Social Conformity And Consumerism In American Culture

Social Conformity And Consumerism In American Culture
During 1950s and 1960s, social conformity and consumerism were a big part of our American
culture. Definition of social conformity is a type of influence that changes people's behavior and
belief in order to fit in to a group, when everyone wants to be just like everyone else. Consumerism
is the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers, when we spending much more on item
then we need, and is not necessarily. The two primary sources are "The Status Seekers" by Vance
Packard, 1959. And The Twilight Zone, " Number Twelve Looks Like You" (Season 5, Episode 17,
aired on January 24, 1964). The TV show, The Twilight Zone, in a future society. In 1950s, only
10% of the families have a TV, and 38% have never even seen a TV programs. In ... Show more
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Vance Oakley Packard, an American journalist and writer wrote the book. Packard earned his master
degree in journalism in 1937; he worked for numbers of newspapers and magazines. He had an
enjoyable middle–class life, and later on he moved to a wealthy area in New Canaan, Connecticut.
When he lost his job for American Magazine, he was collecting paycheck from social welfare. The
American society and culture was big part of Packard's life, because he has wrote more than books
about it. The Status Seekers was published in 1959, during the baby boom era and post war era.
Baby boomers were people who were born between 1946–1964, when the birth rate and marriage
rate was increasing every year, but divorce rate stay low until the mid–1960s. Around the same time
was the economic boom, due to New Deal programs. In the late 1940s to early 1960s, U.S. workers
produced 57% of planet's steel, 43% of planet's electricity, 62% of its oil, 80% of its automobiles,
and possessed 75% of the world's gold supplies. The book griping the problem about how the
middle–class who want to live a life just like or better than everyone else. Packard concerned for
middle–class because he was once live as one of them, and he is well know about the middles–class
life. The way they spend their money, made them feel good about themselves, and most the shoppers
were women. "They strive to look their most chic and poised, and if the trip is a success they feel
'pride, pleasure and prestige' in patronizing the store and in the satisfaction of 'looking down on the
customers of the lower–status store' (where women typically don't dress up to shop)." (Packard 129).
When you dress better, other people will treat you better and vice versa. The other thing is people
tended to pretending have money to spend on that fancy stuff, but really they don't have that kind of
money to spend. When they go for new cloth shopping, catch up with the newest
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Conformity In Social Psychology
The subject of conformity is considered a primary point of research in social psychology. Many
social psychologists throughout history have experimented and evaluated the attributes of
conformity, concluding key factors that contribute to conformity. With consideration, it is arguable
that culture and group size are two of the most accountable factors in social conformity. Evidently,
research in these areas are both highly notable and in abundance; with respect to studies such as the
Asch Line Experiment (Asch, 1951) and the Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo, 1971). Social
psychological theories such as The Chameleon Effect (Chartrand & Bragh, 1999) also suggest
evidence of conformism in society. Furthermore, the power and influence of minority groups
(Minority Influence Theory; Charlan Jeanne Nemeth, 2009; Moscovivi and Lage, 1976) can
importantly provide insight into not only how a minority can influence a majority in society but also
show an alternative argument to the Asch paradigm. Fundamentally, all three factors that contribute
to conformity are in attempt to describe human behaviour.
Held in common belief, conformity has been long considered –to an extent– a product of cultural
conditions in social psychology. Popular assumption regarded conformity of a society, singular and
belonging of individual cultures globally and with respect to each, evidence was apparent of
different types of conformity depending on the cultures characteristics (Peabody, 1985).

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

Social Influence On Conformity
In everyday life we are affected by social influence. Social influence happens whether intentional or
unintentional, it affects our emotions, behaviours and opinions sometimes without us realising.
There are many forms of social influence such as conformity and obedience. Conformity is when we
match other people's attitudes, opinions and beliefs in order to fit in with others around you.
Obedience is when people take orders or instructions from someone they believe is an authority
figure, even if they think it is not the right thing to do. Conformity happens when people obey social
norms. Social norms are rules that people are expected to act upon in society or a give group. When
someone does not act within the social norms they are considered to be abnormal. A well known
experiment that proves conformity is the Asch experiment that was conducted in the 1950s. Asch's
experiment involved a group of people, only one person in the group was actually a percipient in the
experiment as the others had been told how to behave. The experiment involves the group viewing
two sets of cards. One set of cards had one line and the other set of cards had three lines on. The
subjects were asked which of the three lines matches the single line. The experiment starts out fine
until most of the participants clearly get the answers wrong to see how the single subject reacts. The
participant hears the others clearly giving the wrong answer but his opinion was influenced by them.
Asch's experiment proves that individuals are willing to ignore what they know as being right to
give an incorrect answer to conform with the others in the group. Another well known experiment
that confirms conformity is the Zimbardo experiment that was conducted in 1971. Philip Zimbardo
conducted an experiment to find out how different roles can affect human behaviour. In the
experiment the volunteers randomly got given the role of being 'the guards' or the of 'the prisoners'.
The prisoners were arrested by the police department and got locked up in a makeshift jail. They
were treated like real prisoners in chains, their possessions got taken away from them, striped naked
and even got called by their ID number only. The guards were dressed in a khaki

