Which of the following is NOT true about conformity?

The correct answer is Option (1) → Highly intelligent people are more likely to conform.

Option (1) Highly intelligent people are more likely to conform. — False. Personality is one determinant of conformity. Research has shown that highly intelligent people, those who are confident of themselves, strongly committed and high in self-esteem, are less likely to conform. The statement says the opposite.

Option (2) When a task requires an answer that can be verified, there will be greater conformity. — True. In Asch’s experiment the task had an answer that could be checked as correct or incorrect, and conformity was high. When the task is a matter of opinion, with no correct or incorrect answer, conformity is less likely.

Option (3) When the group is small, there is greater conformity. — True. Conformity is greater in a small group than in a large one, because a member who does not conform is easily noticed in a small group.

Option (4) Less conformity is found under private expression than under public expression. — True. When members give answers publicly, everyone knows who said what; when behaviour is private, as in voting by secret ballot, less conformity is found.

Note: The determinants of conformity were there in the chapter ‘Social Influence and Group Processes’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2022, and are not there in the NCERT book (2025-26).