Conformity is a social psychological phenomenon that occurs in humans’ everyday lives‚ but oftentimes goes unrecognized. Through psychological studies such as Milgram’s prisoner experiment‚ psychologists even discovered that in some situations social pressures exert such strong pressures on conformity that people will go to extreme lengths when under its influence. Prominent examples of conformity include the pressure people have to wear similar types of clothing‚ language pressure that results in
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The Power of Conformity Ryan Herlong Conformity refers to an individual’s behavior that is performed because of group pressure‚ even though that pressure might not involve a direct request. Many people want to think that they are conformist enough so that they are not looked upon as strange to others and nonconformist enough to demonstrate that they are capable of thinking by themselves. For many years‚ psychologists have been interested in human conformity. Usually
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Outline and evaluate the research into conformity Conformity is a change in behaviour or belief as a result of group or imagined pressure. One study into conformity would be Sheriff’s study (1935). In this he aimed to investigate the development of group norms and conformity into those norms. He did this by using the autokinect effect. This is where a spot of light is shown in a dark room and appeared to move around. The autokinect was first shown to pps as individuals and then in a group and then
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Explanations of conformity Why do we conform? Deutsch and Gerrard 1955 decided that there were 2 possible reasons why you would conform. They suggested that it was either due to Normative social influence or due to informational social influence. Normative social influence Need: - Humans have basic need to we want to feel accepted‚ approved and liked and as a member of a group How it leads to conformity: - in order to gain acceptance by others‚ we often conform to the
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Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Conformity can also be simply defined as “yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield‚ 1955). Group pressure may take different forms‚ for example bullying‚ persuasion‚ teasing‚ criticism etc. Conformity is also known
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(120) Consequences of Conformity “Man is born free‚ and everywhere he is in chains” (Jean Jacques Rousseau‚ Social Contract‚ 1762). From the moment of birth‚ man is burdened with an immense social pressure to act within social guidelines that are considered acceptable. Whether they truly are beneficial or not is irrelevant. Influences such as the government‚ the media‚ and religion force us not only to abide‚ but to believe in these guidelines without question. Conformity prevents the growth of
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remember your cowardice reason for acting as you did? The vast majority of people will recall saying‚ "Everybody is doing it" a sentence that is one of the worst four-word combinations in the English language. (Acknowledge/greet audience) 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
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Conformity in a Gym Setting The gym can be an intimidating setting to some‚ while others may feel at home in the gym. There seem to be many preconceived notions of what a gym is like‚ who is generally found in that setting‚ and the behaviours that are regularly performed there. In a gym setting‚ it is easy to see what is ‘normal’ - minimal interactions with people unless accompanied by a friend or trainer‚ athletic clothing worn‚ headphones in‚ and so on. It is also relatively easy to see people
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values more in line with his own. Often‚ however‚ the desire to be part of a group and the fear of social isolationmakes it more appealing to change behaviors than to seek other friends. Attitudes toward conformity are of particular interest in community health‚ where conformity may influence the willingness of people to engage in activities such as illicit drug use or high-risk sexual activities‚ or prompt them toavoid drug rehabilitation programs. The tendency to conform to a group’s values
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Discuss research into conformity (12 marks) Social influence can have a big affect on how we behave. One psychologist who was interested in the topic of conformity was Asch. In 1951‚ Asch conducted an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. Asch conducted a laboratory experiment that included 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA. The participant completed a ‘vision test’ where they were asked to judge the
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