Society and Culture Assessment Task 3 Part A: Define Conformity and Non-Conformity 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 …show more content…
For example, if you were to change your answer in an exam to match the answers of the surrounding people. An example of social conformity is as follows: Imagine you were to attend a movie that you thought was poor quality. When the movie is finished, all your friends were saying how much they liked it. In this instance, if you were to suppress your own opinion and say that you liked the movie, you would be conforming. In contrast, non-conformity is a deviation from social norms. This transpires when a person violates the expectations and norms of a group. This repeatedly occurs when a person chooses to act upon their own thoughts and intuition, in opposition to the expectations of the group, society, and culture in which they live. An example of non-conformity is attending a wedding and wearing only casual clothes when everybody else is dressed formally. Part B: To what extent have the values and behaviours of one group influenced the perceptions of this group in the wider society? The values and behaviour of groups in society have the ability to influence the …show more content…
This is largely due to the fact that the group is recognised by the wider society through their behaviours and values. For example, on the night of December 22, 2002, the Bra Boy’s altercation with off-duty officers, saw this group labelled as rebellious, young teens with criminal tendencies by some in the wider society. However, this perception was challenged due to the events during the Cronulla riots of 2005. The Bra Boy’s proved a crucial element in the cessation of these riots. Consequently, this had seen the perception of the bra boys changed from reckless, non-conformist teens, to young adults who values equality and mateship amongst varying cultures. From these instances, it is clear that the behaviours and values of the Bra Boys have influenced the way in which they are perceived by the wider society to a great extent, serving to both reinforce the negative stereotype surrounding the group, as well as challenge it and portray the group in a new light. Therefore, it is clear that the values and behaviours of groups have the capacity to influence the way in which the group is perceived by the wider society to a great
It often leads to people adjusting responses to stimuli just because they believe that if everyone else has the same response they must have it too. This is shown in "Asch Experiment" after McLeod explained how the dot of light never moved, he mentioned, "The participants are then asked to estimate how far the dot of light moves. These estimates are made out loud, and with repeated trials, each group of three converges on an estimate. The main finding of the study was that groups found their own "social norm" of perception." (McLeod 2) This shows that when placed in an environment where some people have a different opinion than others, the popular opinion takes over and everyone's opinion becomes uniform because people doubt themselves when they are alone on an opinion, leading to conformity. People in environments like this should try to keep their own opinions as to prevent the spread of conformity when uniqueness is
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.
So far, conformity has been discussed in terms of group identification and social roles. However, individuals also tend to change prior beliefs to seek group acceptance. Asch (1951) investigated the effect of group pressure on conformity by asking participants to make a line judgment with seven confederates that gave the same obviously incorrect answer. Yet, 37% of participants conformed by giving the incorrect majority answer, whereas in the absence of group pressure, less than 1% of participants conformed (Asch, 1951). There are implications on normative influence as individuals, despite knowing the majority opinion was incorrect, may conform to avoid social punishment (Breckler et al., 2005). However, Turner and colleagues (1987) argued
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
Conformity explains how one responds to an expectation because you are adjusting your behavior or thinking to compare with a overall group standard, with the fear of being the odd one out. Lastly there is obedience which is where you change your judgements or opinions due to an authority figure telling you to do so, in respect of being out of line and in a need to follow rules and expectations of authority due to
You might have seen a couple of conformist on tv or in a magazine. The first example for non-conformity is Miley Cyrus , back then Miley was a perfectly normal person that was many little kids including myself , idol, but then Miley got too far into the fame and it went straight to her head, and now she doesn’t really care about what people think of her and she does her own thing and it will always end up on a magazine or on tv. Another example of a non-conformist is Lindsay Lohan she was just like Miley Cyrus, but a couple years ago and now she doesn’t really have a care in the world.
The most basic concept in social psychology is conformity. Conformity is the idea that behaviour or a belief is changed in order to follow, or conform, to what is considered the “norm.” One of the oldest experiments to support this notion was conducted in 1935 by Muzafer Sherif (Song, Ma, Wu, Li, 2012 p. 1366). There are two different types of
Conformity can be useful when in unfamiliar surroundings or activities. Several examples make their appearance everyday like dancing. Dancing is a fun activity, but when it’s unclear what kind of dancing to do. What happens then? It’s in everyone’s best interest to mimic the people who know what they’re doing to avoid embarrassment. In some way or another, everyone has done it throughout their life but it is really handy in the right
Conformity is defined as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. (Meyers 170) What other people do and say can gradually influence others to deviate from ones beliefs and conform to others. One of the most famous documented studies to better illustrate this was a procedure performed by social psychologist, Solomon Asch.
Furthermore, non-conformity is the total opposite of conformity. Non-conformity is when someone is not doing the same as everyone else they're doing their own thing. In addition, that's called being an antagonist when you do the opposite of others. An example of non-conformity is when someone who does not care if everyone is doing something that's the same, antagonist like to do their own thing even if they get bullied by other
Conformity, compliance and obedience are behavioural consequences of social influence (real or imagined social pressure) that occur in the presence of a group or other individuals (Elsenbroich & Xenitidou, 2012). Often these concepts are misinterpreted as being the same or even synonymous and while they do have similarities they are also very dissimilar. In social psychology conformity, compliance and obedience are distinct concepts that coincide due to their effect on behaviour in the presence of others. Pascual, Line Felonneau, Guéguen & Lafaille (2013) define conformity as an altering of behaviour and beliefs in an individual in order to reflect the behaviour and beliefs of the group that holds influence, though Myers (2014) emphasises that
Conformity is defined as behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. This is not a good or bad thing, this just is. It exists as a compliment to earlier humans congregating into larger groups, using agriculture and domestication to create sustenance. Also, conformity is essential for life. We need people to share the same ideas, ideologies and a way of thinking in order to work efficiently and effectively. There many examples that exist like, at work or in your house and even within yourself. Sigmund Freud has explained the phenomena of group psychology in a piece titled, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Using Freud’s theory of conformity I will explain the self, what we call “me”,and its different constituents using The Principles of Psychology by
Elliot Aronson (2012) provides a definition of conformity, two social psychological processes that underlie a conformity and cited examples of reasons why people conform in the book, The Social Animal. Aronson (2012) defines a conformity as “a change in a person’s behavior or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people” (p.19). In accordance with Aronson’s (2012) definition of conformity, people do conform owing to the social influence, which are two main social psychological processes: belonging and getting information.
Conformity involves the changing of one’s attitudes, opinions, or behaviours to match those of the ‘norms’. The “norms”, established by society, are what we should or ought to be thinking, feeling, or doing if we wish to be accepted into a group. This desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need.
In contrast, non-conformity is a deviation from social norms. This transpires when a person violates the expectations and norms of a group. This repeatedly occurs when a person chooses to act upon their own thoughts and intuition, in opposition to the expectations of the group, society, and culture in which they live. An example of non-conformity is attending a wedding and wearing only casual clothes when everybody else is dressed