The Effects of Conformity on Perceived Intensity of Stimuli

Abstract

Conformity serves as the baseline for how one conducts themselves within a society. While a vital component to communal functioning, what transpires consequently is the question of how one’s own perceived cognition compares to that of the world around them, creating a conflict within experienced and expressed reaction. This study examines the ways in which group conformity may influence a person’s private perception of a reaction to a stimulus, aiming to determine the intrinsic effects of conformity through the examination of 122 participants and their rating of sourness when given a gumball. Throughout 41 trials, participants were placed in either the control or experimental group; those in the control group were isolated and given either a sweet or sour gumball, while those in the experimental group were placed into groups of three, wherein two participants were given sweet gumballs and the remaining participant was given a sour gumball. Participants in both groups were then asked to privately rate their perceived level of sourness on a scale of one to ten. In experimental trials, each group was given a brief period of time to discuss their experiences prior to the rating. A 22% increase in sourness rating between the control and experimental groups was found through this process, establishing that group conformity could not only influence how one outwardly expressed themselves in a given setting but could additionally alter how a person perceives their own physiological experience to given stimuli.