Introduction:
People often behave in accordance with others' expectations and social norms, a phenomenon known as conformity. While early studies, such as Asch (1951), suggested that conformity levels were consistent across countries, later meta-analyses have indicated that collectivistic cultures (e.g., East Asia) may exhibit higher conformity than individualistic ones (e.g., Western countries). However, most cross-cultural conformity studies have focused solely on national-level comparisons, neglecting individual-level cultural factors. This study addresses this research gap by examining cultural self-construal, which refers to how individuals view themselves, and explores conformity in SNS contexts to link cultural and social psychology.


Purpose:
This study aims to clarify the relationships between participants' cultural self-construal, their place of residence, and their tendency to conform to others in a social media networking environment. Our hypothesis is that cultural self-construal, rather than place of residence, influence an individual's tendency toward conformity.


Method:
A total of 126 participants (63 Japanese and 63 British, aged 20-35) will complete an online experiment. Participants will be shown 15 controversial news topics (e.g., remote work, autonomous vehicles) as posts on an X (formerly Twitter)-like platform. Each topic will be accompanied by a quote tweet expressing either agreement or disagreement, conformity will be manipulated by high and low social engagement (likes, comments, retweets). Participants will rate their agreement with each topic after viewing. Participants will also complete validated measures of cultural self-construal, critical thinking, SNS usage, and demographic information.


Result:
A multiple regression analysis will be conducted to predict conformity levels based on residence, self-construal, and their interaction. Results will be collected and analyzed by August 2025.


Conclusion:
We predict that cultural self-construal will be a stronger predictor of conformity than country of residence.