Conformity Research Paper

Conformity Research Paper
This small article was written to inform the reader about conformity and what conformity is. Conformity is the common form of social influence and
is usually described as the way that someone thinks or acts similar to members of a certain social group in order to fit in with group norms. Although
conformity can be seen as a negative thing, it is very common everywhere and is sometimes essential to have a working community. Conformity can
usually be based off of obedience and compliance. Conformity can be subtle, unconscious, or can come from social pressure. Some motivators for
conformity are normative influence (what seems normal or common) and informational influence (what we have been told by society or what we
know).Both men and women will
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Theories Of Conformity
group a relevant guide for behavior, as they are more likely to conform to the group's norms.
Finally, recognizing multiple motives for norm conformity offers opportunities for research precluded by theories that either do not differentiate among
motives for norm conformity or that do not distinguish the norm from the motives for conforming to it. First, a multiple–motive conceptualization
allows researchers to explore conflict between motives for conforming to social norms. It is possible that in many contexts people's motives for norm
conformity may not be in agreement. By considering self–related, other–related, and accuracy motives as separate constructs, researchers can
investigate this potential for conflict in future studies. In addition,

Conformity Essay
According to Leon Mann, conformity means 'yielding to group pressures'. Everyone is a member of one group or another and everyone expects
members of these groups to behave in certain ways. If you are a member of an identifiable group you are expected to behave appropriately to it. If you
don't confirm and behave appropriately you are likely to be rejected by the group.
Like stereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitive balance.
There are several kinds of conformity. Many studies of conformity took place in the 1950's which led Kelman to distinguish between compliance,
internalisation and identification. Compliance is the type of conformity where the subject goes along with the group view, but privately...show more
content...
During the group sessions it became apparent that the subjects reports strarted to converge much nearer to an average of what their individual reports
had been. If a subject who had said that the light didn't move very far when tested individually said 'I think it is moving 2 inches to the left' then
another who had reported movement of 4 inches, when tested individually, might say 'I think it may have been 3 inches'.
As the number of reported movements continued the more the members of the group conformed to each others reports. This spot of light was in fact
stationary so whatever reports were made was the consequence of the subject imagining they saw something happen. So they were not certain about the
movement they observed and so would not feel confident about insisting that their observations were wholly correct. When they heard other reported
judgements they may have decided to go along with them.
The problem with this study, for understanding of conformity, as one aspect of social psychology is that it is a total artifical experimental situation–
there isn't even a right answer. Requested reports of imaginary movements of a stationary spot of light in a darkened room when alone, or with two
others, hardly reflects situations we come accross in our every day

What Is Conformity?
Introduction Individuals tend to conform to just about anything. Conformity can be viewed in a positive way in relation to societal norms. At the same
time, conformity can also be destructive especially when it comes to decisions made by adolescents. Conformity together with peer pressure happens to
be a persistent issue in the society. Conformity is the tendency of acting according to social norms in the society. This does not involve person
judgment or perception as a decision happens to be dictated by groupings. Studies done by psychologists evaluate further studies that offer informative
outlook in relation to conformity, together with factors that influence adolescents. Many individuals argue that the tendency of conforming tends to
decrease as an individual ages. It is obvious that adolescents together with teenagers happen to be affected more with conformity issues. One of the
main common activities that adolescents tend to conform to happens to be substance abuse. Alcohol is one of the common used intoxicants by
adolescents in the world. The rates of alcohol use tend to decrease radically during individual teenage years. There are different categories about
drinking motives, which stimulate positive mood together with an individual wellbeing to acquire social rewards, as well as attenuating negative
emotions. Thesis statement There is an overwhelming urge to conform to the popular culture among the adolescents. Unfortunately drug abuse has
emerged as one

Is Conformity Good Or Bad
Conformity We often change our attitudes and behaviors to match the attitudes and behaviors of the people around us. Conformity means "A
change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure" (Myers,2010,p.188). One reason for conformity is a concern about
what other people think of us. Another reason we conform to the norm is because other people often have information we do not, and relying on
norms can be a reasonable strategy when we are uncertain about how we are supposed to act. Although we usually are not aware of it, we often
mimic the gestures, body posture, language, talking speed, and many other behaviors of the people we interact with.So is conformity good or bad?
According to David Myers, "The...show more content...
Groups have the tendency to generate norms, or standards for behavior in certain situations. Not following these norms can make you stand out and,
therefore, groups have the ability to influence our thoughts and actions in ways that are consistent with the groups. My example of conformity
relates to acceptance. Squidwards desire was to conform to his type of group because he wanted to be like the rest and be accepted. Conformity is
not always good and when it is bad it is normal to walk out of it and conform to something you are happy