Social Influence And Social Conformity In 12 Angry Men
"12 Angry Men" The film "12 Angry Men" shows many social psychology theories. It shows how a
group of diverse people react to a situation that no one wants to be in. This film features a group of
jurors who have to decide if an accused murderer is guilty or innocent. In the beginning eleven of
the twelve jurors vote guilty. Gradually, though discussions, the jurors are convinced to a not–guilty
decision. Conformity Within the context of the jury room, conformity is a dangerous device.
"Twelve Angry Men" shows the power of informational social influence and normative social
influence. According to informational social influence individuals conform because they believe that
other's interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more important, or valid, than their own.
Normative social influence is a theory that posits the cause of individual conformity due to the
possibility of appearing deviant. Judging other's interpretations of an ambiguous event often leads to
conformity caused by informational social influence. This theory is applicable within the juror's
decisional processes of the "Twelve Angry Men." Informational social influence is exacerbated by
ambiguity of situation, importance of being correct, time constraints, and presence of those
perceived as experts. Conformity due to social influence is portrayed within the first moments of the
movie. Within the jury room, heated debate is precluded by an initial vote. This vote, taken publicly,
was susceptible to normative social influence, an element of social influence, or conformity due to a
fear of appearing deviant. As the jurors cast their initial vote, hesitancy is obvious in many of the
eleven whom vote guilty. This timidity can be interpreted as weak conviction swayed by the guilty
majority's influence. Time constraints exacerbate informational social influence and possibly played
a role in causing some of the jurors to cast guilty, conformist votes. Majority influence and social
impact theory induce conformity. These theories are applicable in the jury context and are relevant
to an interpretation of "Twelve Angry Men." Social impact theory stipulates the situational and
personal factors that engender conformity. Conformity is enhanced by the

Social Loafing And Conformity Within Teams
Working with other individuals in a group or a team comes very naturally to most people. In Genesis
1:26 God said, "...Let us make mankind in our image and our likeness..." We were created to be
relational people as a reflection of the relationship God has within the trinity, as well as the
relationship He desires with each and every one of us. According to Fischer, there are many benefits
from working together. These benefits include, but are not limited to, having more voices or
perspectives when making decisions along with an increased capability for division of labor and
responsibilities. Unfortunately, as a result of The Fall and our sinful nature we often do not reflect
The Lord in our relationships or teams. With this in mind, Fischer highlights that teams have a list of
negatives also associated with them. A few examples are general dysfunction and disagreement,
longer decision–making processes, and social loafing (Fischer, 2012). This paper will address the
presence of social loafing and conformity within teams.
The Problem Statement: Young Life Volunteer Team Young Life (YL) is a Christian,
nondenominational organization that shares the gospel with students of all ages (high school, middle
school, college aged, teen moms, and kids with disabilities) by going where they are and building
meaningful relationships with them. The very foundation of Young Life, of course besides Jesus, is
1 Thessalonians 2:8, which says, "...Because we loved

Conformity And Social Influence
Influencing others within ethical or unethical frameworks is part of everyday life. In order to
persuade people to do something for their own benefit or for the benefit of others like the formation
of relationships, selling products, or passing ideas, people use different ways of persuasion resulting
to the change of attitudes and consequently result in achieving what they want. Social influence
"refers to the myriad ways that people affect one another. It involves the changes in attitudes,
beliefs, feelings, and behaviour that result from the comments, actions, or even the mere presence of
others". (Gilovich, Keltner & Nisbett, 2006, p 276) Friends try to influence us into doing things,
industries to buy their products, charities in order to give money, priesnt to change our beliefs. ...
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Sometimes it can be easier than other and the result could be different regarding the change a person
engages in. Comforming doesn't always mean that we agree or have changed our behevior and
attitudes though this is possible. Sometimes we might just behave in a different way and not really
believe in it or we might simply obey to someones orders. As David G Myers (@@@) suggest in
his book conformity can be presented in the following ways : Compliance, and Acceptance.
Compliance is agreeing to do something that we don't really believe in order to gain something out
of it or to avoid being punished. Obediance is a form of compliance and is the result of a direct
order. Acceptanc is both acting and believing in something as a result of social pressure. (Myers
34q) Different experiments have been conducted on conformity and resulted to the fact that people
can actually change attitudes when influenced by others. Muzafer Sherif and Solomon Asch are
amongst the scientists who proved, through experiments, that people can actually change their
beliefs and attitudes on something as a result to group pressure.

Social Conformity
Let's start off before your existence. Your mom and dad met on a small island off the lower west
coast of Canada. Your mom Janice had spent her whole life on this island. Spent her whole life
seeing the same couple hundred people and riding her bike along the coast of the ocean. She had an
two older brothers and a younger one at the time, plus a sister. At twelve she would lose her
youngest brother to a camping trip where his best friend would watch him pulled under the water by
a current in the same space of water he was swimming in. He must wonder why it hadn't pulled him
under as well. Fishermen found his body over a week later and your mom refused to attend the
funeral. Her dad would soon become an alcoholic who missed birthdays and Christmas's ... Show
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Acres of land to run around in, a garden bigger than the space found within an average house these
days, and horses in the very back field of your land. Your dad had built a three story treehouse when
your brother's were still young. At the very top was a loft that your oldest brother and his friends
would often have sleepovers in. At the very bottom lay a sandbox, and sitting in it would give a
view of the swings on the side of your house and the tree that must older the itself given it's size. It
would blossom in the spring and you would cut your way through its branches and find a way to be
in the middle where it was dark and warm. From the second floor of the treehouse to the bottom was
the slide you would go down over and over again when it snowed in the winter. You loved the
winter when you were young. Your father would spend hours of the day shovelling snow into a large
mass in the middle of the yard, then pack it down and later dig out the middle to form an igloo. How
generically Canadian does that sound. Also how you would get up early in the morning and drizzle
maple syrup on the freshly fallen snow so you could wait for it to harden and eat it later in the day.
If all of this wasn't enough, your dad decided that we needed more. Him and his brothers worked
tirelessly for weeks on end, building us a zipline that would come to climb over 25 feet and stretch
across the enclosed

