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Features of conformity
Factors contributing to Conformity
Factors contributing to Conformity
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Recommended: Features of conformity
Part A: Define Conformity and Nonconformity The definition of conformity is the compliance with social standards and laws in a particular culture, environment, society and time. Conformity happens when a person changes their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more closely with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a result of real or perceived group pressure. There are 2 types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. Normative conformity is conformity that occurs because of the desire to be liked and accepted, this is most widely known as peer pressure. For example, a student begins smoking because their peers are smoking, and feels the need to do this in order to gain acceptance. Informational conformity, …show more content…
When the movie is finished, all your friends were saying how much they liked it. In this instance, if you were to suppress your own opinion and say that you liked the movie, you would be conforming. In contrast, nonconformity is a deviation from social norms. It happens when the rules and expectations of a group are violated. This often occurs when a person chooses to act upon their own thoughts and intuition, rather than the expectations of the group, or the society and culture in which they live. An example of nonconformity is attending a wedding and wearing only casual clothes when everybody else is dressed formally. Part B: To what extent have the values and behaviours of one group influenced the perceptions of this group in the wider …show more content…
For example, on the night of December 22nd 2002, the Bra Boys had an altercation with off-duty members of the local police force. This event has ultimately resulted in the Bra Boy group being labelled as rebellious, young teens with criminal tendencies by some in the wider society. However, this view was challenged as a result of the actions of the Bra Boys during the Cronulla Riot. In this instance, the leaders of the Bra Boys were a crucial part in instigating the eventual peace between the Australian and Lebanese communities. As a result, the wider community now perceived the Bra Boys as respectful young adults, who valued equality between different cultures. From these instances, it is clear that the behaviours and values of the Bra Boys have influenced the way in which they are perceived by the wider society to a great extent, serving to both reinforce the negative stereotype surrounding the group, as well as challenge it and portray the group in a new
Conformity means a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. As a teenager, the pressure to conform to the societal “norm” plays a major role in shaping one’s character. Whether this means doing what social groups want or expect you to do or changing who you are to fit in. During class, we watched films such as Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Breakfast Club which demonstrate how the pressure to conform into society can change who you are. In the movies we have seen, conformity was most common during high school.
So far, conformity has been discussed in terms of group identification and social roles. However, individuals also tend to change prior beliefs to seek group acceptance. Asch (1951) investigated the effect of group pressure on conformity by asking participants to make a line judgment with seven confederates that gave the same obviously incorrect answer. Yet, 37% of participants conformed by giving the incorrect majority answer, whereas in the absence of group pressure, less than 1% of participants conformed (Asch, 1951). There are implications on normative influence as individuals, despite knowing the majority opinion was incorrect, may conform to avoid social punishment (Breckler et al., 2005). However, Turner and colleagues (1987) argued
The behaviours of the Bra Boys have influenced the way in which they are perceived by the wider society in both a positive and negative fashion. Established in the 1990s, based in Maroubra, the Bra Boys are a gang centred on surf culture, who has gained notoriety through their behaviours, and numerous associations with crime and violence, in addition to some links with community activism. The surrounding culture and environment of Maroubra has played a great role in the formation, and thus values of this group. The Abberton brothers, Sunny, Jai, Koby, and Dakota, began this brotherhood to provide a sense of family and belonging for the children of the local Maroubra area. Nonetheless, the actions of this group have had them labelled as social deviants by the wider society, with the media perpetuating much of this negative image. Furthermore, this false representation of the Bra Boys was further reinforced through advancements in technologies, such as the internet. For example, on the night of December 22nd, 2002, approximately 200 members of the Bra Boys had an altercation involving the local police. The media had reported that gunshots were fired during this fight when in actuality there were none. Accordingly, this altercation saw this group labelled as a criminal gang, who did everything they could to rebel against
Definition: Conformity is behavior and appearances that follow and maintain the standards of a group; also the acceptance of cultural goals and the pursuit of those goals through means defined as legitimate.
Conformity and Its Meaning This assignment focuses upon conformity and what it means to us. Conformity is defined by Zimbardo (1992) as "A tendency for people to adopt behaviour, values and attitudes of other members of a reference group". Why people conform is a topic of much debate. People don't always conform for the same reason's, in 1958 Kelman identified three main forms of conformity, each of which could produce conforming behaviour but in different ways.
Elliot Aronson (2012) provides a definition of conformity, two social psychological processes that underlie a conformity and cited examples of reasons why people conform in the book, The Social Animal. Aronson (2012) defines a conformity as “a change in a person’s behavior or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people” (p.19). In accordance with Aronson’s (2012) definition of conformity, people do conform owing to the social influence, which are two main social psychological processes: belonging and getting information.
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).
You might have seen a couple of conformist on tv or in a magazine. The first example for non-conformity is Miley Cyrus , back then Miley was a perfectly normal person that was many little kids including myself , idol, but then Miley got too far into the fame and it went straight to her head, and now she doesn’t really care about what people think of her and she does her own thing and it will always end up on a magazine or on tv. Another example of a non-conformist is Lindsay Lohan she was just like Miley Cyrus, but a couple years ago and now she doesn’t really have a care in the world.
society, there is not only a tolerance of certain kinds of non-conformity, but sometimes uniqueness and individuality are celebrated. For example, in the last presidential election both Bernie Sander and Donald Trump were campaigning “against” the establishment. They were nonconformist candidates whose campaigns gained supporters based almost entirely on the fact that their ideas went against the “mainstream” candidate moderates in their political parties. Also, in the U.S. today, the government doesn’t enforce conformity. In fact, the Supreme Court has made some decisions in recent years on issues like gay marriage that have upheld the right to be a nonconformist. However, although the government doesn’t enforce conformity, there are many ways that individuals encourage others to conform. For example, in schools and other institutions, individuals who “don’t fit in” are often harassed and bullied for being different. People who look different, dress different, or act different, face a lot of hostility. Also, it is common for individuals with differing opinions, particularly, on political issues to shout each other down. Social media is a platform where often people with unpopular ideas or opinions get bullied into being quiet and keeping their opinion to themselves. Therefore, even though, we seemingly live in a society that is tolerant of nonconformity, there are pressures to conform and be like everyone
Furthermore, non-conformity is the total opposite of conformity. Non-conformity is when someone is not doing the same as everyone else they're doing their own thing. In addition, that's called being an antagonist when you do the opposite of others. An example of non-conformity is when someone who does not care if everyone is doing something that's the same, antagonist like to do their own thing even if they get bullied by other
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
Nonconformity means to be yourself to be able to do something different when others are doing something they think is right, to look at things differently than others do. Nonconformity is having custom ideas and looking at things differently than some may. Being nonconformist means you won't mold to society you will look at things the way you think is right. Or like Emerson would say go away from the crowd."Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind."-Emerson. "A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority."-Henry David Thoreau. These are both quotes about nonconformity, Emerson’s comes straight from his “Self Reliance” essay.
Conformity is defined as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. (Meyers 170) What other people do and say can gradually influence others to deviate from ones beliefs and conform to others. One of the most famous documented studies to better illustrate this was a procedure performed by social psychologist, Solomon Asch.
Conformity involves the changing of one’s attitudes, opinions, or behaviours to match those of the ‘norms’. The “norms”, established by society, are what we should or ought to be thinking, feeling, or doing if we wish to be accepted into a group. This desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need.
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