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Conformity on the Internet - The role of task difficulty and gender differences

Authors:

Michael Rosander,

Oskar ErikssonAuthors Info & Claims

Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 28, Issue 5

Pages 1587 - 1595

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.03.023

Published: 01 September 2012 Publication History

Abstract

Conformity and the effects of social influence have been studied for a long time in face-to-face situations but have received less attention in contexts of computer-mediated communication (CMC) such as the Internet. The purpose of this study was to investigate conformity behavior in use of the Internet. The social context for the participants was the Internet communities from which they were recruited. Four hypotheses were tested by a survey containing knowledge and logic questions. Half the participants were subjected to conformity manipulations and the result showed a clear conformity to erroneous majority alternatives. Of the participants in the Conformity group (n=477) 52.6% conformed at least once, with an average 13.0% of participants conforming on each critical question. The conformity increased with higher task difficulty, both subjective and objective. The fourth hypothesis, that women would conform to a higher degree than men, received no support. Instead, the results showed higher conformity for men on both difficult and logical questions. Reasons for conformity on the Internet such as turning to the group for guidance, avoiding social isolation and protecting one's self-esteem are discussed with reference to theory and earlier research.

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Cited By

Ferwerda BBauer C(2022)To Flip or Not to Flip: Conformity Effect Across CulturesCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts10.1145/3491101.3519662(1-7)Online publication date: 27-Apr-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3491101.3519662
Wijenayake SHu JKostakos VGoncalves J(2021)Quantifying the Effects of Age-Related Stereotypes on Online Social ConformityHuman-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 202110.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_26(451-475)Online publication date: 30-Aug-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_26
Wijenayake SBietz MWiggins A(2020)Understanding the Dynamics of Online Social ConformityCompanion Publication of the 2020 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing10.1145/3406865.3418373(189-194)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3406865.3418373
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Published In

cover image Computers in Human Behavior

Computers in Human Behavior Volume 28, Issue 5

September, 2012

463 pages

ISSN:0747-5632

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © Elsevier Ltd © 2012.

Publisher

Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.

Netherlands

Publication History

Published: 01 September 2012

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Cited By

Ferwerda BBauer C(2022)To Flip or Not to Flip: Conformity Effect Across CulturesCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts10.1145/3491101.3519662(1-7)Online publication date: 27-Apr-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3491101.3519662
Wijenayake SHu JKostakos VGoncalves J(2021)Quantifying the Effects of Age-Related Stereotypes on Online Social ConformityHuman-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 202110.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_26(451-475)Online publication date: 30-Aug-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_26
Wijenayake SBietz MWiggins A(2020)Understanding the Dynamics of Online Social ConformityCompanion Publication of the 2020 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing10.1145/3406865.3418373(189-194)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3406865.3418373
Wijenayake Svan Berkel NKostakos VGoncalves J(2020)Quantifying the Effect of Social Presence on Online Social ConformityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/33928634:CSCW1(1-22)Online publication date: 29-May-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3392863
Bauer CFerwerda BBernhaupt RMueller FVerweij DAndres JMcGrenere JCockburn AAvellino IGoguey ABjørn PZhao SSamson BKocielnik R(2020)Conformity Behavior in Group Playlist CreationExtended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3334480.3382942(1-10)Online publication date: 25-Apr-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3334480.3382942
Wijenayake Svan Berkel NKostakos VGoncalves J(2019)Measuring the Effects of Gender on Online Social ConformityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/33592473:CSCW(1-24)Online publication date: 7-Nov-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3359247
Wang WZhou JLiao G(2019)What Do Your Eyes Say about Your Conformity? An Observation on the Number of Sales during Online ShoppingHuman Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Social Media, Games and Assistive Environments10.1007/978-3-030-22015-0_7(87-96)Online publication date: 26-Jul-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-22015-0_7

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