Conformity Of Social Media Essay
Introduction to the theory and statement of the problem (Introduction)
Have you ever flipped on the Television, opened a social media app like Facebook, or read a
newspaper only to see something obscene and senseless? Most people when viewing information
given to them from the media assume that whatever they say must be exactly what happened and
how it happened and we must react in the appropriate manner or fear being shamed or ostracized by
our peers. We often judge based only on inherent beliefs and what information is given to us by the
media and most of the time never even take a minute to think that maybe we don't have all the
details. This has been an increasing problem in the United States that has perpetually given way to a
society ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the wake of this tragic situation there has been a substantial amount of conformity in the way that
most people are starting to think and feel. The terrorist group ISIS has claimed that these attacks
were plotted by them and, people are rightly outraged by their acts of hatred. From what I have
witnessed a lot of individuals are blaming the Muslim religion as a whole. When in face most
individuals couldn't really tell you a thing about that particular religion. They hear others doing the
same so they follow their lead, expressing outrage for something that they barely know anything
about. Following the Paris attacks and a wide spread amount of other terrorist attack the attitudes
and behaviors of individuals tend to change. The idea that those places that were attacked are no
longer safe spreads and as more people show fear and steer clear of those certain locations people
who witness this follow suit. Most will think, that if so many people feel it's not safe then it must be
true. From that, there is the need to voice your opinion on the subject matter just because everyone
else is doing so. (Talal Al–Khatib, 2015) On social media there is a mass outpouring of people not
only expressing our sympathy which is natural, but also being pressured to post a long winded
comment on your thoughts on the matter. People feel the need to show the world that they to care
about this and have

Social Conformity Research
Social influence is a huge factor in human life; the psychology behind it focuses on how an
individual is susceptible to behavioural and attitudinal change when in a social environment. People
can be influenced majorly by the actions, opinions and general presence of others and there are
psychological reasons for this. One piece of research that supports why people are influenced by
others is the study of conformity. Conformity is a type of social influence that results in a person
changing his or her own behaviour and attitude because of the real or imagined influence of others.
Conformity can be separated into three groups, as proposed by Herbert Kelman in 1958; these are
compliance, internalisation and identification. Compliance is an individual ... Show more content on
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This is when a person simply accepts the information given to them by others in order to justify their
own beliefs. Informational influence usually takes place in situations where an individual has to
choose a track to follow, for example in a crisis. It is human instinct to observe the reactions of
others as acting in a similar manner helps us to feel secure. An example of informational influence
in crisis is the Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast in 1938. An individual who is
conforming, because of internalisation, usually tend to believe in the others' ideas more than their
own and because of this, they not only comply to behaving in a certain way around them but also try
to change their own attitude in private circumstance too. The third type of conformity is
identification, which takes place when a person wants to gain a certain identity for him or herself.
An individual may want to be associated with a particular person or a group and so may feel the
need to act in a certain way. Identification is sometimes considered by psychologists as a mix
between compliance and internalisation; the individual accepts that the group hold the correct
beliefs and behavioural manners, which is internalisation, but are doing this in order to gain
acceptance and approval, which is

Social Influence And Conformity
The Power behind Social Influence & Conformity
The article "Social Influence on Risk Perception during Adolescence" by Lisa j. Knoll, Lucia
Magis–Weinberg, Maarten Speekenbrink, and Sarah–Jayne Blakemore, explores the relationship
between social influence and risk taking. The authors acknowledge that adolescence is a time in life
where risk taking is more likely to occur with peers than alone. However it is not just adolescence
that are victims of peer pressure. People of all ages are constantly making decisions about whether
they should take such risks. But what makes people take the risk? The article say that "adolescences
are unaware of potential risks and feel invulnerable". However that does not explain why they are
more likely to engage ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The results did find an interaction between social influence, age, and rating. Children, young adults,
and adults seemed to be significantly influenced by adult's ratings more than the teenager's ratings.
In contrast, young adolescences were significantly influenced by teenager's ratings rather than
adult's ratings. Mid adolescences were not significant influenced by either teenagers or adults

Social Influence: Conformity, Compliance And Obedience
Social influence is a behaviour that affects the human race on a daily basis. Although we may not be
distinctly aware, it can change the way we act intentionally or unintentionally, for example it can
change relationships as directed by the influencer, other people and society in general
(www.changingminds.org). There are three areas of social influence – conformity, compliance and
obedience. Conformity sways us to follow the accepted ways of behaving in various groups within
society, or society as a whole (Rice. D Et Al 2000 p.184) Compliance is when we are asked to
complete a task by another – we have choice in whether we comply with the task or not, however
our decision can be influenced by the outcome including social reward and even ... Show more
Obedience is somewhat similar, however we perceive the person giving the order as authoritative,
therefore have to comply with the order. This is common within a workplace and settings such as the
Military (www.changingminds.org). There are two main types of social influence – Normative and
Informational. Normative social influence can encourage us to conform because of a desire to be
liked and accepted by certain groups, such as our parents and friends. However, our public
behaviour will not sway our private opinion – we will temporarily change our opinion when with the
reference group in order to fit in. An example of this is when a teenager may smoke as the reference
group smoke. Informational social influence is when we conform because we believe the knowledge
or judgement that has been relayed to us by others, therefore this will change our private

Conformity Social Psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how social groups affect an individual's behavior, way of
thinking, and feelings. There are millions of people in the world we live in and those people impact
us at every stage of our lives. Babies look to the adults which influences their actions and even
personality. Adults have to interact with others on a daily basis. Conforming is an example of how
this works. When someone or a group of people do one thing, there is an urge in the individual to do
the same thing. Now, whether that same thing is as simple as looking up at a cloud or joining the
rioters who are smashing windows and beating people, can have varying degrees of conformity.
Women seem to be more apt to conform than that of their male

