The presence of other people affects our behavior in many ways.
One powerful example of social influence is conformity
when we adjust our ideas or behavior to coincide with a group standard.
When the situation is ambiguous, and there is no obviously correct or appropriate behavior
we are highly likely to watch others and conform to their behavior, as in the Sherif light movement study
because we believe that their behavior is correct.
This is called informational social influence.
When the situation is unambiguous, when it is obvious what the correct or appropriate behavior is
as in the Asch line length study, people show less conformity
but still they frequently give in to social pressure in order not to be different.
This is called normative social influence.
Variations of Asch's study found that the pressure to conform is highest when the group is unanimous
and when the behavior is public.
Also, the pressure to conform increases as the group size increases
at least up to about 5 people.
The pressure to conform is powerful, and it influences our behavior more than we realize.
But not everyone conforms.
Some people may resist conformity in order to maintain their sense of individuality
or to avoid participating in a behavior that they believe is wrong.