The Influence of Group Settings and Societal

Pressure Over Conformity of Ideas &

Expression
Psychology Presentation

BY — STUTI KATHURIA
Class — XI-U
Session — 2022-23
PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT

STUTI KATHURIA
Class XI-U

DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, R.K. PURAM,

NEW DELHI

SESSION 2022-23
 AIM
Group settings and societal pressure influence conformity of ideas and expression.

ABSTRACT
This is a research project on the hypothesis ‘Group settings and societal pressure influence
conformity of ideas and expression.’. In this research, studies conducted on this and similar
topics, such as groupthink and social loafing, were reviewed, and an online survey was
conducted among several individuals from the ages of 15-60 to find out how conformity
relates to their life and whether group and social settings influence their way of presenting
themselves and their ideas, and to what extent. Through the responses, we got to know that
individuals are largely affected by their surroundings (the people) in terms of how they
conform to certain ideas and behave when they know that they are surrounded by others who
may hold contrasting/opposing views. There are many hurdles which factor into how one
thinks and reacts to certain situations, and social pressure is one of the most prominent ones,
as it influences how we feel, react or respond to what is in front of us. It invokes a sense of
hesitation in us, which isn't inherently positive or negative.
 INTRODUCTION
Independent Variable — Group Settings and Pressure
Dependent Variable — Conformity and expression of ideas

HYPOTHESIS:
The influence that several people with contrasting ideologies to your own have drives a lot of
what you choose to express, and how you express your ideas/thoughts.
- Ideas/opinions are withheld or manipulated to please an audience/appear more
likeable. In several cases of group discussions or general arguments, it is seen that
individuals tend to alter their viewpoint and what they have to say to appear more like
them. There is an intrinsic need for approval and the fear of not fitting in, which
factors into such thinking.
- Limited use of our own thinking (the herd mentality). For many, it becomes a gradual
habit to simply go along with what the other(s) are saying and conform to a set of
ideas set by a person/persons. This shows a lack of individuality, and how ideas
influence actions.
- There are limitations in terms of physical expression (gender conformity,
withholding one’s personality on the surface level). Conformity is not limited to just
ideas, but also physical manifestations of certain ideas. Every person has their own
way of representation, and if one such way is more dominating in society and daily
life, it results in a sense of isolation for those with less prominent styles. An example
of such behaviour os gender expression, which is greatly repressed amongst those who
may not conform to/identify with a particular sex, and hence get mixed in the crowd/
- Repression of ideas and socially pressuring individuals to “think” a certain way is
harmful to a) the individual and b) society as a whole. Rita Mae Brown once said “I
think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.” The idea of
fitting in is appealing to many, and is not inherently harmful itself, but as a society if
we start pushing other opinions down, it creates a mindset that speaking freely is a
negative action.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
It is evident from the data that there is a significant amount of influence that is had by society
and the views of a whole vs the views of one. Over the course of my research in accordance
with the topic, I came across another phenomenon of group conformity, known as
Groupthink. In group settings, we are quite often affected by the thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours around us. Whether it is due to normative or informational social influence,
groups have power to influence individuals. Groupthink is the modification of the opinions
of members of a group to align with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972).

Another significant experiment at the centre of my hypothesis are the Asch conformity
experiments, initially carried out by Solomon Asch in 1951. He aimed to study if and how
individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs
and opinions. These experiments are very often interpreted as evidence for the power of
conformity and normative social influence (the willingness to conform in public/social
settings in order to gain social rewards and not be a victim to social punishment.)

