nonconformity
n. expressing opinions, making judgments, or performing actions that are inconsistent with those of other people or of the normative standards of a social group or situation. Nonconformity can reflect individuals’ ignorance of the group’s standards, an inability to reach those standards, independence (as when individuals retain their preferred position despite group pressure to change it), or the anticonformity of individuals who deliberately disagree with others or act in atypical ways. Compare conformity.