The effects of reinforcement and social approval on conforming behaviour

Abstract The effects of reinforcement, social approval and sex on conformity were studied. Seventy‐two male and 72 female college Ss were divided into equal high and low need for social approval groups. Each group was assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conformity conditions: (a) True‐agree; (b) neutral; and (c) true‐disagree. The groups were tested via a social conformity apparatus. It was found that: (a) Reinforcement for agreeing with a contrived group consensus (true‐agree group) elicited more conformity than social pressure without reinforcement (neutral group), which in turn elicted more conformity than reinforcement for disagreeing with the consensus (trueA‐ disagree group); (b) females conformed more than males; (c) there was a slight tendency for high social approval Ss to conform more than low social approval Ss. Conformity was explained in terms of social learning, and it was suggested that the situational factor of reinforcement was a more important determinant of conformity than the motivational factor of social approval. The modified conformity scoring procedure used focuses on the conformity process.