.
Easily confused
Normative influence vs. Informational influence
Both produce going along with the group, but normative influence is about belonging — fitting in and avoiding ridicule — while informational influence is about accuracy — treating the group as a source of correct information, especially when the situation is ambiguous. The distinction is attributed to Deutsch and Gerard (1955).
Conformity vs. Compliance
Conformity is the broad adjustment of opinions, judgments, or actions toward a group's standard, and it can include genuine private acceptance. Compliance is the narrower case: going along with a request or demand without privately accepting it.
Public responding vs. Private responding
People conform much more when their answers are given aloud in front of the group than when they respond privately — which is why elections use secret ballots to reduce the pressure of conformity.
Key vocabulary
- conformity
- The adjustment of one's opinions, judgments, or actions so they become more consistent with the opinions, judgments, or actions of other people or with the normative standards of a group or situation.
- normative influence
- Conformity driven by the desire to fit in, be accepted, and avoid standing out; the group's pull toward belonging.
- informational influence
- Conformity driven by treating the group's behavior as evidence about what is correct, especially when the situation is unclear.
- social norm
- A group's unwritten standard for how members should behave or what they should believe.
- descriptive norm
- What most people in a situation actually do, which people use as a guide when they are unsure how to behave.
- compliance
- Going along with a request or demand without privately accepting it; a temporary outward form of conformity.
- Asch effect
- The tendency for a group majority to pull an individual's judgment toward its own, demonstrated in Solomon Asch's line-judgment studies.
Sources & references
- Psychology 2e, Section 12.4: Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience (Stanley Milgram's Experiment) — OpenStax, Rice University
- Conformity — APA Dictionary of Psychology — American Psychological Association (APA Dictionary of Psychology)
- Conformity and Obedience (Noba Project module) — Noba Project (Jerry M. Burger, Santa Clara University)
EliExplains lessons are original prose written from the open, credible references above. See Copyright & Licensing.
Researched 2026-08-22
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