Essay about On Conformity and Obedience
Conformity and Obedience 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...show more content...
This allowed him to gain their obedience; they knew that they had to obey him to avoid punishment. There was no way to escape Jones, he
seemed to be everywhere. He had them spying on one another and anything not acceptable would be immediately reported to Jones. He also had
loud speakers everywhere that he would send messages through, this let the followers know that he was everywhere no matter what they were
doing. Because everyone was obedient and thankful to Jones it was difficult to think he was wrong. In 1972 he staged his own death to sow panic
then relief among his followers; he also staged attacks on his temple to further heighten fear, this also increased solidarity (Russell, pg 40). Jones
also had his followers practice suicide drills and stated that "the proper thing to do was to kill yourself before they get you"(paraphrase article). The
mass suicide/murder that happened on November 18, 1978 consisted of about 1,000 people drinking lethal cyanide punch. This included small
children, women, and men; a total of 912 people died. Both obedience and conformity played a role in this tragedy. If they did not obey his command
of drinking it then they would be shot in the head. Others complied with the drinking of the poison because they had to believe what was in accordance
with others including Jones. Prisons are also similar to cults, they include obedience and compliance.
A great example is the

Conformity Essay
Describing a study on conformity Conformity is a form of social influence which involves a change in a belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a
particular 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. SHERIF Muzafer Sherif (1935) conducted a lab experiment study on conformity in 1935. Sherif conducted this study
by putting participants in a dark room and told them to watch a pinpoint of light and report how far it moved. However psychologists had discovered
that a small, still light in a dark room often appeared to be moving and this was known as the autokinetic effect. The autokinetic effect is an...show more
content...
The study therefore rejects the dispositional hypothesis. The experiment had to be stopped after just six days instead of the planned 14 days,
mainly because of the pathological reactions of the participants. Five prisoners had to be released even earlier because of extreme emotional
depression. As a result of this is that even though the simulation was finished after only six days instead of the projected fourteen days all of the
remaining prisoners were happy by the news, but most of the guards seemed to be distressed by the early end to the study and this showed that they
had become too involved in their role that they now enjoyed the extreme control and power which they put into effect. Zimbardo referred to this as the
'pathology of power'. In conclusion to his study, he found that people will willingly conform to the social roles that they are expected to play,
especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those of the prison guards. The "prison" environment was an important factor in creating the guards'
violent behaviour (however none of the participants who acted as guards showed cruel behaviour/ mentality before the study). Therefore, this means
that the roles that people play can shape their behaviour and attitudes. ASCH Asch conducted a study to investigate the question of

Conformity And Social Conformity
Introduction
Conformity shapes our everyday decisions, whether it is acknowledged or not. How individuals are perceived by society and our peers puts an
immense pressure on a person both in groups and privately, actively changing behavior that they may not normally take part in. An individual may
change their behavior due to the chance of becoming an outcast. The ultimate fear or possibility of being an outcast influences individuals to conform
to social norms. Psychological researchers have long been interested in the reasoning behind social conformity. Social conformity can result in the
change of behavior or even the belief of an individual when it comes to them trying to fit within a group. The change can be due to pressure from a
social group. By looking deeper into group size and familiarity, it is possible to accurately predict behavior for groups and individuals in the future.
In psychology, conformity is defined as the alteration of one's beliefs and behaviors to better match those around you. There are typically two different
forms of conformity, normative and informational. Normative conformity is becoming compliant to group pressure with the want to fit in. On the
other hand, Information conformity refers to when a person looks to the group for guidance when they lack knowledge in a certain area. Conformity
also can range in different levels such as from how people dress to how people act in public. This force is what drives even the most simple of
decisions that a person will make on a daily basis. As a result, these individuals conform to other people's behaviors. For example, just like a public
compliance, which is when a person conforms to another's behavior even if they do not necessarily believe or agree of the person's words or actions.
In society, conformity puts pressure on citizens to either conform to the laws they are given or face legal consequences. Conformity creates something
called "group norms", which are an informal set of social rules that are often unspoken. (Group Norms) When a person violates these norms, they will
often find themselves in conflict with the rest of the group, and can potentially be removed.
Conformity has been well documented and researched, with one of the

