...The Power of Conformity Conformity refers to an individual’s behavior that is performed because of group pressure, even though that pressure might not involve a direct request. Many people want to think that they are conformist enough so that they are not looked upon as strange to others and nonconformist enough to demonstrate that they are capable of thinking by themselves. For many years, psychologists have been interested in human conformity. Usually when people are in groups, they behave according to how those in the group behave. That indicates that conformity can affect a person’s behavior and make a person do things that may be against their ethics, attitudes, and morals. The study of conformity was first studied in the 1950s by Solomon Asch. His experiments were very important to the study of conformity. Asch wanted to find out how conformity could influence behavior. He did not want to focus on the general concepts like ethics, morals, attitudes, and belief systems. Instead, he focused on a more obvious concept which was perceptional conformity. Since he performed the experiment on a simple task, he was able to study conformity in a controlled environment. Asch wanted to apply group pressure to the experiment so he could manipulate a person’s behavior. For the experiment, he made three pairs of cards with three different lengths of vertical lines on one side. On the other side, there was a single line that was the same length ... Conformity and Obedience in Society...
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...Conformity and Obedience in the 20th Century 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. We, as humans, hold individualism in the highest regard yet fail to realize that groups diminish our individuality. Lessing writes, "when we're in a group, we tend to think as that group does... but we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group" (p. 334). Groups have the tendency to generate norms, or standards for behavior in certain situations. Not following these norms can make you stand out and, therefore, groups have the ability to influence our thoughts and actions in ways that are consistent with the groups'. Lessing's essay helps set the context to understand the experiments that social psychologists Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo conducted to explain conformity and obedience. Solomon Asch's experiment in "Opinions and Social Pressure" studied a subject's ability to yield to social pressure when placed within a group of strangers. His research helped illustrate how groups encourage...
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...[pic] Definition “Conformity is a type of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes, beliefs or behaviours to adhere to existing social norms” Baron et al, 2006 Explanation of social norms (you must learn this for small mark answer) ➢ Social norms are one of the key causes of why people conform to the majority view. ➢ Social norms (group norms) are the standard rules of behaviour for individuals in any given society/culture. ➢ Unspoken rules develop spontaneously, unconsciously usually through force of habit and if you do not conform to these rules you will be excluded… ➢ For example, behaviour at a bus stop, the type of clothes that are popular, the type of drinks to be drinking, the type of music to listen to, the places to travel in the world Jenness (1932) The first informal experimental study of conformity where participants were asked to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. When asked for a group estimate they almost all changed their individual guesses closer to the group estimate. This persisted when asked again individually. They conformed. NB: Remember for every study in this topic and obedience try to give a methodological and ethical issue (or advantage) for each study |Methodological issues |Ethical issues | | ...
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...How can we explain conformity? Draw on at least two examples Scott and Marshall (2005) explain conformity with people’s attempts on complying with other’s norms and rules in order to fulfill their expectations. But is it really that simple? Conformity is one of these terms in sociology that have too much different tones and shades, and thus requires deep examination. This essay looks at in detail at a number of classical studies on the subject of conformity as well as it analyzes a particular type of conformity, i.e. gender conformity. Examples and case studies given from both academic experiments and everyday life help this essay in arguing that conformity is a complex process happening to all of us most of the time even without our knowledge. Moreover, this essay provides information about why people actually conform. Every person is an individual. However, every person belongs to a group. The nationality of a person, their sex, their age, the colour of their skin, and even their hobbies are all different kinds of groups to which this person belongs to. Group membership helps building a type of social identity, while applying its norms and rules upon the individual (Brown 2000). Moreover, even in cases in which a clear hierarchy and roles are absent because of the instant development of the group, social influence remains existent. Social influence definition given by Allport (1968) is as it follows, ‘an attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and...
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...Consequences To Conformity, Compliance and Obedience Pertaining to Social Pressure Social Influence and Groups "Social influence is the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others" (Feldman, 2013). Many people know from their own experiences the undeniable pain, as well as changes in behavior, that is experienced by submitting to these type pressures, that otherwise, never would have resulted. Social pressures cause people to conform, comply, and obey. Furthermore, these actions and behaviors can have severe negative affects to our personal relationships, which will be address in the following paragraphs. Conformity: Following What Others Do Conformity can be defined as a change in behavior and attitudes that happens because of a need to follow other people (Feldman, 2013). Frequently, people conform to peers and social pressure because of their psychological need to be accepted. Everyone wants to feel loved and accepted. However, when this acceptance comes at the dangerous cost of conforming to social groups, changes occur that are sometimes not thought out and/or unexpected (Encyclopedia for Marriage and Family, 2003). For example, many times people lose their individuality and will not grow as a person because they do not feel they can voice their own thoughts and opinions. This is for fear that in so doing, they will go against their peer groups and become unaccepted. This type conformity usually begins during adolescents...
