What causes individuals to conform to the opinions and judgments of others? Why do they need to? When is it an advantage to merge with the group and when is it not? Investigating the social, ...

At some point, everyone has done something weird to fit in. Maybe you have lied about what your favorite guilty pleasure song is to avoid public shame. Maybe you owned seven pairs of bell bottoms in ...

The rapid growth of digital technologies in the last quarter-century has multiplied the number and types of possible influences on individual values and opinions. Has the digital era changed the level ...

This compelling book sheds light on one of the most defining yet often overlooked forces in Japanese society: dōchō atsuryoku (conformity pressure). Far beyond a matter of individual psychology, this ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst, ...

Many teachers reported a reduction in their freedom as individuals and departments to design curricula and teach due to ...

We might not want to admit it, but deep in our brains is a desperate desire for social acceptance. And social media takes that desire and cranks it up to 11. So much so, that it’s easy to just conform ...

Awe—the emotion we feel in the presence of something vast or powerful that challenges our understanding—has the remarkable ability to help us transcend ourselves. It makes us feel smaller and more one ...

This week I’m glad that those who needed “permission” from our governor to remove their masks will finally be able to breath the air and show their beautiful faces to the world. In the beginning we ...

At some point, everyone has done something weird to fit in. Maybe you have lied about your favorite guilty pleasure song to avoid public shame. Maybe you owned seven pairs of bell bottoms in the ’70s ...