  Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to
conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their
epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents,
all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those of their
neighbors. This preference for conformity interacts with the agents' beliefs
about which of two (or more) possible actions yields the better outcome. We
find a range of possible outcomes, including stable polarization in belief and
action. The model results are sensitive to network structure. In general,
though, conformity has a negative effect on a community's ability to reach
accurate consensus about the world.
