The role of social pressure,attention to the stimulus,and self-doubt in conformity

The theorizing of Asch and Moscovici was used as a framework for exploring the relationships among social pressure, attention to the stimulus, doubt about one's own judgment, and conformity. Male and female subjects (N = 185) were confronted either with one (low social pressure) or three (high social pressure) others who judged 12 critical pairs of noises as equal in loudness. The noises within each pair actually varied in how similar they were in loudness. High social pressure resulted in most subjects paying either little or much attention to the stimulus; low social pressure resulted in most subjects paying a moderate amount of attention to the stimulus. When social pressure was high, greater self-doubt was associated with less attention to the stimulus; when social pressure was low, greater self-doubt was associated with more attention to the stimulus. Conformity was positively associated with self-doubt and negatively associated with attention to the stimulus. Social pressure increased conformity, particularly when subjects paid little attention to the stimulus. Although the results are interpreted as partially consistent with both the Asch and the Moscovici perspectives, they are not totally consistent with either.