CONFORMITY IS A CHANGE IN AN INDIVIDUALS BEHAVIOUR ACCORDING TO CERTAIN ACCEPTED STANDARDS WITHIN SOCIETY AS WELL AS THE INFLUENCE OF OTHERS WHETHER THIS BE A REAL OR IMAGINARY INFLUENCE. THERE ARE 2 KEY CONCEPTS OF CONFORMITY, ACCEPTANCE OR COMPLIANCE. ✓ Acceptance - Many people conform to social norms in order to feel accepted in the society they live in. ✓ Compliance - This is acting in accordance with something that is requested or following rules etc. Compliance is normally passed down the ranks in the public services
Factors which influence conformity
People tend to conform more if they have a low self esteem or they feel they need to be socially accepted. A single person is also more likely to conform to feel part of a group of people than two or more people. The strength of the influence as well as the immediacy and the number of sources of influences are also factors of conformity according to THE SOCIAL IMPACT THEORY.
Conformity= Compliance with common practices
Compliance means doing what other people in our social standing do in our daily lives. Most people, in most social groups, conform in everyday things like speech, dress codes, eating habits etc. This kind of conformity is known as " social control"- the numerous pressures as individuals grow turns them from babies into members of our society. The main agencies of social control are the family, the peer group, the media, religion, employment and the law. All of these encourage conformity of one kind or another. The conformity types of behaviour are called " Social norms" :
. age groups
. colleges and classes in colleges
. people of same social economic background
.women, men
. ethnic groups
The Role of self-esteem in conformity:
Self-esteem is defined as the way we value ourselves: Physically, socially, intellectually and emotionally. Low self