Conformity and Resistance to Group Pressure

Abstract

This study examined and compared the behavior of and in an Asch-type situation. Using a recall measure, it was found that resisters and conformers recall less material than a control group, and that resisters recall less than conformers. A second phase of the study was concerned with the problem solving behavior of groups consisting entirely of conformers or of resisters. Comparing the performance of these two types of groups with respect to time required for problem solution, no significant difference was found. However, the qualitative data derived from observation of the two types of groups strongly suggest that differences in interaction styles do exist and that these differences might be experimentally explored.