As an individual stuck in a foundation known for its propensity to breed social congruity, college has opened my eyes to numerous distinctive reasons why individuals decide to act in ways they wouldn't normally act. Since they are not certain of their identity, adolescents are more inclined to conformity than others. In its most basic form, college is plagued with conformity through the stereotypes that learners pursue and experiment with in an attempt to uncover their identity. There are two types of conformity: the kind that makes you do your tasks when your father authorizes you to, and the less than ideal kind in which you blindly follow the ideas and rules of a clique or group, without questioning the negative effects it has on yourself and the development of public opinion. Conformity is critical in that people strive for a sense of strength and acceptance in their lives. As a result of this need, "we, therefore, learn to conform to the standards of other individuals. Moreover, the more we see others behaving in a certain way or making certain decisions, the more we feel compelled to follow suit." Despite the freedoms we are supposed to have in American society, most adolescents find it difficult to establish their own identity. "Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth," said John F. Kennedy. When we comply with what our acquaintances, family, or public opinion asks of us, we lose the capability to develop into our own person. Conformity, on the other hand, is more than simply the young girl wearing UGG Boots and an Abercrombie hoodie to fit in. It is more than just listening to the top 40 radio stations and watching American Idol so you have something to add to the discussion that your coworkers are having over stale coffee.... ... middle of paper ... ...We are all inherently apprehensive about dismissal. Nobody wants to be socially dismissed. Due to this fear, we are often too eager to conform in order to be accepted. However, some individuals have the strength to overcome the pressure to conform. These individuals do not have to be the punk rock kids who dye their hair purple and listen to hardcore rock music. Instead, they have the strength to be who they truly are and may not change just because someone says they are different and strange. Being different is not bizarre; being different means that you have the strength to confront conformity, reject it, and walk away.
Moving away from books, there is an even bigger amount of articles explaining conformity. One of these articles is “Students’ Work Ethic Affect by Peer Groups.” On page two of this article, one of the active participants in this story, Venda, states that students usually “sign up for the SAT prep course when their choice is private.” One would probably not doubt this at all due to the fact that many students in our school system have learned to “follow the herd.” Whatever other students are doing, many people will be influenced to do so as
In “It Takes a Tribe” by David Berreby, he claims that humans are born with the urge to belong, and our experiences in life subconsciously shape who we are, placing us in groups. Berreby first provides examples of stereotyping and states how judging groups is a serious problem today, comparing it to prejudice and racism (par. 1-2). He moves forward to discuss how easily humans adapt to their surroundings and how this causes us to be placed inside these “exclusive” groups (par. 4-5). Berreby uses “college loyalty” and “school spirit” as examples of this, showing that colleges are the perfect place to study this behavior as they are strong comparisons to this behavior in the rest of the world (par. 8-9). Berreby also shares that “us” vs. “them”
In the United States, a country created out of rebellion, society seemingly celebrates the idea of uniqueness, individuality, and nonconformity. However, in Brave New World and 1984 , conformity is strictly and, sometimes, brutally enforced. However, in reality, is nonconformity really respected or are there more structures in place than we are willing to acknowledge to encourage conformity, even in the United States of 2017? While we seemingly celebrate individuality, in reality, we do many things to discourage nonconformity.
The definition of conformity is the compliance with social standards and laws in a particular culture, environment, society and time. If this occurs the individual changes their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more holistically with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a result of real or perceived group pressure. This is ultimately a direct result of the power which a group has over the individual. There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. The motivation behind normative conformity is the desire to be liked and accepted in society. This is most widely known as peer pressure. For example, a student begins smoking because their peers
To begin with, when I was younger I would have considered myself an outsider because when I first started school, I didn’t have the characteristics to fit in and felt like I would not blend into the people I was surrounded by. Also, I have met many people who have presented experiences from their past when they had felt like they didn’t fit in because they couldn’t keep up the standards to be popular. In social media, there are many guidelines that people feel the need to meet in order to feel like you belong and some who don’t match up can feel like outsiders, and that happens to many. Furthermore, in today’s society people feel the need to be popular or to fit in, and if they can’t meet the expectations they are considered an outsider and that happens universally. Others may suggest that just because someone doesn’t fit in a group doesn’t mean they are considered an outsider, they are just someone who doesn’t meet certain expectations. However, many others would disagree and would label someone an outsider when they don’t fit in or don’t meet expectations of society because that makes them think they don’t
One way people are considered weird or an outsider is by the way they dress or the amount of money they have. One example is in the short story,” The Doll’s House,” by Katherine Mansfield,
Conformity and Its Meaning This assignment focuses upon conformity and what it means to us. Conformity is defined by Zimbardo (1992) as "A tendency for people to adopt behaviour, values and attitudes of other members of a reference group". Why people conform is a topic of much debate. People don't always conform for the same reason's, in 1958 Kelman identified three main forms of conformity, each of which could produce conforming behaviour but in different ways.
