Values, Norms, And Norms

According to Webster Dictionary, conformity is defined as, “in compliance of rules, laws, or standards.” Mark Twain’s, “Cone-pone Opinions,” demonstrates how society reacts to new conformities; individuals eventually conform to popular ideas and inevitably abandon these ideas for something greater. Twain states, “It is our nature to conform; it is force which not many can successfully resist.” (Twain 2). The reason people conform is not for self-approval, but rather, for the approval of others.

The act of people conforming is seen every where. Any activity performed by someone that is “in the ordinary” is them conforming to the norm. In the crucible, all the girls conform to the norm, set by Abigail Williams. When Abigail faints, the girls faint, when Abigail screams, the girls scream. They mirror her in her every action due to their fear of what would occur if they did not. Same concept is seen today, for example, when you shower regularly you are conforming to the norm. You shower in fear of judgement if you were not to shower, and you shower in following the actions of others. This common action of following in others footsteps affects us by causing people to become identical and influencing people to ignore their personal morals and follow the mob of society blindly. People force physical change upon themselves due to fear of being that one

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.

Second, society teaches us to conform by not thinking for ourselves. We are simply told how to solve a problem or accomplish a task. We are never taught why

John F. Kennedy once said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”. This has been a puzzling idea for many; most of us are grown into some form of conformity at one time or another. At what point does following the rules become wrong? When is it too much? Over the years many people begin to question what the acts of following the crowd can mean; whether or not we need these orders, and structures to function; or whether it’s really worth losing yourself just to make everybody else happy. When does it become too much? And once is does, how do we break the cycle? This topic has been used throughout many different mediums; films, and literature, all alluding to the signs, and actions of when conformity is doing nothing

Conformity is a form of social influence, when we conform we act and think like members of our group. Often people even alter or change their personal beliefs to match those around them. When we conform we feel pressured to fit in with others, to be a part of the majority. While we may still have contradicting beliefs towards things, we change our behaviors and actions to match what everybody else is

Conformity exists to satisfy the insecurity of others. For instance, Cyrano creates a facade hide his insecurity. “Me whom the plainest woman would despise- Me, with this nose of mine that marches on Before me by a quarter of

“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.

Because humans crave attention of others, they live their life and conform to whatever the majority of the people around them says. Asch’s Conformity Experiment, which was when they hired eight actors and one test subject and gave them all a test and told the eight actors to say the wrong answer, they found that the test subject would usually conform to the majority vote even if it was wrong. This showed us that people would usually conform to the majority answer on a test, even if it was wrong. Even in high school, students conform to make themselves look cool and conform to things even if they know it’s wrong. Asch’s experiment and american high schools prove to us that humans don’t want to stand out and we just want to fit in and get attention.

As we all have observed, throughout history each culture or society has unique norms that are acceptable to that group of people. Therefore, to establish and come to the acceptance of these basic norms, each society must develop its’ own strategies and techniques to encourage the fundamentals of behavior, which is clear in our modern society. Most do assume that everyone in a society will follow and respect such norms. However, some tend to deviate from the adequate norms and demonstrate deviant behavior. Nevertheless, we are inclined to ask ourselves, why do people decide to violate such important standards of living?

Conformity is submitting to the majority to fit in, usually because of fear of rejection. For myself I used to want to be accepted by people in school, I felt as though I had to dress like other girls and talk like everyone else in order to get friends and to be liked. To listen to all rap music like everyone or have to watch the Kardashian reality show in order to fit in and have something to talk about with people because that is considered “cool”. When you are different you are made to feel bad and not accepted and it hurts. I am slowly starting to realize that I don’t need to act like everyone else because the people who accept my difference, as well as their own, are my real friends and no one else should matter. Thoreau

Everyone has been there before. You 're walking in public, whether it be in a school setting, a workplace, or elsewhere, and you feel an overwhelming feeling of being watched and judged. Whether it is your dabblings in romance, performance in sports events, clothing, or otherwise, we feel the need to compare ourselves to and identify with the societal “norms” around us. It is better to thrive as a sheep than to starve as a wolf, as the saying goes. This is what is known as conformity and it has been with us from time immemorial.

Everywhere around the world exists some form of structure, pattern, or organization. There is always a certain degree of conformity for every object and living being; likewise, humans prefer to “blend in” by following a trend or standard. It’s an unavoidable tendency that humans follow subconsciously. In the same way a sunflower requires sunlight to survive, humans depend on preset standards to thrive. They have a potent desire to live up to expectations, to become a clone of another, to purchase the same brands, etc. It’s an endless cycle of rules and its followers.

Have you ever thought why you shake hands when you meet someone, why you do not curse in polite conversations, why you don’t pick your nose in public, or why you say please and thank you? All of these examples are part of our society norms, our culture, and our beliefs. What are norms? What are they for? What do they do for society and individuals and

Human behaviour is significantly shaped by norms and values. Values define a society, things people strive for and attach great meaning and significance to. Norms set rules of behaviour designed to express a commitment to the society’s underlying values. The interaction between norms and values produces modal personality types in a culture or society with specific drives, motivations, expectations and propensity towards certain patterns of behaviours. The history of education in Jamaica is perhaps best understood in the context of the island's colonial past which some what shape the norm and value of the society. The education system and its administration was created after the British system; and many of the developments in the history of Jamaican education can be seen as responses to events such as the abolition of slavery 1834, the advent of suffrage in 1944, and the achievement of independence in 1962. Much of the recent history of education in Jamaica has been driven by the perceived need to develop "homegrown" responses to economic, social, and political pressures on the island and in