Factors Influencing Conformity and Obedience
Conformity:
Three reasons that influence conformity are the ones I am about to
list below:
Compliance with parties:
Compliance is almost the same as conformity the difference between
these is that in compliance there is a request for a person to behave
in a certain (an act of compliance) way although this doesn’t have to
be stated.
We are doing this so that our behaviours don’t stand out or upset the
majority. In many occasions these actions are too those which are in
accordance with laws or rules and regulations.
Self esteem:
People who have positive image of themselves have a good self esteem,
how you treat others can affect how they feel about themselves,
positive comments can boost a persons self esteem and make they’re
aura more positive, make them have a positive attitude. And therefore
work more effectively and be a positive member of the team.
Social norms:
Social norms are what society deems appropriate for you social group.
There was an important study carried out by Deutsch and Gerard in 1955
these found that there were two possible theories that would affect
your reaction to social norms these are.
Y Informational Social Influence (ISI)
Y Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Informational Social Influence: This theory consists on the need to
analyze different the information and different points of view. When a
person is found in an unknown environment, without sufficient
information about it. That person will look at other people’s
behaviour to know what the social norm is and will then behave in a
similar way.
People need information about they’re environment to feel comfortable.
An example of this would be, if you were waiting at the traffic light
to cross with a group of people, but you couldn’t see the lights
change. You would cross the road when the rest of people crossed the
road. This would be an example of an individual looking at other
peoples behaviour to find the right thing to do.
Solomon Asch developed and ran an experiment regarding the power of conformity that affects most populations. Psychologists have been attempting to fully understand the mental workings behind why people are so easily pressured into following others for the longest time. The main focus of psychologists, is to figure and understand what the causes are behind social conformity. Numerous terms are brought up when studying conformity. The “unspoken rules or guidelines for behavior in a group” (Hock 293) are labeled as social norms. When individuals are placed in large groups, the tendency is to lean with whatever the majority of the group thinks. The regular behavior of the individual tends to readjust to appease the superior crowd.
When pondering about what an individual thinks of you, people have varying views. Some people are not concerned; to others it is the most critical matter on their mind. The feeling of being judged is a very potent emotion. Likewise, conformity is one of the largest controversies in today’s society; the behavior of someone in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. So if someone personally made his or her expectations on what you should be like evident, would you change? In Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook, he illustrates that judgment and expectations conform a person into someone they are not due to their personal identity. This can be seen through a character’s loyalty to another, dominance and the vulnerability it includes, and a character’s love and devotion. Conformity and the reasons for its appearance will be analyzed through samples from Matthew Quick’s bestselling novel.
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
Cialdini, Robert B, & Trost, Melanie R. (1998). Social Influence: Social Norms, Conformity, & Compliance. Interpersonal Phenomena. Retrieved from: angel.elmira.edu/section/default.asp?id=w114_PSY3010_01.
As an individual stuck amidst 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 regularly act. Since they ordinarily aren't certain of their character, adolescents are more inclined to similarity than others. In the most essential structure, college is tormented with congruity through the generalizations that learners seek after and explore different avenues regarding trying to uncover their personality. There are two sorts of Conformity: the kind that makes you do your errands when your father authorizes you to, and the less than great kind in which you aimlessly take after the thoughts and tenets of an inner circle or gathering, without addressing the negative impacts it has upon yourself and the improvement of whatever remains of public opinion. Conformity is basic in that people strive for a feeling of strength and acknowledgement in their lives. As a result of this need, “we therefore figure out how to fit in with principles of other individuals. What's more the more we see others carrying on in a certain manner or settling on specific choices, the more we feel obliged to stick to this same pattern.” Despite the freedoms we are supposed to have in American society most adolescents find it difficult to have their own identity.
“Conformity is a form of social influence that involves a change in behavior or belief so that one can fit in with a certain group” (McLeod). Such a change is a response to imagined (which involves the pressure of expectations or social norms) or real (which involves the presence of others) group pressure. Another definition of conformity can be “yielding to group pressures”. Group pressure can take many forms, for example persuasion, teasing, bullying, criticism etc. Conformity is also referred to as group pressure or majority influence. The term conformity is mostly used to show an agreement to the position of the majority, and this is brought about by either by the desire to be liked or to fit in, or just to match a social role. The aim of this paper is to argue that conformity is among people because they always live in groups-work groups, family, political, religious and social groups. At the same instance, they are adjusted to obey authority. A conformist mentality makes it easy for people to be influenced by others.
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 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 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).
Human beings are defined as ''social animals'' because in every aspects of life they live together, they form a variety of groups and improve relationships with each other. Interaction with others is a natural result of living in society. In the process of interaction, society and its rules has a social impact on each individual. If people face with any kind of social impact such as group pressure, great part of them show conformity by changing their behaviors, ideas, decisions in expected way. A person conforms if he or she chooses a course of action that a majority favors or that is socially acceptable. Some kind of conformity is natural and socially healthy but obeying all the norms, ideas, and decisions without thinking or accepting is harmful for the society and its democratic norms....
There are two reason can explain why people conform .First one is normative social influence and information social influence . Normative social influence is one kind of type for social influence leading conformity ,people think that oth...
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
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.
So why do people conform? Psychologists believe there are two main reasons: normative influence and informative influence. Kaplan and Miller define normative influence as conforming due to “concerns about the group and one’s position in it,” and informative influence as conforming due to “concerns about being accurate and arriving at correct solutions” (Kaplan and Miller, 1987).
Norms tend to guide the group. Even unknowingly, members act within the norms established. Staying within these boundaries, which become ingrained in their behavior patterns, the group becomes equipped accomplish its goals. While group norms may help a group progress towards its goal, some norms may also hinder the group from working together