Second Place Proposal Category
Student: Adia Douglas
Advisor: Dr. Renae McNair
Conformity bias can be the result of the cognitive process regarding how people behave or change their thought patterns due to group dynamics in social settings. The different levels of the high school system provide a testing ground for studying conformity bias, as the various age demographics and genders represented in this setting allow for the exploration of the factors that contribute to this phenomenon. This study explores the relationship between conformity bias in groups in a high school setting and will determine if this setting leads to an increase or decrease in conformity bias. The correlation between group dynamics and social influence will be tested using surveys and student observation. The expected finding would be that conformity bias has the same impact in a school setting, regardless of age. Future research could focus not only on the extent of conformity bias by levels of the high school system but also on factors that shape students’ conformity bias.
Keywords: conformity bias, groups, school setting, social influence