Social influence is one of the greatest aspects of our society. Mark Twain summed it up brilliantly in
an unsent letter to Bayard Taylor, June 10th, 1878,
When you set aside mere names & come down to realities, you find that we are ruled by a King just
as other absolute monarchies are. His name is The Majority. He is mighty in bulk & strength ... He
rules by the right of possessing less money & less brains & more ignorance than the other
competitor for the throne, The Minority. Ours is an Absolute Monarchy" (Scott, 1969). Conformity
is a very interesting aspect of social influence. How susceptible are we to peer pressure? As
individualistic as we may think we are, is it possible that we are more likely to conform to the
people around us than we might have originally thought? In this paper, I mean to explore what
conformity is and to share about how it works as far as social psychology is concerned.
The basic definition of conformity is "compliance with standards, rules, or laws," but as far as social
psychology is concerned, it's a bit more ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This experiment was conducted essentially by showing individual's two pictures; one with three
different sized lines, and another with one line that matched one of the lines in the other picture.
Asch had individuals pick which line the lone one matched; A, B. or C. What Asch was doing was
looking to see whether or not people would go with their own judgment and choose the correct line
or if they would begin to doubt themselves, cave in, and go along with the group. His experiment is
now considered a classic experiment and is by far one of the most well known social psychology
experiments. The fact that all of the participants in the experiment had been told to select the same,
wrong choice except one participant gave him fairly reliable results in demonstrating how
conformity works. He found that 32% of the participants went along with the majority, despite what
they thought to be right (Mann,

What Is Social Conformity?
The hypothesis of experiment that "Under the pressure of group opinion, people tend to decide the
appropriate decision group" has not been confirmed. The real participant of the experiment has been
agree to the group opinion, only in cases if the answer to a questions were initially correct. In cases
where the answer to the questions were vague and did not have a clear solutions, the real participant
answered differedly from the opinion of the confederates, relying on her own opinion. Thus, in spite
of the numerous sources refer to the fact that a person is subject to the opinion of the group, in order
to maintain inner peace, intra group harmony, and have been proposed that social conformity serves
as an emotional buffer that protects individuals ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Firstly, it was found that both the experimenters didn't achieve agreement how the experiment have
be conducted.Some experimental stages have been changed without the agreement of both parties,
causing confusion and misunderstanding on the part of the experimenters, and from the part of the
participants. Secondly, from the initially invited 12 participants came only 5 participants. Since
initially it was agreed that in the experiment will participate at least 8 people, it made a some
problems. Missing members had to literally catch in the corridors of the TMC academy. Considering
all confounding variables which influence to the purity of the experiment, it is difficult to conclude
how much the experimental is

Conformity: The Three Types Of Social Identity Theory
Have you ever had to conform to group norms that you thought were wrong, in order to be part of
that group? Therefore, conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or
behavior in order to fit in with a group, or act of matching beliefs, attitudes, and behavior to group
norms. It is natural in our daily lives and might happen when we are by ourselves or even when we
are with others. For instance, we have a tendency to follow the typical way of eating when are with
a group or alone. Conformity happens when individuals surrender to group pressures or
expectations, also called norms. I wonder " Why Do People Conform?" According to social identity
theory, people are more likely to conform depending on how much value they ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
Therefore, there are three types of conformity according to Vander Zanden, such as compliance,
identification, and internalization. Firstly, compliance is the act of agreeing openly with social
pressure while secretly disagreeing, or the behavior of a person who is doing things just to gain
reward or escape punishment. For example, I do not like drinking alcohol, but one day when I saw
my friends drinking it, I also took the bottle of vodka and drank only to show them that I also could
drink even though I knew it was not right for me. Secondly, identification is the desire of being like
some particular person in order to have a close relationship with the person that we are identifying.
As an example, I know that Dr. Hasell likes reading, talking about constructive things, and has such
values, so I will acquaint myself with these values since I want to be your friend. Last but least,
internalization is performing and living according to social pressure. It is more durable reaction to
social impact because your motivation to be right is a powerful and self–supporting force that does
not depend on your continuous supervision neither on your continued esteem for another person or

Normative Social Conformity
The influence of other people can cause individuals to change their point of view or alter their
behaviour. There are two types of social influence; normative social influence,which is when the
individual will go along with the majority in order to appear 'normal', and then informational social
influence, when the individual conforms because they trust the judgement of those in authority
positions such as teachers, doctors and parents. If an individual is influenced the majority and
becomes compliant to others, this is known as conforming. Kelman (1958) argued that there are
three types of conformity; internalisation, compliance and identification. A study by Sherif (1935)
tested the effects of informational social influence and conformity. Later on, Asch (1951) conducted
a research study looking at the effects of normative social influence and conformity on individuals.
Zimbardo (1973) studied conformity to social roles in order to demonstrate how certain roles have
behaviours expected from society. These studies demonstrate how an individual may behave due to
social influence in a set up environment that can then be related to real world situations.
Sherif (1935) researched whether an individual can be influenced by others when doing an
ambiguous task, one where the answer is not always clear. He conducted a laboratory experiment
and used the autokinetic effect where a light appeared to be moving, but really it was a visual
illusion. Firstly he asked participants to

Social Impact Theory Of Conformity
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.
There are multiple aspects and variations concerning conformity which include, ... Show more
Some incidences I am aware of when I conform and in other circumstances I must do automatically
because I do not notice my conformity. There was one particular incident which involved a group
discussion in class, my sophomore year of college. I was taking a political science course to fulfill
my general education requirement and my group and I were discussing the Constitution. We have
just learned new concepts and we have to apply them to the Constitution and the teacher also gave a
case study as an activity to complete during class. I had never taken a political science class before
and everyone in my group was majoring in political science. Therefore, I felt as though I did not
have sufficient knowledge on the topics like everyone else in the group. There was a lot of personal
opinion in these particular answers and while I would think of something in my head, I did not agree
with any of the other four people in my group. I thought maybe it is because I am a psychology
major and I think about situations differently. I believed that everyone else in the group was more
knowledgeable when it came to these topics and better informed. When we jotted down our final
responses, I did not agree with any of the responses but because I thought they were more informed,
I conformed. I agreed with the responses outwardly, but not inwardly. I did not want to be wrong or
rejected from my group members. This

