Conformity and Group Size

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that the group-size effect in an Asch-type conformity experiment is a function of the concern with being right and the concern with being liked. In addition to a manipulation of group size, there were manipulations of manner of responding (public or private) and of the nature of the judgments (objectively determined or undetermined). Consistent with expectations, each of the latter two variables interacted with group size. There was also a significant main effect for group size, and a significant deviation from control indicating that conformity occurs with private judgments relating to objective stimuli.

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