ABSTRACT
Any social act is based on a minimum of conformity. But conformity must not be confused with conformism. Both propositions are easily understood as soon as the interaction process is studied carefully. ‘I’ and others direct their actions respectively according to the ‘expectations’ that each has of their partner’s reactions to these actions. ‘I’ defines his own initiatives at least partly from the ‘others’ ‘anticipated’ reaction. These expectations are not arbitrary. Most of the time they are accurate. The other behaves like ‘I’ expected. The root of this conformity is found in a norm controlling ‘I’ and ‘other’, even if the same behaviour is not forced upon them. In other words, the demand for conformity is only one aspect of the normative character of a social act. But how is this demand satisfied, how is conformity ensured or restored?