Of Social Conformity In Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also...
Dalia Makhlouf
Gregory Beirich
History 173
11 December 2017
Social Conformity: The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt
Conformity can be understood as the adjusting self as per accepted standards while social
conformity, in particular, refers to that adjustment made by a person to fit in the prevailing nature of
a particular group. In this understanding, social compliance can be the changing of one's behavior
and other actions to reflect those of a social group, family, friends or community in general. In the
two books, The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt, social conformity takes places at different levels and in
various ways. Characters sometimes go against personal desires to live in ways that others will
approve, and there are also those characters ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
On her physical self, she is portrayed as outrageous and daring with a cropped hairstyle which was
not common or accepted for girls to have. Her character, and actions also go against the widely
accepted social norms. She is so open sexually up to the extent that she tells Cohn that she is not
willing to give up his desires for an active sex life, thus opting to relate with another man while still
attached to Cohn (Hemingway, 26). Cohn on the other hand also suffers from an internal conflict,
perhaps as a result of a dilemma between conforming to life as a spouse of a nagging Frances Clyne,
and deciding to be happy by travelling. Jake sums up his conformity struggle by noting that "You
can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another." (Hemingway, 29)
Brett's mannerism and language also defy the social norms that have come to be identified as proper
for females. Referring to herself, she flippantly uses the word 'Chap', which is normally a reserve for
males and masculine language (Hemingway, 32). This tells a lot about how she is challenging
traditional masculine and feminine roles and character. Brett is challenging the social code where
males are judged less harshly by society for having multiple partners as opposed to females. This
sense of independence appears to be liberating to her as she has the choice to be with different men
as loves without suppressing

Conformity And Obedience Are Both Social Behaviors
Conformity and obedience are both social behaviors that are influenced by those around us and
determines our behavior in social situations. When we change our attitude or behavior based on
those around us, we are conforming to their behavior. When we obey what we are told, by what we
perceive to be an authority figure, we are being obedient. Conformity and obedience can have
positive or negative results on our lives, depending on the situation and the individuals involved.
Symbolic interactions are not all the same theoretically. Although all the scholars concur that the
people depend on shared secret codes to build their actuality and on the practical prerequisite of
understanding behavior by entering the actuality of the actor, ... Show more content on
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The confederates were told ahead of time what their responses would be. The line judgment test had
a standard line and three other lines. Out of the three lines, one line was the same length as the
standard line, one was shorter and one was longer. The object was to see if the subject would agree
with the other individuals. The wrong answer was given by the confederates to see if the subject
would conform or stand alone. Out of eighteen trials, twelve of which being "critical trials",
approximately 75% of the subjects conformed at least once and 25% of the subjects never
conformed. He found that subjects conformed with the wrong answers of the majority but did not
actually agree with their answers. Therefore, individuals conform as a result of reasons such as
wanting to fit in with the majority or because they of the assumption that the group has better
information as compared to them. Children always seem to need the approval of their friends. They
want to look and act cool. The clothes trends, the haircuts, the cars, etc. If they want to be cool, they
have to be like the cool kids. If the cool kids sneak out at night, that's what they need to do. If the
cool kids are drinking beer at parties, they have to do it too. Group size also has a major effect on
conformity. The larger the group size, the increase in conformity. Once the group reaches a certain
point, there is little change. Conformity is also exhibited in how

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 on Helpwriting.net ...
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

Social Conformity Hypothesis
Social Conformity
Hypothesis: Participants will act in a certain way/ change their opinion in order to conform to the
majority. Social conformity refers to an individual's change in behaviour, beliefs or feelings to
accommodate to the standards of their peers or to conform to social norms. A study carried out in
1932 by Jenness to test social conformity, consisted of 101 psychology students and was an
experimental investigation. Students were asked individually how many jellybeans were in a glass
bottle. The participants were divided into groups and asked to find a group estimate through
discussion. Later students were asked to provide another individual estimate for the purpose to see if
they would change their answers due to social influence. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
At the staring of the investigation, a declaration was to be made by all the participants in regards to
their age. It was necessary that the participants are above of sixteen years of age. There was one
participant who was below the specific age limit. The participant had two choices to choose from –
to participate any way neglecting the age requirement or to refrain from participating. If the
participant would have participated, it might have affected the results in more or less amount.
However it resulted into a positive ethical choice where the participant did not participated in the
investigation and rather choice to help the coordinator in conducting the

Social Influences: Conformity, Obedience, And Compliance
Social influence refers to how our actions, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings become influenced by the
people around us, whether we realize it or not. According to the textbook, there are three different
types of social influence: conformity, obedience, and compliance. Each one influences our behavior
in different ways. Conformity refers to a new behavior that is influenced by a specific individual or
group directly or indirectly. Conformity takes place in three different ways, either out of fear of
social rejection, people might choose to comfort to gain social acceptance and avoid seclusion.
Other times conformity might influence our behavior mindlessly to the point where we might not
realize that our actions are not a product of us but subconsciously ... Show more content on
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Conformity influences the way we dress, through fashion trends, the way we behave in groups
through peer pressure, among many others. When it comes to my life, conformity influences many
parts of it that might seem mundane, until we realize that there is a reason for every behavior, for
example when walking down the street people that are going up walk on the right side of the
sidewalk, while people that are going down walk on the left side, this is in fact not a rule nor a law
but a social norm that we conform and comply to by no apparent reason, to the point were most of
us never stop to think about it but simply behave this way. In terms of social influence, obedience
refers to following the commands of an authority figure. Why do we mindlessly obey our bosses,
parents, law enforcement etc.? In my opinion, this is due because since we were infants we are
taught to do whatever our parents tell us without question, whether we enjoy it or not. We are taught
to follow authority and obey them regardless of how we feel; and although some of us feel as if we
do not mindlessly follow authority studies such as Milgram's obedience study have shown that we
do in fact follow authority figures regardless of the harm we might be performing

