Influences of Conformity and Obedience Essay Example
Influences of Conformity and Obedience University of Phoenix
Influences of Conformity and Obedience Imagine a hospital reception desk. A nurse receives a phone call from a doctor he or she does not recognize. This doctor instructs the nurse “to administer a non-prescribed drug in double the maximum dosage to a patient” (Jacobson, 1978, par.1). Many people believe only a few nurses would commit this act but out of the 22 nurses called, 21 of them, followed the doctor's orders (Jacobson, 1978). This experiment in obedience is an old one. This example was simply a test to see if Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment could be applied outside of the research arena. Many will say that much has changed now, and in some ways they have, considering the legal implications of medicine, yet sadly, this behavior still occurs today in many other areas of life. One reason many students begin learning psychology is so he or she can learn about human behavior. Some behavior has often created more questions than provided answers. Some of the behavior relates to conformity and obedience. What makes people obey those in authority without question or what makes people dismiss individuality for conformity and why do only some people conform and others do not. These are only a few questions that necessitate an answer. In the following pages are attempts to explain and answer some of these questions. In addition, is an analysis of a classical and contemporary study concerning the effect of group influence on the self? The Concepts of Conformity and Obedience Conformity and obedience may appear to have similar meaning in context but both require something different from the individual. Dr. George Boeree, states there are diverse types of conformity (Boeree, 1999). Most of the time
Influences of Conformity and Obedience Imagine a hospital reception desk. A nurse receives a phone call from a doctor he or she does not recognize. This doctor instructs the nurse “to administer a non-prescribed drug in double the maximum dosage to a patient” (Jacobson, 1978, par.1). Many people believe only a few nurses would commit this act but out of the 22 nurses called, 21 of them, followed the doctor's orders (Jacobson, 1978). This experiment in obedience is an old one. This example was simply a test to see if Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment could be applied outside of the research arena. Many will say that much has changed now, and in some ways they have, considering the legal implications of medicine, yet sadly, this behavior still occurs today in many other areas of life. One reason many students begin learning psychology is so he or she can learn about human behavior. Some behavior has often created more questions than provided answers. Some of the behavior relates to conformity and obedience. What makes people obey those in authority without question or what makes people dismiss individuality for conformity and why do only some people conform and others do not. These are only a few questions that necessitate an answer. In the following pages are attempts to explain and answer some of these questions. In addition, is an analysis of a classical and contemporary study concerning the effect of group influence on the self? The Concepts of Conformity and Obedience Conformity and obedience may appear to have similar meaning in context but both require something different from the individual. Dr. George Boeree, states there are diverse types of conformity (Boeree, 1999). Most of the time