
Peer Pressure and Conformity
Hard
How far will someone go to fit in with a group? Research shows that people often change their behavior to match those around them. You can test this with a simple quiz experiment.
Gather a group of 25 people. Fifteen are "plants" who know the true purpose. Ten are subjects who do not. Give everyone a basic quiz with clear right answers. The plants all pick the same wrong answer on purpose.
Go over each question and watch. Does the subject agree with the group's wrong answer or stand alone with the right one?
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that people will conform to the group's behavior when their beliefs are challenged.
Method & Materials
You will divide participants into two groups: "plants" and "subjects." Plants will have full knowledge of the experiment design and will support you in carrying out the experiment. Subjects will have no knowledge of the experiment. You will observe their behavior. You will then determine a key behavior to observe, such as the color of clothing the group wears or the way they raise their hand when they have a question.
You will need a minimum of 25 participants that includes both males and females. You will also need a large room that can comfortably seat 25 participants. Other material needs will depend on how you decide to design the experiment.
Results
The results of this experiment showed that people are more likely to conform to the group's behavior when their beliefs are challenged. The most interesting observation was that even when the subjects knew that the group's answer was wrong, they still conformed to the group's behavior.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it shows how people respond when their beliefs are challenged. It also shows how powerful group dynamics can be in influencing individual behavior.
Also Consider
Variations of this experiment could include changing the setting of the experiment, such as telling the subjects that they are participating in an experiment on studying habits or proposing policy changes to the school dress code. Another variation could be to observe how people respond when their beliefs are challenged in a more serious situation.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related video
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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