Social support, dissent and conformity
Vernon Allen and John Levine tested how a single dissenter changes conformity. On visual judgements, conformity fell when one person gave the correct answer, and also when one person gave an answer even more wrong than the group's. On matters of opinion, only a dissenter who gave the participant's own answer reduced conformity.
Vernon Allen and John Levine tested how a single dissenter changes conformity. On visual judgements, conformity fell when one person gave the correct answer, and also when one person gave an answer even more wrong than the group's. On matters of opinion, only a dissenter who gave the participant's own answer reduced conformity.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-11.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Allen, V. L., & Levine, J. M. (1968). 'Social support, dissent and conformity.' Sociometry, 31(2), 138-149. doi:10.2307/2786454.