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Conformity is the want to follow popular ideology with the intent of fitting in with everybody else. This want is commonplace and evident in our society and has positives and negatives. Alternatively, the resistance to fitting in, or nonconformity, also has an impact on our society.
Conformity has its’ place, and there are many advantages to utilizing it at specific times and in specific places. For example, Logan Feys, the author of the essay, The Sociology of Leopard Man, offers, “nevertheless, being around people and their creations can be worthwhile… Most of the time you should be an active and contributing member of society,” (9 - 10). This quote expresses that conformity is necessary, for the sake of being around people, and even
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To begin, Feys asks, “why do so many millions of ‘normal’ people suffer from alcoholism… depression and other rehabilitating conditions? Could it be that the desire to fit in has led to these self inflicted diseases?” (5). This excerpt begs the question; why do millions of “normal” people also have so many problems? The author asking this question showcases that millions of people are perpetually being forced to conform, causing them to outlet negative energy in self inflicted harm. Following up, Logan argues, “conformity can be seen as the worlds most common but dangerous psychological disorder. To be human is to be an individual with individual talents and dreams” ( 6 ). This excerpt from the article describes the idea that conformity is so prevalent in our society that it makes it dangerous because being a human being, is to have separate opinions and ideas. People leading so-called ‘normal lives’ enumerate the population and, from previous sentiments, show they also outlet negatively, more often than outsiders due to restraint, so this shows that ‘normal’ people are the source of many difficulties that occur in public. Therefore, conformity is a disease to society and really has its drawbacks to
Conformity can be very crucial, infact a lot of people eventually start hurting themselves or doing drugs just because they don't feel themselves anymore.Why can't society change? why can't that one kid that always follows everyone in the back can turn into the kid that just hangs with the people they really wanna hang with?We need to embrace ourselves so we can stop all this conformity from consuming us.Tupac was a nonconformist, he always did what made him happy and always told the truth.
Individualism and conformity--two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s time. In comparison to the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man,” written by Logan Feys, one of the most notable quotes that relates to individualism and conformity is “to be a human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes [...][and]talents [...] that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family, …” (Feys Par. 6). To be truthful, conformity and nonconformity are used to determine a person’s inner-being, but every person is different, and in this case people will not always agree with each other on how they should live.
Individuality is a valued character in society and is what makes us who we are, if we lose our individuality and conform we lose ourselves. In the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man” by Logan Feys, the author describes what he thinks it means to be an individual and the dangers of conformity. Leopard Man lives in seclusion and is covered in tattoos, Feys uses him as an example of an individual that does not care what the world thinks of him. I agree almost completely agree with Feys’s ideas about individuality. I agree because of Feys’s points about false normality, and how going against conformity is what makes an individual, however I disagree with his repeated use of the word freak, but see why he would use this language.
I have to agree with what he says in in the article. I feel that fitting in and conforming is what society expects everyone to do. So conforming is second nature to society. I feel this way, because I see people changing and conforming everyday just to
Many people have trouble being apart of a society. These troubles come from trying to fit in, which is also known as conforming. Another trouble is trying to express one’s own style with one’s own opinion. This is a trouble due to the fact that many people have the fear of being frowned upon when being the black sheep of the group if one’s opinion does not correspond with other opinions. This is where one’s own sense of who they are, individuality, and trying to fit in, conformity, can get confused. A nickname for conformity is “herd behavior” which is the name of an article where the author relates animals that herd with people that conform. Many people have a different philosophy of this topic which will be expressed in this essay. An important
“Social conformity has been practiced in societies around the world since ancient times,” and the reason it is so effective is that humans have an inherent need to be accepted as part of a group (Sadat). Furthermore, Hossna Sadat reports that:
The definition of conformity is the compliance with social standards and laws in a particular culture, environment, society and time. If this occurs the individual changes their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more holistically with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a result of real or perceived group pressure. This is ultimately a direct result of the power which a group has over the individual. There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. The motivation behind normative conformity is the desire to be liked and accepted in society. This is most widely known as peer pressure. For example, a student begins smoking because their peers
Conformity can often seem like the best path to take in a situation. Going along with everyone else will cause less conflict for the group as a whole. Unfortunately conforming simply to protect other people's feelings can lead to powerful internal conflicts if a person does not fully agree with the situation. Ruth from A Raisin in the Sun, Langston from "Salvation," and Mama from "Everyday Use," all felt internal conflicts resulting from conformity.
Conformity can be useful when in unfamiliar surroundings or activities. Several examples make their appearance everyday like dancing. Dancing is a fun activity, but when it’s unclear what kind of dancing to do. What happens then? It’s in everyone’s best interest to mimic the people who know what they’re doing to avoid embarrassment. In some way or another, everyone has done it throughout their life but it is really handy in the right
This text shaped my understanding of sociology because I was able to see how much power society, specifically the majority, can have over an individual because it seems to be the easiest course of action. This concept is known as social conformity. The article Opinions and Social Pressure took the time to convey how the minds of the majority and the minority work, and provides insight on how social conformity shapes our everyday experiences.
In my view, Feys is wrong because you can tell there are those people who do outrageous things to seek attention, and those who do things for their own approval and happiness like Leopard Man. Leopard Man was one of those “ Non Conformists” who showed us that being ourselves and striving for our own satisfaction and happiness was one of the greatest things you could ever achieve; sadly he passed away on June 16, 2016 at 80 years old and he died in a care home. When he was 70 years old he changed his small cozy home and island for a house in Broadford, Skye. More specifically, I believe that even though it seems that we do things to seek attention from society and people around us it’s not true because we do things to express ourselves in our own
Conformity, or going along with the crowd, is a unique phenomenon that manifests itself in our thoughts and behaviors. It’s quite simple to identify countless examples of the power of conformity in virtually all aspects of social life. Conformity influences our opinions and relationships with others, often to a higher extent than we realize. It is posited that people generally conform to the group in order to fit in and avoid rejection or because they truly believe the group is more knowledgeable than they are. After analyzing numerous studies and experiments on the nature of conformity, one will find that the motive of social acceptance is the greatest driver of conformity.
Conformity affects society in more ways than one. It can help people come together and work in harmony to contribute to society, however it can also hold individuals back from being themselves and making changes. The short story “Anthem” and the article “Leopard Man” go into great detail about the positive and negative aspects of conformity. “Anthem” encourages individualism and the freedom to express one’s self, while “Leopard Man” explains how conformity is beneficial to society.
In every society, there is conformity and nonconformity, although we may not notice it. Conformity is when someone is doing the same thing as others because they do not want to be the only one doing differently. Example, if there was a whole class raising their hands would you want to be the only one with your hand down, no so you would raise it with the rest of the class to not look like you don't know anything. This is called social pressures it when a large group is doing something and you're the only one not then you want to be doing whatever that large group is doing.
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