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 when people are in groups, they behave according to how those in the group behave. That indicates that conformity can affect a person’s behavior and make a person do things that may be against their ethics, attitudes, and morals. The study of
Conformity is the social process by which people in a group or in a social circle engage in behaviour which appears to be socially acceptable, that is they go along with the social expectations apparent at the time. One of the key factors in conformity, however, is yielding to group pressure, as defined by Mann (1969):
Conformity is a concept that has been heavily researched in the field of social psychology. Conformity is defined as a change in behavior, beliefs, and attitudes due to group pressure perceived as real (encompassing the presence of others) or imagined (encompassing the pressure of social standards) (Myers, 2010, p. 192). The concept of conformity is a powerful influence on the tendency for people to arrange their thoughts, perspectives, and ideas with others, especially when in a group. This takes away from a person’s individuality because they want to feel accepted by others and therefore, a person will accomplish this basic need of approval through conforming.
Sociology is defined as ‘The study of human social life, groups and societies’ (Giddens, 1989). It involves describing and analysing how different forces such as social, cultural, political, and economic have on behaviour and an individuals identity. (Van Kreiken et al.2000). Furthermore, it encompasses the complex connections on a micro level along with those on a macro level thus enabling sociological imagination.
What is conformity? To put it simply, it means to adhere to societal standards or “norms”. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to such; when they begin to separate from their family and form their own identity is when they also seek acceptance from their peers or live up to expectations from their parental figures. “Conforming to social norms help them redefine themselves while earning them acceptance and approval. Fitting in simply feels good” (Ulene 6). It means that by blending in and mimicking the people around them makes teenagers feel good during the process of finding themselves. Conformity to the social norms of an era is a common problem among teens. While attempting to create their own identity, they are actively trying to fit
“I don’t believe we were put here with all of our differences to conform to a uniform state of mind” ~Sonya Teclat. Conformity is when people change to act the same as other people in their society. The government, media, and social groups are a big part of the society. These things encourage people to conform. One of the books that have people conforming is Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson. In Among the Hidden Jen, one of the characters is very outgoing and brave. Luke another character is very shy, once he meets Jen he conforms to be brave like her. In addition, society encourages conformity through government, media, and social groups.
As Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don 't matter and those who matter don 't mind.” Through this quote, the foundation of conformity is uprooted from its murky hovel and is disputed with. Despite, though, how many people preach these words, they still succumb to the mind numbing effects without even realizing it, because they are not fully aware of the causes of this topic. That is why one needs to understand the causes of conformity before preventing the effects. The three causes of conformity include: changing how one acts to avoid the rejection of their peers, depending on other people 's’ opinions because they are oblivious to a certain topic, and conforming to something based on social characteristics.
Conformity: “Agreement between an individual's behavior and a group's standards or expectations. A conformist is one who follows the majority's desires or standards.”Conformity is not always necessarily a bad thing, but can be when followed excessively. For instance, can you imagine what this world would be if everyone looked, dressed, talked, walked, and acted the exact same. This is what life is like at Mica High, and this paper analyzes the negative aspects, and consequences of conformity in Stargirl.
Conformity is a struggle that people encounter everyday in society. There are many examples of the different types of conformity in the world. Some of these types are in the examples I am going to discuss. In “The Sociology of the Leopard Man”, “Two Kinds”, and Dead Poet Society we learn that it is not always a good idea to conform. Although conformity can be good, I believe that it is even better for people to step out of their comfort zone and not be afraid to show who they really are.
After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family
Often times in life people will feel it necessary to conform in order to fit into certain groups of people. When a person conforms it usually leads to them changing the way they behave. This
Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.
There may be a way of differentiating sociology. We could suggest that whereas Psychology studies human interaction of individuals; sociology studies the interaction that occurs within and between social groups. In this sense sociology would be described as a subject that places individuals in their social context as members of social groups, communities and as members of social institutions such as work or their place within a family or again their position within an educational institution. Psychology on the other hand appears to examine individuals as solitary and somewhat isolated beings. Indeed one might formalise the differences of approach by suggesting that psychology takes as its starting point the individual whereas sociology begins with the idea of the wider social networks and societies within which individuals are to be found.
Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, is a dark vision of a “utopian” future that people still use today as a warning of an overpowering government. World State, the utopian society that Brave New World describes has a simple motto: Community, Identity, Stability. In this society, the people serve a ruling order that controls their likes and dislikes, population growth, drug intake, and romance; phenomenons that Huxley strives to warn us about for our own society. Eighty-five years later, the United States is similar to the World State in more ways than citizens would like to admit being conformity, surveillance, love, drugs and in vitro fertilization.
Humanity has been trying to formulate an answer to the question of why we do what we do for years and years. The field of psychology searches for the answer within us, that is to say, they examine the internal forces that make us do what we do. However, sociology searches for the answer in terms of external forces. Sociology sets out to prove that human behavior is controlled by forces of social interaction, while in turn the behaviors of humans control the forces of social interaction in a cycle that controls many aspects of life.