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What factors affect the psychology of conformity
The importance of individuality
What factors affect the psychology of conformity
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I wonder if anyone in the world ever wakes up and thinks to themselves, “I don't want to be like everybody else today, I think just for today I’m going to see how it feels to just try being myself instead.” Can you imagine a world like that? An environment where everyone behaved however they wanted to and no one was afraid to act as their individual self’s. Just visualize if everyone lived by their own individual lifestyles and no longer had to conform to anyone else’s rules or beliefs. Unfortunately, that would not be a very stable world to live in. There would be no such thing as nonconformity without conformity. If there were no norms to live by everyone would be different and no one would really fit into any specific groups. Basically, the human race would be lost without anyone to follow. I found this to be quite intriguing, which subsequently made me want to further experiment by participating in my own day of nonconformity. I found my day of nonconformity to be partially interesting and difficult. I found it perplexing to think of new ways to influence myself instead of following in the footsteps of others simply because I’ve been a participant of nonconformity my entire life. From my anti-social behavior to the brushing off of any religious belief that comes my way, nonconforming with society’s norms should be nothing new to me. Nonetheless, this experiment did get quite compelling by assisting me to realize all the norms I usually abide by within my individual lifestyle. In a way, this experiment altered my insight on what it truly means to be yourself.
My day of nonconformity started off pretty serene. On my way to school, I waved at a few people who cut me off that I normally would’ve flipped off. When I finally made...
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...h this experiment, I recognized that conforming to norms by being kind isn’t necessarily letting people step all over you. Additionally, I noticed that being yourself has many downsides when attempting to fit in. Nevertheless, I’m now more fully aware of the importance of being yourself. You never know, someone may actually like you for you really are. After getting involved in this social experiment, I can definitely say from personal experience that it’s easier to play a part in in nonconformity rather than trying to fit in with everyone’s norms. Overall, I conclude that it’s better to just be yourself. A month from now who knows if my behavior will change or if I will continue living authentically, it all depends. You have two choices, be yourself and risk not fitting in or follow everyone else and take a chance of losing your true individual self along the way.
Individualism and conformity--two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s time. In comparison to the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man,” written by Logan Feys, one of the most notable quotes that relates to individualism and conformity is “to be a human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes [...][and]talents [...] that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family, …” (Feys Par. 6). To be truthful, conformity and nonconformity are used to determine a person’s inner-being, but every person is different, and in this case people will not always agree with each other on how they should live.
On the other hand, ideally one should be true to one’s heart, if Disney’s Mulan is to be believed. But these are neither solid pieces of advice nor wise counsel; they are at best hand-wavy, wishy-washy statements that offer no guidance on traveling the minefield that is remaining true to oneself. In fact, given the wide swath of human experiences, it is difficult to imagine a panacea effective for each and every trial and tribulation people may encounter in maintaining the integrity of their identities; personally, I don't think one exists. Just as there are myriad events, emotions, and memories from which one’s identity develops, it surely follows that there are just as many ways social norms act to compromise one’s individuality, ostensibly for the worse. Therefore, it seems that an indirect solution would best serve individuals filled and bombarded with doubt about who they really are; namely, the unwavering support of a community would allow individuals to resolve, on their own terms, their inner conflicts stemming from outward
Another point I agree with is that it's a lot easier to just fit in and not lead the train and being yourself. I personally know from experience. Growing up I always tried to conform just to fit in with the people that surrounded me. It's not just me that i've seen conform to fit in, i've seen many of my friends conform to fit in with the crowd. All around me, everyday people are conforming and changing to fit in with the society.
Furthermore, sometimes the desire to be accepted is stronger than prevailing conventions. This makes an individual to do things to make him feel accepted in the society. Krakauer compares the people in Alaska and McCandless. He writes, “And I’m sure there are plenty of other Alaskans who had a lot in common with McCandless when they first got here, too, including many of his critics. Which maybe why they’re so hard on him. Maybe McCandless reminds them a little too much of their former selves” (Krakauer 221). In today’s society, an individual confirms itself to what a society wants and expect him or her to be.