Conformity Case Study Essay
This study will have a quasi–experimental design involving the study of conformity in teenagers around the age 14–18. 4 random subjects from our
school will be picked and asked to participate in an experiment in an educational setting ( e.g. the classroom). This will allow their understanding and
responding to take place in a common setting for said test subjects.
We could classify this experiment as a case study since we will be testing if our hypothesis works in the real world by gathering subjects and
performing our experiment. This method will help us do an in depth study about our hypothesis. We're going to obtain the data needed by
experimenting with the subjects. The comparison variable is their ability to say what they think with peer pressure involved. Each scenario of...show
more content...
An opportunity sample may be gathered by using high school students of the age of 18 and see this subject's reaction to peer pressure from
underclassmen. It is expected that those who are underclassmen will be affected by the peer pressure and not say that the ball was dropped and the
ball was changed from one color to another. This will be reflected by the video recording that will take place. Their answers will be compared to
those who reacted to the ball dropping and changing color. To ensure this study follows the guidelines for ethical studies, the prospective participants
will receive a letter of informed consent explaining the goal of the experiment, the minimal risk of harm, the privacy and confidentiality of their
identity if results may be published. This informed letter of consent shall explain the factors above in plain, simple English. Also, a quick follow up
may be required after the experiment takes place to observe and record the thoughts of the student. Parents and teachers will get a detailed account of
the results and findings, with the exception of revealing the identity of test

Conformity In Psychology
Conformity, as defined by Simply Psychology, is "a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group".
The term conformity is a term that's common place in the psychology community because of how applicable the idea is to the common person and
their actions. Conformity can be caused by a myriad of different things, some of which being because the individual desires to either fit in with the
majority of the group or because they genuinely feel the popular within the group is the correct one. Both of these phenomena are known as social
normative and social informative influence respectively. If we go further into detail, social normative influence is caused by real and imagined group
pressure. For example, if one were to stop reading a certain book series because their classmate viewed it as immature and tacky that would be
conformity in response to real group pressure....show more content...
Informative social influence is self explanatory, the idea being changing your personal beliefs based on the assumption that information provided by
and the general consensus of the group being more accurate, with some real world applications being rhetoric used during political debates and
discussions. Many people will attempt to sway your standpoint an issue by stating things such as "if you don't believe in this, then you're a part of the
problem" or "how can you not believe this exists in this day and age". One final cause of conformity is social identification influence. This idea states
that one might conform in order to adhere to the societal standards thrust upon

Conformity and Obedience Essays
Conformity and Obedience Why do we conform? Two basic sources of influence: normative social influence, the need to be liked, accepted by others
and Informational influence: need to be correct and to behave in accordance with reality. Solomon Asch (1956) devised an experiment to see if
subjects would conform even if they were uncertain that the group norm was incorrect. In his study he asked subjects to take part in an experiment.
They were each asked to match a standard length line with three other lines. He found that one of the situational factors of conformity is the size of
the opposing majority. In a series of studies he varied the number of confederates that gave correct answers from 1 –15. He found that subjects
conformed...show more content...
Moscovici found that consistency in the minority was important in winning over the majority with respect to the colour of the slides. Not all
decisions are made from a majority influence. For example, the suffragettes started a movement in 1920 which changed the public and private
opinion allowing women to have the right to vote in western society. As long as a minority stick by four basic rules then they stand a good chance
of succeeding in their campaign. They need to be Consistent in their views, Flexible not too rigid in their views, Committed to the cause until it's
heard and Relevant, they have more chance of being influential if their views are in line with social trends. Another experiment that psychologists
use in respect of conformity and obedience is an experiment that was carried out by a psychologist named Stanley Milgram. He recruited 40 male
participants by advertising for volunteers to take part in a study to see how punishment affects learning. The study was to take place at Yale
University and everyone would be paid the same rate of $4.50 and they were informed that they would still get paid if they quit during the study. There
were two confederates one an experimenter and the other a learner. The participants were always the teacher. The teacher was placed with the
psychologist in one room and the learner in

