Conformity Behavior of Afrikaans-and English-Speaking Adolescents in South Africa

Abstract

The conformity behaviors of 50 Afrikaans- and 48 English-speaking early adolescents (ages 12 to 14 years) were measured by a modified Asch experiment and then compared. The effects of sex, self-concept (measured by the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) and certain personality factors (measured by the High School Personality Questionnaire) were also examined. No significant differences between the conformity scores of the two groups were found, but boys and girls significantly differed with regard to their conformity scores. Although subjects with low self-concept scores did not have higher conformity scores than those with high self-concept scores, a significant difference between the self-concept scores of Afrikaans-and English-speaking adolescents was demonstrated. Low but significant correlations were found between personality factors (A, J, and Q2) and conformity scores.