Group composition and conforming behavior in Japanese students

Abstract

A recent report suggested that a radical change was occurring in the response of British students to the Asch-type conformity experiment. The present study of Japanese students, however, shows no such change; nor did it show any signs of anticonformity as reported earlier. In comparison with students of other countries, Japanese students showed less conformist responses to the stranger groups; and more conformist responses to the familiar groups, e.g. to their own university's sport clubs. These results seem to support the conclusion that response to the Asch-type experiment is not universal but rather reflects cultural and situational factors.