The norm could be going to the same school or being a fan of the same football team. A group will spend time with each other and will experience interdependent behaviours, doing things they would not necessarily do as an individual. For example Solomon (2010) uses the idea of the "risky shift" where an individual will show a greater willingness towards riskier alternatives within a group rather that as an individual.
The link above takes you to a video of a film some students did at school about this and I think they explain the basics of this well.
Group pressure is the implications of a norm or an expectation on an individual in a group. the individual can react in three ways :
-Conformity
-Internalisation and Identification
-Counter Conformity
There are several factors that can influence an individual to conform such as cultural pressures which the video highlighted in an extreme case how samurai will commit suicide if dishonoured.
Other examples of factors that cause social conformity are:
A fear of deviance, where the individual may believe that the group will punish them for nonconforming behaviours.
A commitment to a group can lead to social conformity, being dedicated enough to do what they are asked of, such as a terrorist killing themselves for their religion.
The sheer size and unanimity of a group can cause conformity. D. Forsyth(2009) says that in a group the more people pressuring an individual, the more likely that the individual is to conform.
The individual may be susceptible to interpersonal influences as they worry what the group thinks of them. I will go along with talking about cars with certain people even though i couldn't care less about them.
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