No one in the world is exactly alike; everyone has different interests, dresses differently, thinks differently and learns differently, not even identical twins are the same. Yet, in our schools systems today, the sense of individuality is being destroyed in the students, even with the two goals aimed at better individuals as well as the society they live in. Public schools are trying to conform everyone to learning the same way and thinking the same way, resulting in multiple adolescents falling behind. From elementary school to high school, adolescents are always being told what to do and how to behave. Whether it’s by their parents at home or the faculty at school, everywhere they turn they are being forced to conform to what others expect from them.
Throughout lecture 5-9b we get introduced to Social Inequalities and explore the opportunities and rewards that are disbursed to groups and individuals. Trying to understand inequality patterns based on different varieties of sources. Through these lectures we focus how sociologist define social class, gender, age, region, race, and ethnicity. We also began to learn about the variables that affect someone’s access to opportunities and resources. We have explored how those resources and available opportunities are closely connected to the theory Structural functionalist by looking at the privilege and power in a society. Another important aspect is the study of Social stratification, which is an understanding of how those patterns of inequalities are maintained and challenged. We should have a basic understanding of how societies differ based on inequalities that they show and different varieties of inequalities that come together and reinforce one another. By that, this section is dissect how race, classs, gender, and age come together through structure of a society. Throughout these we also take a look at deviance and conformity. We get up close to the sociological definition of deviance, and emphasizing the importance its social reaction in societies. We begin to understand what forces society to allow or even encourage breakdowns of social order and disorganization of socialization and social control. By that, this section is dissect how race, class, gender, and age come together through structure of a society. We have been taught to answer questions like: what actions are defined as actually threatening to social order or deviant and who get to be the judge? Also what sorts of things lead to individuals to “deviant actions” a...
In a world where bigotry, peer pressure, and incertitude circulates around society, a person can soon turn a blinds eye from who they truly are. The intention of wanting to emulate others or the desire to be liked by everyone can cause a person's mind to lead them to believe that he or she is someone other than what God has made them to be. This idea is known as conformity. A conformist is one who follows traditional standards of conducts, regardless of one’s own personal beliefs and morals. Dealing with the various societal struggles without influence of others and leading a non-conformed life is the key to succeeding in the world. Two of the most prominent advocators of leading a non-conformed life, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, advise society to follow the ideas of being themselves in order to live meaningful lives.
Between the ages twelve and sixteen, teenagers begin to develop individualism, a social development to identify who they are independently. Hypothetically, individualism is one of the leading cause why teenagers become rebellious because most teenagers are developing patterns of thinking rather than thinking critically. Similarly, when I was in the 6th grade, I decided to walk to the Boys & Girls Club with my friends after my mother specifically told me not to. My purpose was to walk to the Boys & Girls Club without my mother seeing me, and flaunt an image of being “cool” in front of my
Citizens of today’s society have to comprehend that by conforming to the pressures of others and imitating everyone else, they will get nowhere in life. First of all, a teenage boy attends his first big high school party at a friend’s house one weekend and he is pressured into drinking beer and smoking marijuana so he will seem cool in front of the popular jocks and cheerleaders. Since many teens are so terrified of ridicule and downright embarrassment in front of fellow students, they decide to give in to their peers even though their actions may go against their beliefs. Emerson believed that by being an individual “you shall have the suffrage of the world.” Furthermore, an innocent sixteen year old girl’s parents go out of town for the weekend and she invites her cute, popular, senior star quarterback boyfriend over, but he pressures her into having sex when she i...
“Social conformity has been practiced in societies around the world since ancient times,” and the reason it is so effective is that humans have an inherent need to be accepted as part of a group (Sadat). Furthermore, Hossna Sadat reports that:
Conformity and Obedience in Society The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In her essay “Group Minds,” Doris Lessing discusses our paradoxical ability to call ourselves individuals and our inability to realize that groups define and influence us.
Though conformity is a humane feeling, many examples of conformity going wrong can be found throughout history. For example, multiple Germans conformed to follow Nazism and prosecuted millions of innocent Jews. Southern whites conformed to segregate thousands of African-Americans. By looking at multiple sources of literature, one can see conformity becomes unacceptable when innocent people are hurt and/or killed and affects the way one thinks or acts.