  We designed and ran an experiment to test how often people's choices are
reversed by others' recommendations when facing different levels of
confirmation and conformity pressures. In our experiment participants were
first asked to provide their preferences between pairs of items. They were then
asked to make second choices about the same pairs with knowledge of others'
preferences. Our results show that others people's opinions significantly sway
people's own choices. The influence is stronger when people are required to
make their second decision sometime later (22.4%) than immediately (14.1%).
Moreover, people are most likely to reverse their choices when facing a
moderate number of opposing opinions. Finally, the time people spend making the
first decision significantly predicts whether they will reverse their decisions
later on, while demographics such as age and gender do not. These results have
implications for consumer behavior research as well as online marketing
strategies.
