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Important of social conformity
Individuality and group conformity
American individualism culture
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Americans, and ultimately every other individual on the planet, believe that we are all different from one another. We contrast from the way we look, to the way we sound, to the way we stand, walk, talk, etc. Overall, we are incompatible. However, what if that’s a false claim? What if we were exactly the same towards one another, like mirrors almost? My own view of conformity and individuality as it relates to humanity, society, teenagers, and the world is that we are the same more than we are different from each other. However, my claim frightens us so much; we practically change who we are and alter our existence into something that we loathe and despise. Ultimately, I believe that humanity is controlled by society and that individuals reap …show more content…
In the Milgram experiment, Stanley Milgram remarks, “Obedience is as basic an element in the structure of social life as one can point to”. I believe Milgram is saying that to fit in, we must abide by their rules and boundaries, with no questions asked. Rita Mae Brown quotes, “The reward for Conformity is that everybody likes you but yourself.” I believe Brown is saying that no matter how much you work and strive to be something you’re not, it is inevitable that you won’t feel the warm, fuzzy, comfortable feeling of acceptance. However, I believe that being an outcast is not a …show more content…
For example, when we vote, we are voting because we need someone in charge to lead us to a brighter future, some people are not going to stand for what you believe in, and some individuals might not even vote at all. Overall, I don’t believe that we, as society, should worry about what anybody else thinks of one another. Granted, it might sound selfish and conceited. Then again, so is being so desperate that some individuals would dress and apply themselves with gory tattoos or piercings for the shock value in our society than the comfort value. In the article, ¨Individuality vs. Conformity: The Healthy Middle?¨ the author resolves that there is a fragile balance between Conformity and Individuality, and that we are all there whether we like it or not. The author additionally remarks, ¨The real kicker is that this horrible teetering balance is everywhere. It exists in every form imaginable.¨ The author then claims that no matter how hard we try to be unique or a sheep in a herd, we can be different and similar at the same time from one
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.
author Alexander Robbins states: “From the age of five children increasingly exclude peers who don’t conform to group norms. Children learn this quickly. A popular Indiana eighth grader told me ‘I have to be the same as everybody else, or people won’t like me anymore’” (150). The human brain is wired such that children will end friendships with kids that they find different. Robbins finds this behavior to be undesirable saying that it is not only unappealing, but it is a cop-out. In agreement with Robbins, parents across the world, organizations, and teen movies tell society that conformity is bad and that children should not conform to the group, rather they should stand alone and be individuals. However, Solomon Asch’s study may have discovered why this is. He concluded that: “The investigations described in this series are concerned with the independence and lack of independence in the face of group pressure” (1). Asch determines that in the face of pressure people are more apt to conform.
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.
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive. Although the society that we are living in is different than the one the Emerson's essay, the idea of fitting in still exists today. Although society and our minds make us think a certain way, we should always trust our better judgment instead of just conforming to society.
Individualism and conformity—two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s times. 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.)
"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...
In order to understand why people conform so easily, one must analyze the effects of belongingness on our thought and behavior. This inescapable fear of rejection leads people to make cognitive and behavioral alterations in order to fit in and feel good about themselves. In the Milgram study, this fear of rejection (i.e. not being accepted by the man wearing a lab coat) caused participants to go against their own values and inflict pain on someone else. The confederate in the lab coat was able to capitalize on the participant’s fear through a few brief statements like, “The experiment will be ruined if you stop” or, “I need you to keep going.” After hearing these words, participants would often jump right back into shocking the man in order to please, and to be accepted by, the doctor running the experiment. In general, the psychological importance of self-esteem can help explain why people conform so easily: people want to feel good about themselves, which is achieved through acceptance and belongingness (Sociometer Theory), so people will usually go out of their way to feel accepted and thus feel good about
The society of today appreciates individuality but at times, it doesn't facilitate or condone it completely. As stated by Ralph Waldo Emerson "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment"
Imagine living in a world where almost everyone lived the same lifestyle. Same cars, styles, and personalities, almost everything was the same. There was a set social norm and if you were different, you might have been judged for the way you lived. You feel the need to change your lifestyle in order to fit in with the world’s “social norm”. There is a pressure from the people around you or the town/city that you live in. Now it is highly encouraged to be different amongst the rest of the people to stand out. However, before being “different”, many people felt the need to conform to society’s norm. In the books The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt, social conformity plays a huge role in their storylines. The term social conformity is a society or
The roles of diversity and uniqueness are a crucial part of society today. Without these qualities being enforced into the American character, people won't produce thoughtful ideas that could help shape America. Both authors illustrate the evil effect of conformity in society and support how one should be self reliant, not phony, and confident in their own beliefs and ideas.
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).
“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.
Conformity is vital to people’s lives. Humans, being compound animals, live in a culture that works as a whole. Therefore, if there is a fault, the whole system might disintegrate. So, people are obligated to respect the affairs of others so that they can stay together as a whole. On the other hand, individuality, just like conformity, is necessary to life even despite the fact that modern people may not understand its worth.