The Effect of Regulatory Focus on Conformity Behavior

This article examines the influence of regulatory focus on conformity. Three experimental situations are developed to examine the effect. Experiment 1 reveals that regulatory focus influences conformity, with the effect being more obvious under a prevention-focused condition, in which people conform more strongly with others, than under a promotion-focused condition. In Experiment 2, the effect of regulatory focus on conformity is mediated by informational influences and normative influences. The results of Experiment 3 show that under a high cognitive load, the effect of regulatory focus on conformity disappears.