Theories Of Obedience And Conformity

The first reason that Milgram found that people obey is because people feel like they have to obey someone if they have a high social status or a highly respected job, this is called legitimate authority. Bickman (1974) supported this theory by doing an experiment on the streets of New York. Bickman had three men dress up as a policeman, a guard and a regular passerby in a shirt and tie, he then had the three men ask other passerby’s to either pay a parking fine or pick something of the floor, it was found that

Cialdini and Trost (1998) mentions that there are many way in which social influences can be used to persuade others. In better understanding compliance with a request, six tendencies of human behavior play a major role in explain why other comply: reciprocity, returning a favor or service; consistency, keeping up with prior engagements or commitments; social validation, group acceptance, or normative influences; liking, what is desired or accepted; authority, conforming to rules established by individuals higher in a hierarchy; and scarcity, opportunities which are scarce or difficult to obtain. Social psychology views these six principles as the motivating factors that influence compliance (Cialdini, 2004).

Obedience and Conformity Both obedience and conformity involve social pressure in obedience the pressure comes from behaving as you are instructed to do; whereas in conformity the pressure comes from group norms Behaviour in obedience is determined by social power, whereas in conformity it is influenced mostly by the need for acceptance. In nearly all societies, certain people are given power and authority over others. Our society, for example, parents, teachers, and managers are invested with various degrees of authority. Most of the time, this does not cause any problems.

Many individuals is faced with the decision of conforming or choosing personal desire, and it is not an easy decision. It is hard because being shunned by others for being different is not a good feeling. Choosing to conform over personal desire, often leads to loss. On the other hand, personal desire is what sets others apart and gives them joy. In the poem, “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, Al Purdy discusses the good and bad memories he has experienced. He goes through his memories of when he had fun and made mistakes, but he reflects on what he could have done better. The author of “The Jackhammer Syndrome informs against choosing the welcoming joy of conformity over the long-term gains of personal desire. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire may seem easy at first, but if the choice is to conform, the joy it gives will not last. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire Conformity may seem to give joy at first, but it does not last. When Al is playing pool with his brother, he wants to win badly, but losses. However when he did not care to win, Al wins! Conforming can lead to loss but personal desire has much to gain. If the choice is to conform, personal identity may be lost. In my life, I recognize several instances in which I found several similarities between Al and myself. I have made decisions that were not always good ones such as swimming across long distances with friends.

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.

First, an individual usually internalizes compliance, but this is not necessarily the case in obedience. The latter can occur through internalization as well as through the existence of cognitive dissonance. In other words, conformity is a form of social influence that emanates from within the individual (Milgram, 2010). As it has been mentioned earlier, one does not have to be asked to do something for them to do it in the case of conformity. It is a decision they make due to the external pressures caused by group influence or the influence of another individual. Compliance is ethologically a survival tactic whereby one is forced to do certain things to fit in the group as doing the contrary will make them appear odd. This is not the case in

Willa Cather's "Paul's Case," displays the conflict between conformity and individuality through the main character, Paul. On a number of occasions, Paul is forced to lie and steal to escape the conformists who wish to control him and stifle his unique imagination. However, his lying, stealing, and attempts to escape the conformists, only force Paul into isolation, depression, and feeling a sense of shame for his individuality. Throughout the story one might see Cather's constant contrast of individuality versus conformity, as well as Paul's lying and stealing. Cather seems to draw the conclusion that extreme individuals, much like Paul are simply misunderstood, and not offered the acceptance they desire

Thesis Statement: After thorough research of the D.A.R.E program, it is thought to be that after 32 years this program is ineffective for the students taking the course. History; Florida DARE Florida DARE is 25 years old but may not be worth the funds. Drug abuse violations Drug abuse violations among youth is from 73,446 in 1985 to 121,951 in 1999 (source 9).

In other instances, compliance is a type of conformity that would be a good thing in following rules or laws. Different types of rules from driving to being in a restaurant or store. To following laws of being on a freeway and avoiding to get pulled over or going to an airport and bring things that won't be allowed. Rules are put to sometimes keep us safe, like the rules of driving; always wear a seatbelt, no texting and driving, no drinking and driving, and etc.. But some are against the laws or rule of different types wouldn't be able to speak up because no one would listen to them now the rules stay the same as they are now.

Stanley MIlgram is a Yale University social psychologist who wrote “Behavioral Study of Obedience”, an article which granted him many awards and is now considered a landmark. In this piece, he evaluates the extent to which a participant is willing to conform to an authority figure who commands him to execute acts that conflict with his moral beliefs. Milgram discovers that the majority of participants do obey to authority. In this research, the subjects are misled because they are part of a learning experience that is not about what they are told. This experiment was appropriate despite this. Throughout the process, subjects are exposed to various signs that show them

People have been changing their behavior or obeying someone else’s commands for years. This continues today in our everyday lives. Conformity and obedience seem similar but differ in several ways. Conformity is defined by psychologists as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. Similar to this, is obedience. Obedience is defined acting in accordance with a direct order or command. Normally people conform to reap a reward or to avoid punishment. If we comply with a direct order or command it is considered obedience. Most of the time when people comply, it is to be accepted among others so they are not seen as outsiders. On the other hand, when we obey, we are obeying a command an authority figure

The following essay will be about understanding what is meant by and distinguishing the differences between the terms conformity and obedience. It will show the evaluation of two key psychological studies which seek to explain why people do and do not conform, also with explanations of minority influence. Whilst seeking to understand the reasons why people obey authority, it will show an evaluation of Milgram’s study of obedience, discussing the ethical issues raised from the research and

investigation is how the tendency to conform enacts automatic normative behaviors in social situations. Research is still quite unclear as to the relationship operates. One idea is conformity causing people to use a previous norm for situations. For instance, one library visit informed an individual to be quiet, so, without a reminder, the individual is quiet in the next library visited as well. The situations are similar if not exactly the same, so a previous norm is a viable option for the second situation, as it was preferred in the first.

The three basic type of social pressure are conformity, compliance and obedience. “Conformity is a change in behavior or attitudes brought by a desire to follow the beliefs or standards of other people” (Feldman 496). Studies have shown that normal and well behaved people can be convinced to alter their behaviors in an undesirable manner in the bid to conform to the group’s ideology and ways. When an individual responds to a direct social pressure, it is termed compliance. Social/peer groups use compliance techniques to subtly lead people toward agreement with a request. Another form of induction used by social groups is obedience. With fear of being rejected, the involved individual tends to obey the rules and commands of the group just to meet the expectations.

This essay defines the phenomenon of Conformity, Obedience and Deviance in the light of historic research and contemporary experiments. Concluding to the fact that deviance is a valuable Human attribute that makes our life what it is today.