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...Groupthink is the concept of having many people go along in agreement with a decision essentially because, either someone of authority has spoken and others are afraid to contradict their idea, or because in the silence of a discussion, each individual believes that others agree with the “apparent” consensus and don’t want to demolish the group cohesiveness . For example, have you ever thought about raising an issue or question in a group meeting, but then abstained because you didn’t want to destroy the consensus view the team had spent considerable time forming, or because you didn’t want to appear to be the only unsupportive member of the team? Conversely, have you ever been a manager who has had to force a team through change when clearly the team was hesitant and not expressing their true opinions? or have you ever been in a situation where you have a team school project and all of you just agree with a certain suggestion because you just want the meeting to be done as soon as possible? The answer to these questions is groupthink. Along with this, the only thing that can help managers combat the groupthink effects is staying aware of the number of key indicators, or symptoms that this mentality presents. The four main symptoms of groupthink are: illusion of invulnerability, self censorship, direct pressure and an illusion of unanimity. One of the most dangerous symptoms of groupthink is the illusion of invulnerability, in which the entire group believes to have...
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...GPO REFLECTION PAPER Session 1: (17/01/2014) After an interesting and useful course called ‘Individual Dynamics’, we had another course which future managers need to compulsorily undergo. Here comes the course named ‘GROUP PROCESSSES IN ORGANIZATION’ which was handled by Prof. Rupashree Baral. I was excited about the course as I liked the way the previous course was handled. The very first day was interesting where we all were asked to introduce each other. I was a bit confused about what was happening in the class, as in why are we being asked to introduce our neighbors? But after getting introduced by Ravi, who told the class about my dream of providing jobs to trans-genders the whole class appreciated. That was actually an incentive for me to run towards my dream further. I realized the importance of the activity. It had a great impact on me. Similarly, Ravi pointed out my negatives as well. These things helped me in understanding the perception of my peers about me. The purpose of GPO starts from here. After learning about motivation, perception, attitude, emotions etc in Individual Dynamics, we also need to learn how people behave in groups like how people communicate, how people conform to others in groups, conflicts etc. A recap of important concepts from Individual Dynamics is also note worthy. Session 2: (21/01/2014) The highlight of this session was THE LEMON ACTIVITY, to name it. I was surprised (as everyone in the class) when ma’am took out some lemon from her...
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...Let go of fear and become the real you do not conform If you like signing don’t be afraid IF YOU LIKE DANCE, DRAW, WRITE, DON’T BE AFRAID IF YOU LIKE TO DO ACTIVITIES-DON’T hesitate because of others. We are not alone - we don’t have to face things alone 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7) Speak about fear and what it causes us to do. Fear of rejection - don’t try, act like a fool, act dumb, be rebellious. Acting dumb-TELL STORY OF HOW I FIRST CAME TO SCHOOL ECA Starts with the little things CONFORMED TO MUSIC, SMOKING CIGS, DRINKING, For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13) When we act against our natural nature, we become fake and we lie to ourselves. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6) (Romans 12:2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will Prayer at end The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) abandonment being bad, corrupt, evil, defective being controlled by others being deprived being harmed ...
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...Alexis Serrano Introduction to Psychology Paper 3 Conformity is another term for peer pressure. Women seem to want to stand out instead of to conform whereas men are more likely to conform then stand out. Deindividualization makes people more vulnerable to conform because people are forced to be or act like a different person than what they are confortable with. Obedience is when orders are taken from someone in authority, or someone is higher than us. I am thankful for obedience or else the world would never function properly. In high school, I witnessed so many different examples of conformity and obedience, whether or not I was the one involved or I saw it happen to other people. It may happen to you even if it is an accident. I was on the school’s varsity soccer team all four years of high school and there were several times when the girls wanted to me to do something they were doing and most of the time I refused because I knew it was wrong or it just was not something I wanted to participate in. I was always considered the good kid and would usually never do anything wrong. I never cheated on a test, or let anyone cheat off of me intentionally, talk back to the teacher or bully anyone. One example for conformity, that I denied, that I will never forget is on a Wednesday night at a team dinner, the coach had already left and one of the girls took us outside and pulled out a few bottles of alcohol and suggested we drink, knowing we had a big game the next day. I took...
