The Psychology of Conformity: How Social Pressure Shapes Our Behavior

From a young age, we’re warned about the influence of others. In elementary school, it’s “stay away from the kids who always get sent to the principal’s office.” By middle school, it’s “avoid bad influences and don’t use curse words.” In high school, it becomes “stick with people who care about their GPA and future career.” Now in college, although in different ways, that constant worry still lingers.

While it might’ve seemed like paranoia from our parents back then, there is some truth behind it. Social pressure is a powerful and often invisible force that really influences how we think, act, and interact with those around us. It’s a deeply rooted psychological issue that impacts all of us—whether we’re aware of it or not.

But how does this work, and how does it shape our lives as college students?

Artwork by Cinyee Chiu

What Is Conformity?

Conformity is the tendency to align our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around us. It's our brain’s way of saying, “Hey! Blend in to belong!”. And while it helps to create social harmony and cooperation in many situations, when it overrides our personal values or silences our true thoughts, it becomes a real problem. 

The Asch’s Line Experiment

One of the most well-known studies on conformity was done by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s. Participants were shown a series of lines and asked to identify which one matched a reference line in length. Easy, right? Well, here’s the thing: everyone else in the room was secretly in on the experiment and gave the wrong answer on purpose. Surprisingly, 75% of participants conformed at least once, giving the wrong answer just to fit in—even though the correct one was obvious.

Why do we conform? 

Conformity isn’t just some abstract idea we study in textbooks—it’s something we live through every single day. From the way we dress to the things we post online, social pressure constantly nudges our behavior. Here are some common situations where we’re likely to conform:

1. Friend Group Settings

In college, peer pressure can feel very intense, as it’s often the first time you’re away from home, meeting new people and finding yourself. The social dynamics are constantly changing, and it can feel like everyone has their own circle. Whether it’s partying, drinking, or joining group activities you might not be interested in—while often fun—it’s easy to feel like you need to conform to the “college experience” to be accepted.

2. Career and Academic Choices

I think a lot of people my age can relate to this. Even before college, I’ve seen so many people talking about choosing a major or career path not because it’s what they’re interested or passionate about, but because it’s seen as the “smart” and “safe” choice. Like choosing STEM over art—not out of passion, but out of fear of judgment or letting others down. Sometimes, that pressure drowns out what we truly want.

3. Beauty Standards (Mostly in Women)

From a young age, girls are taught that their worth is tied to appearance. Media really pushes the idea that “beauty” means being thin, flawless, and always put-together. Which leads many young women to chase unrealistic standards shaped by a crazy amount of filters and toxic diet culture. Whether it’s obsessing over appearance or heavy editing, the pressure to conform becomes emotionally draining.

Fighting the Negative Aspects of Conformity

Fighting conformity isn’t about rejecting everyone around you—it’s about learning to stay true to your values, even when social pressure is strong.  Instead of trying to blend in by engaging in things that don’t really speak to you, embrace what makes you… you! Over time, embracing our individuality becomes not only easier, but also more rewarding than conforming to others’ expectations. Fighting conformity is about finding strength in your own voice, it's about standing your ground. But most importantly, it's about staying true to yourself, because trust me, it can be very fulfilling.

---

Author's note:

Hey everyone! This is my first post on the website—finally.

It's been a really fun and tiring journey being able to build this space for myself. I'm definitely new to this though, I've never made a website or a blog before (except for a really crappy portfolio for my film class two years ago). It's so exciting to finally bring everything to life and I'm looking forward to writing more and more.

See u soon! xx

-Mari Salomão