Conformity Literature Review
The Conformity of a Group Based on Age
Rionna Luck
Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology
The Conformity of a Group Based on Age
Conformity is defined as behavior that is accepted culturally and socially. Studying conformity is important because it effects our everyday life. It can
effect everything up to the places we go, the foods we eat, and the people we surround ourselves with. Researchers have taken a deeper interest into
studying the psychology behind what makes people conform. This research has helped shape our society, such as the prison system. Studying the effect
of age in conformity allows us to have a better understanding of what causes certain human interactions.
Literature Review
Steinberg and Monahan (2007) conducted a study to find a correlation between age and the susceptibility to resist peer pressure. To gather data, the
researchers used a total of three separate studies. Each study allowed for a more diverse sample size. The researchers focused on a demographic that
has been taken in to custody or arrested on a serious charge. Over half of the study's population had some way been involved with the justice system.
There was a total sample size of 3,676 participants with an age range of 10–30. Several survey questions and materials were administered to the
participants such as the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and the Resistance to Peer Influence (RPI). The researchers used the
participant's self–reported

Conformity and Obedience Essay
Conformity and Obedience Task: outline and evaluate findings from conformity and obedience research and consider explanations for conformity (and
non–conformity), as well as evaluating Milgram's studies of obedience (including ethical issues). 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
...show more content...
Over time these thought become part of our own cognitive world. When a person wants to be associated with a group accepting and believing the
groups view this is called identification. A person may desire to be like another person, which may involve adopting the characters of the person
(or group). This may not necessarily be to bring us rewards but because we find it satisfying to be like those, who we are identifying with.
According to Cardwell (1996) obedience is a type of social influence whereby somebody acts in response to a direct order from another person.
There is an implication the actor is made to respond in a way that they wouldn't have otherwise done without the order. You are in no doubt when
you are obeying an order (explicit). It is obvious when you are following an order and you won't change your attitudes as you are behaving as
instructed. We will always find ourselves in situations in which we are told to do things by other people, for example boss or supervisor at work.
Within society we work in a hierarchy. We may disagree or resent the orders we are given even when they are legitimate. It is unlikely we will be
given an order or instruction that goes against our conscience or involves us inflicting serious harm on another person. So why do we conform?
Gross. R, et al (2000) in '2nd edition psychology a new

The Power of Conformity Essay
The Power of Conformity
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...show more content...
What the eighth subject did not know was the other seven subjects were not exactly subjects. They knew what to do and what would happen.
An experimenter held up one of the cards and the subjects had to match on of the lines with the single line. For the first two cards, the seven matched
the two pairs on lines correctly. The eighth subject answered correctly as well. On the third pair of cards, the seven subjects answered wrong to see if
the eighth subject would conform or answer correctly. Asch found out that 75% of the subjects conformed at least once in the trials, but not one person
conformed every time. The other 25% did not conform with any of the groups decisions. Some of the experiments had the subjects write down their
answer so the line lengths could be accurately judged. In these experiments, 98% of the real subjects answered correctly. Asch found out many things
from the experiment. Some of the findings are social support, attraction and commitment to the group, size of the group, and sex. Asch did the same
experiment with a slight variation. He changed the answers of the seven subjects so that one of them always gave the right answer. This comforted the
real subject and only 5% of the subjects agreed with the group answer. This social support experiment showed that if one person gives the same answer
then a person feels more comfortable. Also, other experiments showed that the more attracted and committed

Conformity Research Paper
Conformity
Conformity is a type of social influence that psychologists define as changing one's behavior or beliefs in response to some real or imagined pressure
from others. Conformity is a tendency to go along with peers or society. Most people do it to fit in with others so they do not feel left out. Also
conforming eliminates potential conflict and makes human interaction easier because everyone is on the same page. Although conformity can be viewed
as a good thing, it can also be viewed as bad if people are conforming to something that can potentially be dangerous and hurt somebody. I recently read
an article in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The article "Memory conformity for confidently recognized items: The power of...show
more content...
They were then tested on the same faces again and were asked to consider both sets of answers and provide a final answer. At the end of test two, the
participants moved onto the second learning phase and repeated the experiment with the other group of faces. At the end of the experiment, the
participants were asked two questions: "Do you agree that people are generally better at recognizing faces from their own ethnic groups than faces
from different ethnic groups?" and "Do you think that you are better at recognizing faces from your own ethnic group than faces from other ethnic

Conformity And Personal Conformity
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.
Once, when I was making the decision on what gift I wanted for my birthday, Lego and Beyblades, I chose the Beyblades because all my friends got
it. I thought it was a fun toy, but after a while, I realized Beyblades didn't bring me a lot of joy because the toy was a 2–player game. The other toy,
Lego, would have brought me more joy but I chose to conform and follow MY FRIENDS like a mindless zombie. . SIMILARLY, WWhen I went
to China for amy school trip, again I chose to conform when, we went to the Pearl Market to buy cool gifts for others or ourselves. I went into this
tech shop with friends; it sold some toys and some tech gadgets like lego, pokemon, some computers, and phonesThat day, I lost a lot of interest in
toys. I was interested in the toys but my friends were buying Beats and