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...A research done in conformity was conducted by Sherif. He did a lab experiment where he asked participants to watch a non-moving light in a dark room. The light appeared to move when in fact it was a visual illusion. Participants were asked to estimate the movement of the light alone and then in groups of three. He found that when participants were asked to estimate the movement of the light alone there was a variation in answers. However, when they were in groups of three participants changed their answers to give an average of their individual estimates. A criticism of Sherif’s study is that its low in ecological validity, for example the task that participants were asked to do is not a task you would do in everyday life. Therefore we may not be able to generalise these results to real life situations in which people conform to a majority. Another criticism of Sherif’s study is that it raises ethical issues, for example participants were deceived as they were not told the truth about the light not moving. Therefore this can lead to the participants feeling stressed as they try to find out the answer. This would raise another ethical issue as Sherif has not protected his participants from harm therefore this shows that Sherif is valuing his experiment more than his participants. Another criticism to Sherif’s study is that the answer to the task is ambiguous; for example, we don’t know whether the participants conformed to others due to them generally being affected by...
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...Many theorists contributed to theories on social influence. Two in particular are Asch and Moscovici. These talked about the majority influence and the minority influence. Solomon Asch conducted an experiment in 1951 to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. He showed the participants 3 lines and asked them which line had the same length as the one he had presented. Only one of the participants weren't collaborating with the researcher whilst the others had to say a wrong answer. Even though it was obvious which lines were the same, after hearing the collaborators say their wrong answers, the participants found themselves in a conflict whether they should give the same answer as the others even if it was wrong or say the right one. 75% of the participants gave into the group pressure at least once whilst 37% conformed on all trials. He found out that apparently people conform for two main reasons, because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence). Asch had assumed that the participants would be able to say the truth. However, about 70% of the participants went against the majority at least in one of the trials. They also had a strong conflict because they wanted to be like the rest of the group. Most gave both wrong and right answers to avoid being ridiculed but at the same time show perceptual accuracy...
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...What is Conformity? Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Conformity can also be simply defined as “yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield, 1955). Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism, etc. Conformity is also known as majority influence (or group pressure). The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification). Jenness (1932) was the first psychologist to study conformity. His experiment was an ambiguous situation involving a glass bottle filled with beans. He asked participants individually to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. Jenness then put the group in a room with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate through discussion. Participants were then asked to estimate the number on their own again to find whether their initial estimates had altered based on the influence of the majority. Jenness then interviewed the participants individually again, and asked if they would like to change their original estimates, or stay with the group's...
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...Teenagers in Today’s Society: Situations and Decisions Adolescents throughout the decades, past and present, have all felt the social pressure to fit into a certain clique. They all feel that urge to associate themselves with the popular group and will try anything to meet those standards of today’s society. Teenage social conformity and lack of individuality is an issue in Joyce Carol Oates’ story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates demonstrates throughout her story that an adolescent’s sense of approval from their peers could lead them into making rash and carless decisions. Many people believe they need to dress and behave in a certain manner if they want to be liked by their peers. Unfortunately, today’s society is all about paying attention to how someone dresses instead of how they present themselves. Some girls do not realize that dressing in a sexy way could make them seem vulnerable to some individuals. Oates’ story stated that Connie “wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home.” Connie did attract attention from boys her age with her altered clothing but she also attracted negative attention from an older man named Arnold. Adolescents strive for other’s attention so they can achieve that level of being wanted. There is evidence of this in the story when Connie is at a drive-in with her friends. She is intrigued by what...
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...Conformity in society is something that is seen in a mostly negative light. With that being said, while conformity in the outside world is frowned upon, it is not only being encouraged, but required in schools. With the implementation of common core in 2009, guidelines in schools have continually become more and more strict over recent years, lessening teachers range of freedom. Not only is conformity a major topic of debate in the present, it has actually been an ongoing problem for many years. Conformity, especially in schools, was a major topic in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s 1971 play “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.” This play, based in the year 1846, depicts the many problems with society’s need to conform, especially in the classroom setting. In this play, teacher...
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...Conformity and School Environments conformity effects school environment. It also changes people. It makes people follow others choices. Conformity also brings negative attention to others. It also makes people feel different. It makes people do what they do not want to. By changing it also starts new behaviours. Like being mean to others. Also so, that they can get along with others. People want to conform, because they want experience new things. Conformity starts new traditions. A new way of fashion styles being. If that person was always a covered person, so that person would start to show body parts just like the others do. A new style of talking also beings. They want to be the same as the rest. People choose what they want to change...
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