Factors Influencing Conformity and Obedience
The object of this paper is to critically evaluate factors influencing
conformity and obedience. I intend to do this by researching
conformity and obedience, using books and the Internet. I also hope to
briefly write about relevant case studies, by psychologists such as
Milgram and Baumrind, and include real life examples to present a
well-informed essay. Conformity and obedience are both forms of social
influence which is described as "the process by which an individuals
attitudes, beliefs or behaviours are modified by the presence or
actions of others" Cardwell,Clarke, Meldrum, 1996. This can be
described in easier terms, for example, it is how others influence us,
in the way we talk and act, and what we believe is right and wrong.
There are many ways this can be achieved, including influence by mere
presence, persuasion and charm to encourage us to behave according to
social norms. However, there is also force and silent treatment to
"discourage unwanted behaviour". Rathus, 1990. An example of social
influence is the bystander effect. Psychologists have researched and
found that at the scene of an accident, the more people there are, the
less likely it is that someone will help as "crowds tend to diffuse
responsibility" Rathus, 1990. This term originates from an incident in
New York, 1964.Kitty Genovese was murdered in front of nearly twenty
of her neighbours, not one of them offering any help to prevent this
tragedy. This is a popular study among psychologists, and numerous
books have been written, mainly concluding that when we are alone we
have a clearer picture of the situation, and ...
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...fferent roles and conformed to different societies when travelling
abroad it is polite and you discover different cultures.
Overall, my research has shown me that there are many factors why we
conform, depending on the situation and the individual. When
conducting experiments it is difficult to determine validity as
everybody can interpret the results differently. "Research finding
don't have any meaning until they are interpreted, and these
interpretations are not demanded by the findings themselves" Gergen,
Cultsock, Internet, 2001.
It is very important to remember ethical issues, as they are paramount
in all experiments. From my research, I can conclude that it seems
that generally people conform to be accepted and so as not to be
different. However, they obey as society expects it and authority
enforces it.
Pursuing a personal desire and choosing to conform to societal expectations is a challenging decision to make. A person must decide if their personal desire is worth risking the shame and judgment of others or is conforming the route to take because it is easier. When pursuing a personal desire one must ask itself if it is worth the hardship to accomplish one's desire or if it is best left alone and repressed, in hopes of finding comfort in conformity. John Laroche from The Orchid Thief expresses his personal desire without a care for conformity or societal expectations. Nevertheless, Laroche never stopped being strange as he grew up with fascinations of many objects such as orchids, turtles, old mirrors and fish tanks.
In society, it's difficult to go against the norm. Individuals are compelled to act a specific way, or look a specific way in order to be accepted. For instance, teenagers may encounter pressure from their peers to partake in specific exercises that may not be moral, since they feel the need to fit in. This weight of conformity isn't just present in reality; it can be found in literature as well. The story "St. Lucy’s Home For Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell depicts that in order to conform to society, individuals abandon their selflessness and compassion and become selfish and apathetic.
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.
People have been changing their behavior or obeying someone else’s commands for years. This continues today in our everyday lives. Conformity and obedience seem similar but differ in several ways. Conformity is defined by psychologists as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. Similar to this, is obedience. Obedience is defined acting in accordance with a direct order or command. Normally people conform to reap a reward or to avoid punishment. If we comply with a direct order or command it is considered obedience. Most of the time when people comply, it is to be accepted among others so they are not seen as outsiders. On the other hand, when we obey, we are obeying a command an authority figure gives. Conformity and obedience like this can be seen in groups such as cults.
The reason we do not go out looking for the differences between them is because some individuals are afraid of any difference that breaks their social norm. Each person is unique in their own way, having vast differences and challenges that they may face to become themselves. These differences and challenges are what bring us together and make up the communities we live in. They could be someones teacher, best friend, sister. or brother, they could even be someones role model.
we set the principles in which we live by and how we view ourselves as a person. We
the same basic materials, including the same beliefs and the same values, the same EVERYTHING. And together it all appears to be one "reality" (Barry Alfonso, 6)."
When are people taught what the “norms” of society are? Never. Yet, one will go outside and see humans, in general, look very similar to each other. Why is it that all humans basically look uniform? Logan Feys argues that people look alike due to pressures that society and other people place on them. Feys also argues that if they were all to truly be themselves, than every sole person will have a different way to express themselves. I agree that people are modified due to these pressures, but these pressures aren’t the only “pressures” that detain people. Furthermore, I concur with Feys on what he says defines a true person is their unique personality traits.
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.
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.
Apparently there are exemptions at either tremendous and of the continuum, but in common human beings are all very comparable at birth. Based upon the actions of human beings, the feedback that humans receive in reaction and change in their behavior in response to the feedback, they each begin to undertake a different pathway. This deed feedback change process shapes the experiences of humans, creating their unique personal lives (Van and Bryan 11). In the illustration above, Confucius reveals that what humans have in common by personality is their potential for development and their individual degrees of development are what distinguish human beings.... ... middle of paper ... ...
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
What separates the human race from all creation? Many will say that the ability to reason and capacity to know what is wright and wrong makes humanity different from everything else. But, for a while now, humanity has chosen to disregard these qualities and become blind to the horrifying product of this decision. Social media has made it very clear that our words affect others and is important to be mindful of them. The news show that even in the 21st century humans can be very cruel in 1st world or 3rd world countries. Brutal stories all around the world are shared about young man shutting others because of their physical or spiritual differences. The short story, written by Shirley Jackson, is a cry for humanity to stay
individuality we will never grow as much as we could as if we let our