Conformity Is A Type Of Social Behavior
Conformity is a type of social behaviour which involves a change in an individuals belief/ behaviour
in order to fit in with a group. This change is either due to imagined or real group pressure. Real
group pressure is when there is the physical presence of others and imagined group pressure
involves the pressure of social norms( expected appropriate behaviour). Conformity can be positive
or negative e.g. being quiet in a library is an example of positive conformity and joining in with a
group bullying someone is negative conformity. There are various factors which help determine the
level of conformity including group size, individuals status within the group and unanimity.
Obedience is a type of social influence which involves compliance ... Show more content on
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In 1932, Jenness carried out a study into conformity. Students were shown a jar of beans and were
asked to estimate how many beans were in the jar. After estimating they were given consent to
discuss their results with other people. The students were then asked to guess again. This time their
results were much closer together. This shows that the group discussions impacted upon the students
estimates and produced a group norm. The Participants would stick to this group norm even when
they were on their own again. In 1935, Sherif conducted a study similar to jenness' known as the
Autokinetic Effect. This is a perceptual illusion in which a stationary point of light seen in darkness
appears to move. His aim was to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put
in an ambiguous situation. First, the participants were shown the light individually and were asked
to estimate how far and in which direction it moved. For each participant an average was calculated.
The participants were then grouped together in threes and each member of the group continued to be
asked to give their estimates out loud and were not told to reach a group decision. The participants
were then tested on own. The results were each individuals estimate varied widely but over 100
trials they settles down to a narrow range with a consistent central value. After a few exposures the
judgements of the group tended to converge. When participants again gave their

Social Impact Theory: Conformity In The Presence Of Family
Social Impact Theory, developed by Latane in 1981, theorizes, "A person's feelings, attitudes, and
behaviors can be altered by the presence of others." This is spilt up into three categories of; how
important the person/group is to the individual (strength), How close in proximity the person/group
is to the individual (immediacy), and the size of the influencing group (number). All of these
elements combined are often attributed to conformity behaviors seen in peer pressure. Peer pressure
can be defined as; the pressure that you feel to behave in a certain way because your friends or
people in your group expect it (Cambridge 2015). All individuals face a great deal of pressure to fit
in at every stage of their lives. Whether it is from their ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This refers to how many people are in the influencing group. This theory was tested in a study
Sampling 645 male and female members of campus fraternities, sororities, and non–Greek service
organizations. Each of the organizations had between 42 and 152 members in them. The participants
were sent an online survey that was sent to their student email account. The survey started off with
asking demographic questions that had to do with things such as; age, race, class year, and what
campus organization they were involved in. Then, participants were asked a series of injunctive
norms that reflected on their individual perceptions of overall attitude of their organization. These
two questions pertained to alcohol consumption. Next, participants were asked a series of
descriptive norms. These questions were based on quantity of alcohol consumption. (e.g. How often
does a typical member consume alcohol, how many drinks on average does a member consume on a
typical drinking occasion" (Pederson 2007). These questions were then repeated for individual
behavior. Included in the online survey was the Group Attitudes Scale. This is a measure of how
appealing a specific group is to an individual (Evans & Jarvis, 1986). 67 days after completing the
initial survey, participants attended a session with the members of their organization. During this
group presentation, participants were asked the same injunctive norms questions

Conformity In The Social Environment
As social creatures, we are greatly influenced by our environment and more specifically, our social
environment. Conformity is one type of social influence that we are subjected to, whether it is real
or imagined, and involves the way in which we change our beliefs or behaviors in order to fit in with
a certain group (McLeod, 2007). Typically, conformity is used to describe an agreement to that of
the majority position. Aronson (2012), describes conformity using three levels: compliance,
identification, and internalization. Compliance is used to describe the behaviors of a person who is
motivated by a desire to either gain a reward, or avoid punishment (Aronson, 2012). On the other
hand, identification explains how sometimes individual's responses

Society And Social Conformity In Anthem By Ayn Rand
What happens when society demands that its citizens all act and do the same things? In the book that
Ayn Rand writes named Anthem it shows how society demands the citizens all act the same, and
function on the same level. When social conformity has gone too far it will be very harmful to the
people that live within the society or follow the rules set forth by society. When taken too far the
society can only progress to be as smart as the lesser person operating in that society... hence you are
only as strong as your weakest link. When conformity is taken to a large scale, the individualism is
little to none which creates many potential problems. Society will not progress, and the only way a
society works, is when different ideas are brought up, and then expanded upon. A successful society
is driven by a diversity of people who strive to do better themselves and the culture in which they
live in and believe in. When large scale conformity is taken too far it can be harmful to the citizens
and the society by the way others act and talk. One example is shown in the novella is when
Equality says, " [t]here are Fraternity 2–5503, a quiet boy with wise, kind eyes, who cry suddenly,
without reason, in the midst of day or night" (47). The quote shows that Fraternity 2–5503 cries all
of the time without reason. When Fraternity cries this quote is telling the readers that he knows that
there is something wrong in the society, but is too afraid to express it. In Anthem, citizens cannot tell
others how they feel, and if they do, they are breaking the law. In Anthem, Fraternity has to suppress
everything which is what is leading to the random out bursts. Another aspect of society that is
alarming is when Equality says "[t]here are Solidarity 9–6347, who are a bright youth, without fear
in the day, but they scream in their sleep, and they scream 'Help us! Help us!'" (47.) Solidarity shows
us another way that conformity is not a good concept through his actions. When he says "Help us!
Help us!" this is showing that there is something wrong and he can't express it in any other way than
subconsciously. When Solidarity is yelling in his sleep, he is showing the reader that he fighting an
internal battle and needs an outlet

Conformity: A Social Contextual Analysis
A final conclusion that the previous researchers failed to address is that conformity is a social
construct and cross cultural differences should be addressed when speaking on conformity. Se
Hyung Ho (Konkuk University) performed a study testing how the cultural norms of an individual
affect their tendency to conform to the group. Ho performed a study that included American men
and women and Indian men and women, for his study Ho provided each subject a questionnaire
containing situations that would either promote or discourage conformity. Ho gave one sample, of
both American and Indian men and women, a questionnaire that provided a persuasive argument for
each situation while the other sample received a questionnaire without a persuasive

