Webster’s dictionary defines conformity in two ways, the first being, “Compliance with standards, rules, or laws.” The second is, “Behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions and standards.” Both of these definitions are saying the same thing, though, defining conformity as basically, a silent agreement to comply and behave in a way that society decides is acceptable. Colin Wilson was completely correct in his statement, "The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain." In today’s society, there is actually an alarming rise in conformity compared to the previous generations, and I feel as though that has a great deal to do with the ways in which human nature is …show more content…
Individuality is most commonly referred to as the qualities that make a person or a thing different from things of the same kind. There was a brief point in history where people’s differences were actually separated, but recently, society has developed in such a way that almost every major difference that a person could have has developed its own community- so even the uniqueness has been taken away from most things that used to be considered special. The identity of our youth is being decided by modern celebrities, television shows, movies and all forms of advertisement. Society has decided what the parameters for the idea of normal are- and has made it clear that all people who decide to drastically step out of that conformity are to be socially exiled. Being different is no longer something that is considered positive. In order to actually fit in, you have to pick a category- and design yourself to fit into whatever that category requires. It has been proven time and time again that adolescents need positive reinforcement in order to feel like they are successful. It is not enough for someone to tell them that what they are doing is decent, or that they are unique. Teenagers need someone to outright make them feel as though they have reached the standard of normality. Individuality has been completely torn down. It was once an incredible thing to stand out among the crowd, and have the ability to say you had more to offer than everyone else- that you had the potential to become a leader. All of the positive connotation associated with individuality, though, has been eliminated, and the youth of today’s society are left believing that the only true way to be happy is to achieve popularity, and fit in with those around
The novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley first published in 1932, presents a very bleak out look of what future society will be like. The novel presents a future of where almost total conformity is a carefully guarded aspect of society. Even before one is "decanted" they are conditioned to fill a specific roll and to act a certain way.
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.
The question of individualism vs. conformity comes to mind when dealing with the human psyche. Some people value being independent and self-sufficient, while some like to keep themselves in the confines of conformity. The American society tends to lean towards the conformist point of view and it is mostly due to the effects of media. Americans crave the idea of association and strive to become the individuals that the media deems worthy. Conformity is a quality that is present in the hierarchy of American society. It brings a psychological feeling of correlating with a group and creates the notion of liberation from solitude.
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.
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
The Conformist directed by Bernardo Bertolucci follows the rise and fall of Italian Fascism, but tells it through the perspective of one man, Marcello Clerici. The narrative of the film is told through several non-sequential flashbacks that take place while Clerici and his chauffeur are driving to assassinate Professor Luca Quadri, a former professor of Clerici who is an exiled fascist. Clerici is a man of a troubled past and an uncertain future. He joined the Fascist secret police even though he doesn’t seem to really believe in Fascism and he’s marrying a woman that he doesn’t necessarily seem to love. All to have a life that appears normal. Marcello Clerici is a man imprisoned by his need to fit in, to appear socially and politically normal.
According to Leon Mann, conformity means ‘yielding to group pressures’. Everyone is a member of one group or another and everyone expects members of these groups to behave in certain ways. If you are a member of an identifiable group you are expected to behave appropriately to it. If you don’t confirm and behave appropriately you are likely to be rejected by the group. Like stereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitive balance.
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.
No one in the world is exactly alike; everyone has different interest, dress differently, think differently and learn differently, not even identical twins are the same. Yet, in our schools systems today the sense of individuality is being destroyed in the students, even with the two goals aimed to better individuals as well as the society they live in. Public schools are trying to conform everyone into learning the same way and thinking the same way resulting in multiple adolescents to fall behind.
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
Conformity is defined as 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. Normative conformity is motivated by 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 are smoking,
One day around twenty years from now, Mike Weezington, a factory worker from a town called Mevia, the most polluted place on the planet, receives a box from the town’s king, King Pollute. Mevia is supposed to be the most heavenly-like place on Earth, but people just thought that making this luxurious place would be a waste of money and time. So instead, they turned the town into a factory filled town that creates lots of pollution. Within the box Mike received was a letter and a badge that has the symbol of the king, a piece of grimy sludge.
Be yourself. This simple phrase is practically drilled into the minds of children as they grow up. It’s an elementary concept, and everyone is told they are unique as a snowflake, completely special. When we grow up, this task becomes more difficult. No matter how free to we think we are, there’s always some level of conformity that each of us is subject to, even without realizing it.
On a daily basis, people are being influenced by the people around them, whether it is directly or indirectly. A person’s thoughts, feelings and actions can influence and be influenced by society. These social interactions provide enough opportunity for the presence of people to influence and change behavior, views, and attitudes of an individual. There are several forms of social influences, such as conformity, which I will be discussing. Why we conform has been a topic of considerable interest to social psychologists in particular such as he classic and well-known studies of Muzafer Sherif and Solomon Asch. In addition to researching why we conform, there’s also the question of whether conformity is good or bad.
Individuality seems to be something that almost everyone struggles with throughout their entire lives. We always strive to be this “individual” and unique person, yet it is so difficult in a world where we constantly strive to be accepted. We, as a society, believe that everyone should be accepted the way that they are but then we are the ones who patronize and turn them away for doing so. Everyone has a different idea of what it is to be an individual.