In: A Critical Introduction to Psychology ISBN: 978-1-53616-491-6
Editor: Robert K. Beshara © 2019 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter 11
TOWARDS A MORE SOCIAL
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Stephanie Amedeo Marquez, PhD*
Department of Humanities & Social Sciences,
Northern New Mexico College, Española, NM, US
Conformity is a social psychological concept defined as social
behavior by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) as “correspondence in
form, manner, or character, agreement...an act or instance of
conforming...action in accordance with some specified standard or
authority.”
In each of these acts or instances, conforming behavior is a reaction to
social pressure. Solomon Asch conducted studies of conformity (1940,
1948, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1972) which examined the effects of social
pressure to conform on individual male college students. Asch’s studies
revealed that collective social pressure created a conflict in determining an
action. Would each student provide an answer based upon visual
perception judging the lengths of a set of lines or instead agree with the
- Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].