Conformity And Normative Social Psychology
Social Psychology has always been a key element in our understanding of human behaviour.
Conformity plays a big part in the history of social psychology; conformity (also known as Majority
Influence) is a type of social influence that involves a person changing their thoughts and beliefs in
order to fit into a group. An example of this is during WW2, in which Hitler used his dominating
opinions and authority to influence the Nazis and obscure their views, which lead them to conform
to the horrendous orders that were given during the war. Therefore social psychology can help us
understand how a certain phrase, appearance, status, or opinion can influence different behaviours in
different cultures. However, certain cultures are more susceptible to conform. This links to the idea
of Gerard's (1955) development of social theory, normative social influence, this consists of the
desire to 'fit in' and obtain social approval, which results in avoiding punishment, exclusion and
ridicule. Two important studies that have been conducted by Asch and Milgram are great examples
of how conformity and normative social influence can affect people's behaviours.
Asch (1956) conducted a line judgment task in response to Sherif's (1937) 'Auto–kinetic effect'. The
aim of his experiment was to show that people conform to group norms when put in an ambiguous
situation. From this study Sherif concluded that when in an ambiguous situation people look to
others for help and guidance, this is

Many people have been affected in some shape or form by others around them. Social influence has
many different parts to it and affects our everyday lives. Conforming to a group or a person is a
form of social influence. A video written by Kathleen Yale called ¨Crash Course: Psychology
Épisode 38: Social Influence´¨ explains what conformity is by saying, ¨conformity describes how
we adjust our behavior or thinking to follow the behavior or rules of the group we belong to.¨ An
experiment was given to five volunteers to show if they would pick the same wrong answer as the
group they are in just to fit in. The results read, Ïn the end most subjects still gave what they knew
was the correct answer, but more than a third were essentially willing to give the wrong answer to
mesh with the group¨ (Yale, Kathleen). Research has also shown that people conform for multiple
reasons. Kathleen Yale gives ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
For example, Dorothy Rowe explains if someone loses trust in a loved one, they often turn to others
for guidance which greatly impact their decisions and sometimes lives: Öther people can let us
down, insult or humiliate us, leading us to feel diminished and in danger. Yet we need other people
to tell us when we have got our guesses right, and, when we get things wrong, to help us make more
accurate assessments¨ (142). When we surround envelop ourselves with those who are similar it can
have an impact on the way we see ourselves. Rowe explains that, Ïf we lose a friend, we have to
change how we see ourselves and our life. . . . We need to find friends whose individual world is
somewhat similar to our own so that we are able to communicate with one another. . . . Such people
give us the kind of validation that builds a lasting self–confidence despite the difficulties we
encounter¨ (143). With this, Dorothy Rowe shows how the people who are around someone can
affect our thoughts and

Conformity Is A Type Of Social Influence Essay
Unit Assessment 1.1 Explain concepts and/or theories associated with a topic: a) Conformity is a
type of social influence which involves a change in behaviour and belief of a minority to fit in with
the group concerning real or imagined group pressures. This behaviour could be defined as the
pressure to behave in ways that are viewed as acceptable by a particular group, either by a desire to
'fit in' or be liked. The main factor that influences conformity are social norms. Social Norms are a
pattern of expected behaviour in certain situations either implicitly or explicitly. Conformity exists
in two categories, normative influence where the individual's desire is to gain social approval and
acceptance from the group to make a favourable impression. And informational social influence
where a person is looking for guidance in an ambiguous situation as the individual listens to other
member 's views and opinions to be guided to an answer. Conformity is distinguished in three
different types; Compliance is the most superficial type of conformity. It refers to a person who
conforms publicly with the views and attitudes expressed by the group but still continue to privately
disagree. This temporary short term behavioural change which often results normative social
influence. For example, It is a Primary 7 's first day of school, a pupil has arrived late and missed the
induction to which he doesn 't know where to go. He then sees a group of pupilss filing off towards
a corridor and

Conformity In Social Psychology
Scientific studies have consistently shown that people are influenced in their decision–making
processes according to social psychology. For example, a psychologist named Stanley Milgram
conducted a study to test the affects of obedience to authority. He selected a group of male
volunteers and told them that they were randomly selected to be "teachers" and "learners," though
every volunteer in the study was given the role of the teacher. The volunteers were instructed to
teach the learners a series of words under supervision of an experimenter and give them a "shock"
whenever they failed. The shocks were gradually increased until the learners began to exhibit signs
of fear and pain – this is when the experimenter would tell the volunteers to continue with the
experiment despite the obvious discomfort that both the teacher and learner were experiencing. 65%
of the volunteers continued with the experiment until a fatal "shock" was given due to the social
influence of the experimenter! This study proved that an individual's obedience to authority can
directly bypass their morals and consequently affect their behavior. Another scientific study
conducted by Solomon Asch proved the existence of conformity in social psychology. In his study,
Asch placed a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This is especially true in the case of Kitty Genovese, who unfortunately fell victim to the Bystander
Effect. Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death on a street in New York City. Dozens of witnesses were
present, but none of them intervened beyond a shout of protest! When asked why they didn't
intervene, their answers ultimately pointed to diffusion of responsibility – another psychological
concept. Both the Bystander Effect and diffusion of responsibility influenced the witnesses to
believe that someone else was bound to help Kitty – this, of course, led to none of the witnesses
intervening and the untimely death of Kitty

Conformity Is A Type Of Social Influence
Conformity is one of the basic characteristics of human behavior. According to Saul McLeod
(2016), "conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to
fit in with a group." Humans as a species have always exhibited behavior implying that they have a
desire to socially connect to some type of group. Everyone conforms at some point in some shape or
form, even if it is not deliberate or drastic. Western cultures, especially the United States, claim to
hold individualistic culture traditions, but even the most radical citizens find themselves blending in
with the majority at times. Social media is a great tool that connects people from all over the world;
however, it allows for a larger platform to apply pressure to conform. Social conformity has
numerous structures and is displayed through social media in many differing ways, including public
opinions, trends, and everyday social decisions. Firstly, conformity can be found in several forms
throughout different societies. McLeod (2016) notes four types of ways that people tend to conform.
His initial variation of conformity is compliance. This is when a person outwardly agrees with the
group he or she is engaged with, even though the person doesn't inwardly believe what the group is
saying. The classic example of this is the line experiment conducted by Solomon Asch in the mid
twentieth century. He led an experiment where he tested how often people would conform to the
majority of the

