Conformity and Group Dynamics Most people have had the
experience of standing in a crowd of excited sports fans,
cheering for the home team. In the moment, it is easy to be
infected by the enthusiasm of a group. A sense of pride and
camaraderie with the group is a common experience, and many
people find themselves following along with the cheers and
applause of others. Conforming to the Group Going along with the
beliefs or actions of a group can also influence individuals to
do harmful and destructive things. A group of peaceful
protesters can turn into an angry, riotous mob when only a few
members of the group become aggressive and violent. Groups use
peer pressure to encourage conformity, and because of natural
desires to be liked and belong to a group, many go along with
group decisions, even if they are suspect or wrong. In his
classic 1955 study on the impact of group size on conformity,
Solomon Asch found that a group of just three or four people can
significantly influence and distort the perceptual j