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Conformity by Omission

Hardin-Simmons University

Jeanette Kelley

Texas Tech University

Persons exhibit conformity to group norms or expectations by emitting responses they would emit less frequently or not at all had the group influence not been present. We propose to call this phenomenon "conformity by commission, "since behaviors are committed in response to the conforming influence. Persons also conform by avoiding or refusing to perform certain behaviors that group norms or expectations discourage. We have labeled this "conformity by omission" since behaviors are omitted in this context. In this study we have demonstrated "conformity by omission "with the autokinetic effect. Subjects participating alone reported significantly more autokinetic movement than did subjects who were led to believe that they were participating with two other subjects who reported no movement.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 2, 302-305 (1984)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167284102017


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