Some of your friends come to you with a letter of protest against a rule that has been recently announced i.e banning use of mobile phones in the school. Personally you believe that the rule is very sensible and should be enforced. Your friends have signed the letter and so you also agree to sign the letter. You have experienced which form of social influence?

Conformity

The answer is Conformity.

Conformity is a type of social influence in which people change their behavior or beliefs in order to fit in with a group. In this case, you are agreeing to sign the letter of protest even though you do not personally agree with it because you want to be accepted by your friends.

The other options are not as good because:

• Compliance: Compliance is a type of social influence in which people change their behavior in order to avoid punishment or receive a reward. In this case, you are not signing the letter of protest in order to avoid punishment or receive a reward, so compliance is not the correct answer.

• Internalization: Internalization is a type of social influence in which people change their behavior or beliefs because they genuinely believe that the new behavior or belief is correct. In this case, you do not personally agree with the rule against using mobile phones in the school, so internalization is not the correct answer.

• Identification: Identification is a type of social influence in which people adopt the attitudes and behaviors of others because they admire or respect them. In this case, you are not signing the letter of protest because you admire or respect your friends, so identification is not the correct answer.