When participants were first placed in a dark room alone and asked to estimate the apparent movement of a point of light, individuals were consistent in their own estimates, and these estimates differed greatly from participant to participant. When participants made the same estimates in a group setting, their estimates converged. According to Muzafer Sherif (1936), this happened because conformity occurs when people .feel anonymous in a groupfeel uncomfortable and insecurecan use others' behaviors as cues for what's right. can use anonymity to control others