conformity

Meaning: Conformity is adjusting your behavior, attitudes, or perceptions to match the norms of a group, even when no one gives an order. Two accounts explain it: normative social influence (going along to be accepted or avoid rejection) and informational social influence (assuming the group knows better, especially when the situation is ambiguous). A person may conform publicly without privately agreeing.

On the MCAT: The classic setup is Asch's line study. Confederates unanimously give an obviously wrong answer about line length, and many participants go along on some trials. Conformity tends to rise with group size up to a small group and then levels off, and it drops when even one confederate dissents. Sherif's autokinetic effect study, where estimates of an ambiguous light's movement converged within a group, illustrates informational influence. Questions ask which change would raise or lower conformity, or whether a scenario shows normative or informational influence.

Common confusion: Conformity is not obedience or compliance. Obedience is following a direct command from an authority (Milgram); compliance is acting on an explicit request; conformity responds to unspoken group norms. A command or request in the scenario points away from conformity.