... day. The hardest part of the experiment was going against social psychology; it was very uncomfortable going against the social norms. We also found that it was difficult to match all of our schedules to be able to do the experiment all together when the gym was full. Overall the experiment taught us that social norms have molded society to believe that they should restrain their original thoughts and actions when in a public place. Lastly, individuals should not disturb other social norms that occur within the range of accepted actions, especially in the area of clothing.
While breaking the three social norms there was one feeling that I felt was mutual throughout. Breaking those norms made me felt extremely out of place and rude. They made me feel that way because I knew what I was doing wasn 't socially right and people would get mad or be rude to me with their reactions. For the most part throughout my experiment, most people reacted the way I thought they would. You could tell that most people felt awkward or uncomfortable while I was breaking the norm. I faced a couple of difficulties through my assignment when it came to violating the social norms. While trying to break the movie theater norm, it was difficult for me to pick movies with different variety of people and movies that were a little older so less people would be attending them. I also had a little trouble when it came to answering the phone and waiting for the other person to talk first. The problem with this one was that I had to wait for people to actually call me which doesn 't happen that often in this day and age anymore. To conclude, these social norms forced people to be in uncomfortable situations and make a decision as to how they would react to
“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:
The things that make one different are the things that cause the world to change and lead to conformity. Uniqueness is a characteristic that is in everyone; no one person is the same. In this way, Equality 7-2521 from Anthem, a novel written by Ayn Rand, conforms to society on his outward actions to keep him safe, but on this inside, his drive for individuality and not being “normal” allows him to discover a tunnel in which he discovers multiple things like electricity. In a similar aspect, I seek to with my mind, as if a moving vehicle, swerve sharply to the opposite direction to avoid indifference and achieve my maximum potential.
There comes a point in everyone’s life when they are pressurized by society’s demands. One is given the option to either conform or challenge these social norms in order to suit one’s life.
In what ways do I choose to conform? In what ways do I choose not to conform? How do I express my individuality? What do I think the poet is saying about conforming? These are the questions asked from today’s poem called Non Conformist by Angela Shelf Medearis. After thinking about this question, I realize that I conform to many of the rules my parents give me but I don't always conform to what my friends say. For example, when my mom says to empty the dishwasher, I do it, not because I enjoy the work, but because I live in our home and our family, so I should contribute to helping out. However, when my friends tell me to do something such as wearing certain types of clothes, I don't always conform to what they say because I don't always like
Essentially out of those thought I came up with an interesting thesis. This thesis was that people want to feel that they are being individualistic and non-conformist when in fact, by asserting these whims, they are actually conforming to the societal expectations, and stereotypes of how they should act.
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.
Conformity is defined as the occurrence of people yielding to social pressures as a result of pressure from a group of their peers; when faced by the pressure to conform, people will alter their behaviour and actions to fit the norm demonstrated by their peers (Lilienfield et al., 2012). Conformity is studied so that is can be understood and used in society to facilitate positive outcomes, and help avoid situations where peoples’ predisposition to conform leads to negative consequences (Lilienfield et al., 2012). By understanding conformity and other social processes society as a whole is able to understand themselves better and motivates them to work on improving as a whole (Lilienfield et al., 2012).
"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." John F. Kennedy. When we permit ourselves to comply with what our acquaintances, family or public opinion asks of us, we lose the capability to develop into our own person. Conformity, then again, is more than simply the young lady wearing UGG Boots and an Abercrombie hoodie to fit in. It is all the more then just lis...
Hence, conformity is only acceptable when others are not hurt and their thoughts are their own. In The Giver, conformity cannot be tolerated, because innocent babies and seniors are being killed for the sake for their society. In “The Pedestrian”, conformity has gone wrong due to the fact “different” people, like Leonard Mead, are being punished for their uniqueness. Prisoners are currently conforming to an unacceptable degree in North Korea, believing their horrible dictators are gods, instead of the causes of their misery. This matters because as seen in the article “Life in a Labor Camp”, overboard conformity is currently harming others. Thus, humans must learn to stop conforming when conformity alters one’s thoughts and actions and/or harms them.