Discuss factors influencing conformity

Conformity is when an individual identifies with an ingroup and conforms to the behaviour that is the typical group norm. By doing this, the individual increases the similarity between ingroup members. One key type of conformity is normative conformity. Asch (1951) outlined normative conformity as conformity in order to be accepted or liked by other members of the group, relating back to the key socio-cultural principle of psychology that people have a need for social approval and acceptance. Asch (1951) demonstrated this in his research which saw participants conform to give obviously incorrect answers about line lengths in order to fit in with the answers the confederates around them were giving.

Asch (1951) outlined two key factors which influenced conformity: group size and group unanimity. The first factor, group size, was demonstrated by making variations of Asch's original study altering the amount of confederates. They found that increasing from two confederates to three confederates saw an increase from 13.6% conformity to 31.8%. Further increases were not seen however, so Asch concluded that the group size only has an effect to a certain point. The second factor, group unanimity, was demonstrated by introducing a confederate who was instructed to give the correct answer along with the participant. The introduction of this additional conferedate saw the error rate of participants fall from 35% to around 5.5%.

To conclude, Asch (1951) has demonstrated the effect of conformity in groups, and that the two key factors affecting this confirmity are group size and group unanimity, however group size only has an effect to a certain point.