Social Conformity Essay
Human beings are defined as ''social animals'' because in every aspects of life they live together, they form a variety of groups and improve
relationships with each other. Interaction with others is a natural result of living in society. In the process of interaction, society and its rules has a
social impact on each individual. If people face with any kind of social impact such as group pressure, great part of them show conformity by
changing their behaviors, ideas, decisions in expected way. A person conforms if he or she chooses a course of action that a majority favors or that is
socially acceptable. Some kind of conformity is natural and socially healthy but obeying all the norms, ideas, and decisions without thinking or
accepting...show more content...
We must decide for ourselves whether to conform to such a social etiquette. We are taught as soon as we are old enough to grasp the idea that it is
bad to be unique and to avoid being different. At some point, however, we must decide within ourselves whether to spend every day trying to be like
everyone else because society says we should or living each day true to ourselves. Our strength as a person is proven through what we decide. The
benefits of being true to ourselves greatly outweigh any negative aspects of choosing that path.
One of the most obvious advantages of being true to ourselves is that people will see us, perhaps for the first time, without a mask. People will see
what we are really like on the inside. They will see our talents, imperfections, and preferences. Then they will have the opportunity to accept us on our
own terms. As we work to show our true selves to society, we may discover things about ourselves we did not already know. If we want to be great,
we can safely assume that we must be willing to be misunderstood. However, we cannot be misunderstood if we conform to the standards of society.
If we act and think and talk exactly as everyone else, we will never run the risk of being taken the wrong way.
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

Conformity Vs. Conformity Theory
Conformity theory is used to explain why people eat bugs, smoke cigarettes, enjoy boring tasks, following trending wardrobe styles, and under
appreciate enticing options (Jones & Mills, 1999). These tactics are performed in an effort to maintain consistent views among group members and
reduce the number of attitude conflicts and tension (Matz & Wood, 2005).Conformity will be defined as changing one's own response to be consistent
with other group member's responses (Asch, 1955b). Asch's work supports the notion that people will change their views and behaviors in order to
fit in with a group. They may even go as far as to express a clearly wrong response if those around them are in agreement (Asch, 1956). While research
has shown short–term conformity effects; there are few studies that look at the lasting changes that follow the act of conforming. The goal of this
study is to see if conformity expressed in groups can translate into private acceptance that will be carried on after the initial study is conducted.
Prior studies have shown that in a group environment there are two main drives; the need of an individual to belong, and the need for organization
among the group (Asch, 1955a). An individual's need for approval and intimacy from those they are closest to is linked to the fact that approval has to
come before any social bond can be formed and maintained (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Human beings are social creatures by nature with an intense
need to belong.

Example Of Conformity Essay
Earlier this semester, some friends and I were talking loudly and before we were about to step outside we saw other Midshipmen were standing at
attention. Though we did not directly hear colors, we recognized from the people around us that we should also come to attention. Conformity in
this case was good because if we did not come to attention then it could have been a sign of disrespect even if it was not intentional. Though there
is no way to make this example "better," I think conformity in situations outside of this example can cause people to lose their individuality.
Sometimes people are scared to be different, and because of that, they try to do what is normal. The room next to mine in Bancroft Hall is a three
man room, and one of the Midshipmen in that room always stayed up late to shine his shoes. His roommates requested that he stop doing this, or
possibly do it earlier. The Midshipman shining his shoes agreed to the request made by his peers. This is an example of compliance. It is not
obedience because the order did not come from an authoritative figure. It was important for the roommates to agree on a time to cut off the lights
because they...show more content...
Before college, one friend in particular was not a drinker, and he was a straight A student. After joining the fraternity, he was told to go drink at
bars with his fraternity on weeknights or else they would drop him. As a result of going out too much, my friends grades fell hard and he was
struggling in college. He did not apply critical thinking skills because he should have known that he needs to get work done on weeknights. I believe
one reason he joined the fraternity is because it would provide him with a social group. He lacked confidence in himself by thinking if the fraternity
dropped him than he would make no friends. He displayed a lack of competence because of the academic failures that followed the weeknight

Conformity Research Paper

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