Jenness (1932) - Conformity Experiment

• (1) Jenness conducted an experiment on conformity using a glass bottle filled with 811 white beans. The sample consisted of 101 psychology students who individually estimated the number of beans in the bottle.
• (2) Participants were then divided into groups of three and asked to provide a group estimate through discussion. After the discussion, participants were given another opportunity to individually estimate the number of beans.
• (3) Jenness found that nearly all participants changed their original answer after the group discussion. On average, male participants changed their answer by 256 beans and female participants changed their answers by 382 beans.
• (4) These results demonstrate the power of conformity in an ambiguous situation and are likely to be the result of informational social influence (ISI).