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    Conformity

    从众

    Phenomenon
    Also called
    Asch conformity experiments

    Conformity occurs when people change their opinions or behavior because of what they perceive others in a group think or do.[2] Solomon Asch’s line-judgment studies are the classic demonstration.[1]

    Six of the 18 trials were neutral: the confederates all gave the correct answer. The other 12 were critical trials: the confederates all gave the same wrong answer. The participant sat next to last, so almost everyone had spoken before his turn.

    Wrong answers on critical trials

    Judging alone (37 people) 0.7% Facing a unanimous majority (123 people) 36.8%

    How often each of the 123 participants went along on the 12 critical trials (one dot per person)

    Never: 29 1 to 11 times: 88 All 12 times: 6

    Asch’s line-judgment task: confederates answer aloud in seating order, with the participant next to last. The line lengths are one of the original critical-trial sets; the results below are from the 1956 study. Use the buttons in the figure to compare
    Asch’s line-judgment task: confederates answer aloud in seating order, with the participant next to last. The line lengths are one of the original critical-trial sets; the results below are from the 1956 study. Save as image (PNG)

    Key points

    • In Asch’s study, when 7–9 confederates unanimously gave a wrong answer, about 37% of participants’ answers followed them. People judging alone erred less than 1% of the time.[1]
    • People varied widely: about 24% of the 123 participants never went along with the majority, while about 76% conformed at least once.[1]
    • People conform for two broad reasons: to be accurate (informational influence, often real belief change) or to be accepted (normative influence, often public compliance only).[2]
    • A meta-analysis of 133 Asch-type studies from 17 countries found higher conformity in collectivist cultures and a decline in US conformity since the 1950s.[3]

    An example

    In a meeting, the five colleagues who speak first all back plan A. Lin thinks plan B is better but says A when his turn comes. Afterward he admits he was not convinced; he just did not want to stand out.

    Misreadings and limits

    A common misreading is that Asch showed people blindly follow the crowd. About two-thirds of answers stayed correct, and nearly a quarter of participants never yielded.[1] A 2023 replication found about 33% conforming answers, falling to 25% when correct answers were paid.[4]

    Sources

    1. 1 Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 70(9, Whole No. 416), 1–70. View source
    2. 2 Jhangiani, R., & Tarry, H. (2022). The many varieties of conformity. Principles of social psychology (1st international H5P ed.), section 6.1. BCcampus. View source
    3. 3 Bond, R., & Smith, P. B. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch's (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. Psychological Bulletin, 119(1), 111–137. View source
    4. 4 Franzen, A., & Mader, S. (2023). The power of social influence: A replication and extension of the Asch experiment. PLoS ONE, 18(11), e0294325. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294325

    Last checked against sources: October 26, 2026