mean girls and how it relates to conformity

1. Mean Girls and Conformity
BY KELA FINLAYSON

2. Psychological
Basis

3. Conformity
 Conformity is defined as the the tendency to act like members in a group.
 Normal social influence- persons desire for others approval or “approval motive”
 Informational social influence- persons desire for accurate information or “accuracy
motive”

4. ~Media~

5. Mean Girls
• Cady Heron has moved to
America from Africa. She
meets the popular group in
high school that has the
name the “Plastics” which
is made up of Regina
George, Gretchen Wieners,
and Karen Smith. She soon
is overwhelmed with the
stress of high school and
decides to conform to the
“plastics.”
Gretchen
Regina
Karen

6.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akbCmxb
_w8s
• Cady began showing signs
of conformity by following
the “plastics” rules such as
wearing a ponytail once a
week, tank tops can't be
worn two times in a row,
pink on Wednesday’s, and
sweatpants or jeans only on
Friday.
Mean Girls

7. • When Cady conforms to the “plastics”
she starts to become a new person, she
is mean, fake, and starts to drop her
other friends.
• So in the end Cady finally realizes she
has conformed and regains all her new
friends but overall in this case
conformity could have potentially
ruined her reputation.
Mean Girls

8. Connection

9. Connections
• Actually started wearing pink
• Normal social influence- she wants their approval by wearing pink on Wednesday
Valid  yes
• Writes in the “Burn Book”
• Conformity- she starts to become like them and writes in the burn book
• Valid  yes

10. Connections
• Stops talking to Damian and Janis
• conformity- the ”Plastics” don’t talk to them so she
stops talking to them
• Valid- yes
Janis Damian

11. Personal opinion

12. Personal opinion
• This movie is the typical high school with
cliques and I believe the producers
perfectly showed this.
• It shows how people especially kids in
high school will conform and change
themselves just to fit in with the people
around them
• This movie gave a message about
conformity and clearly shows it, so I I
think the people who watch it may see
how she changes so drastically and
recognize that conformity is being
showed there.

13. Reference
• https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/social-
psychology-20/social-influence-104/conformity-394-12929/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akbCmxb_w8s