Social loafing is the second phenomenon of group conformity I came across during my
research, and it directly correlates to when an individual gives up their own opinions/fails to
put in any direct effort and simply continues with the group as a whole. It occurs when our
individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group
performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). An example of this is when
school/college projects are done in groups, and there is little to no participation from a
couple members. If the evaluator doesn’t know how much effort each student contributed to
a project, some students may be inclined to let more hardworking students do more of the
work. The chance of social loafing in student work groups increases as the size of the group
increases (Shepperd & Taylor, 1999).
 METHOD
Questionnaire Sample Design has been used —
 SUBJECTS
serial no. name gender age group

1. Samaira Mohapatra Female 16-20

2. Tejas Baid Male 16-20

3. Manu Durga Male 16-20

4. Seema Devgan Female 40+

5. Neeraj Kathuria Male 40+

6. Apurv Joshi Male 21-30

7. Muskan Female 16-20

8. Sahana Aggarwal Female 16-20

9. Praveer Bedi Male 16-20

10. Pranay Bussi Male 16-20

11. Ananyaa Mathur Female 16-20

12. Miesha Govil Female 16-20

13. Ananya Srivastava Female 16-20

14. Krishiv Lall Male 16-20

15. Paavani Deo Female 10-15

16. Anya Chaudhary Non-Binary 16-20

17. Monika Kathuria Female 40+

18. Maahi Kapoor Female 16-20

19. Mahima Kathuria Female 21-30

20. Ida Kaushik Female 10-15

21. Jaysal Manchanda Male 16-20

22. Vaani Abbott Female 16-20

23. Vanya Pal Female 16-20

24. Srivatsala Krishna Female 16-20

25. Ajooni Kaur Female 10-15

26. Reet Singh Male 16-20

 PROCEDURE
A blank questionnaire was prepared with 15 questions, which was then circulated amongst
35 people, receiving 26 responses. The data was then tabulated in the form of pie charts, bar
graphs and the outcome stated below each graph. This research was conducted via a mailing
questionnaire method. The subjects were majorly teenagers in the ages of 14-17, and a few
adults in the ages of 24-55.

PRECAUTIONS

- Ask relevant questions to the respondents.

- Always secure help from those experienced in the related field.
- Do not force individuals to fill the questionnaire, their willingness provides
us with genuine and relevant responses.
- Questions must be general as well as specific.
- Questions to be clear, to the point and precise.
- Questions must be related to the survey/topic.
- Questions should not be leading/manipulative.
RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
● The questionnaire was filled by 26 people, 73.1% of which were 16-20 years old,
11.5% were 40+ years old, 7.7% were 10-15 years old and 7.7% were 21-30 years old.
● 53.8% of subjects admitted that they were easily influenced by the people around them
on a day to day basis.
● Majority of the subjects (73.1%) have performed certain actions and said things due
to peer/ societal pressure.
● When asked if they often switched sides during an argument, 30.8% people said yes
while 69.2% of the individuals replied that they stayed firm in their argument.
● When it came to being the odd one out during a situation, the subjects had mixed
answers. Some said that they felt ignored, targeted and awkward, while others said that
it depends on the situation, or that they simply stuck to their argument.
● Peer pressure seems to have affected the majority of the respondents, as 61.5% said
that they have acted due to it while 11.5% said maybe.
● Fitting in is also a prominent feature in the subjects. 69.2% mentioned that they have
altered their identity at some point to fit in with a certain group, with 15.4% again
saying they might have/might haven’t.
● There was an almost even divide when asked if the subjects are easily convinced to
change their opinions when surrounded by contrasting ideas, with 53.8% saying no
and the rest (46.2%) saying yes.
● The divide when asked if conforming to the majority ideas would make being a part of
society easier was split evenly among yes and no.
● There is a wave of uncomfortability that lies within having different ideas, with a
majority (42.3%) of votes saying yes to being uncomfortable in such situations.
● The responses to the influence of the idea of conformity in the subjects’ lives was
answered with varying responses, as shown above.
● Subjects responded evenly when asked if they ever feel the need to have a different
POV simply to be the underdog or the rebel, with 23.1% saying they might and 38.5%
saying yes and no respectively.
● 38.5% of the subjects are moderately affected by group setting when it comes to
self-expression, while 42.3% lie on the heavily affected side and 19.2% on the lightly
affected side.
● In conclusion, a majority of the subjects believe that conformity of ideas and
perceptions may be fully controlled by us, while 30.8% think yes and 26.9% thinking
no.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/lumenpsychology/chapter/group-behavior/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments#Normative_influence_vs._refer
ent_informational_influence