Theory Of Conformity And Social Control Theories Of Crime
Theory of conformity outlines the ideals that an individual will change values or behavior in order to
fit in with a group. When it comes to the social control theory of crime, this is a central concept in
understanding why people deviate from legal regulations. When looking at individuals without
dependable relationships, a committed presence within their community and an upbringing with
specific beliefs, it can be found that people are more likely to follow a life of crime if they do not
present the listed characteristics (Orcutt 2011:97). According to Travis Hirschi (1969) there are four,
more definitive, central elements that cause people to maintain social norms; "emotional attachment
to family", engagement with goals and future aspirations,

Conformity: Social Influence
Introduction to Conformity:
Conformity is a social influence in where we tend to change our beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes to
align them with group norms. (Conformity & Obedience, n.d) In 1932, Jenness was the first
psychologist to study the psychological force of conformity, and his experiment was based on group
conformity and how a majority decision can influence an individual's rational thought. (S, McLeod.
2007) The psychological force of conformity is powerful, whether it is obvious social pressure or
subconscious influence. Conformity can be a good or bad influence depending on the situation, and
though conformity can affect all ages, it is mostly seen in adolescence. Everybody has experienced
conformity at one point in their life, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The majority of the times the people that are being ordered are driven by blind obedience which
plays a big factor in compliance and social change. (Joyce, J. 2006) The level of obedience depends
on the status of the authority figure on the hierarchy of power and the loyalty of the one taking the
orders. When a person is aware of their responsibility for harm the level of obedience tends to drop,
but the escalation of harm increases obedience because once you start it would be too hard to stop.
Adolf Eichmann was responsible for planning and organizing the Holocaust that was responsible for
the senseless killings of six–million Jews, a horrific tragedy but a great example of blind obedience
and authoritarianism. In Eichmann's jail journal he wrote that the highest thing in his life was the
orders given to him. (McLeod, 2007) Eichmann was proclaimed sane by six psychologists; it was
the social situation he was in that led him to do what he did. Another example of obedience is 'The
Milgram Experiment'. In 1963, Stanley Milgram began a social psychology experiment that is still
considered one of the most famous studies of obedience. Milgram wondered if it was possible that
Eichmann was just an accomplice, and that all he was doing was taking orders from his superiors.
The common explanation for the Nazi killings was

Social Conformity In The Waltz By Dorothy Parker
The Waltz was written by Dorothy Parker in 1944. The Waltz is a story that is told through a dance
and focuses on a couple who seem to be having problems with their dancing and interaction. There
is the problem of social conformity and what is expected from them in the social aspects of life. A
social belief towards female behavior is that a woman should always submit herself and also
accommodate to all the needs of a man. Hence, the girl then finds it hard to refuse the offer of the
man when asks to dance, and also to address her problem with the way he was dancing. Also there is
the issue which is brought up which is that woman are too over–dependent on men. The narrator is
faced with the dilemma of being the only female seated at the ... Show more content on
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Parker's narrator is the female and is faced with the problem of not being able to refuse the advances
of the man she is not keen to dance with. Although she relays a personal experience, she does so in a
comical and rather sarcastic manner, using metaphors that convey her frustrations to audiences with
a sarcastic yet light tone. Parker does this by writing "What can you say, when a man asks you to
dance with him? I most certainly will not dance with you; I'll see you in hell first. Why, thank you,
I'd like to awfully, but I'm having labor pains" (1). It is easy to think the time in which the story was
written is a factor because many may believe that women back then were not able to say 'no' unlike
now where women are empowered to express their feelings in the 21st century. Parker created a
timeless quality which will always follow women when she created the narrator. We can see that
women today are able to relate with the narrator of the story, and reflect on past experiences in their
lives when they had to entertain a man wishes in all types of different social settings when they
would rather not have. The narrator speaks about her long and painful misery but in reality it is just
lasts as long as a song but seems to her it seems like it's been a life time worth of suffering.
Conformity to societal expectations: this is a huge part of urban life because most people

Patterns Of Social Conformity
"Every person, society, culture, and environment is located in a period of time and is changing with
time" . Consequently, it is my belief that patterns of both normative and informational conformity
have similarly changed through time, in response to the change in the surrounding environment,
culture, and society. In my opinion, these changes have subsequently resulted in higher rates of
conformity in today's society, partially due to the rise of social media in our daily lives. To
understand the nature of this change, the context and history of social conformity must be addressed.
Past studies on conformity and nonconformity establish such a history. Through analysing the
Solomon Asch conformity experiment of 1951, I am provided with such a basis to judge the extent
which conformity has changed through time.
In 1951, Solomon Asch conducted his famous conformity experiment. Asch's experiment consisted
of 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA, who were informed they were
participating in a 'vision test'. These participants were then put in a room with several 'Confederates',
who were not subjects in the experiment. All participants were shown a 'target line', who were told
to then state out loud which comparison line was most like the target line. The Confederates had all
previously agreed to state the wrong answer. This method effectively exposed if the subject would
base their beliefs upon their own judgment, or conform to the answer of the group. The results

Social Influence: Compliance, Conformity, And Obedience
Social influence is a big matter in social psychology which is referred to the ways in which different
people's thoughts, actions and feelings are subjective by social groups. On a daily basis we are
deluged by numerous efforts by others to influence us, and that's why, the study of social influence
has long been a dominant matter of analysis for social psychologists and researchers in many other
social sciences (e.g. marketing and political science). Social Psychologists focus on the situation.
They study the social influences that describe why the same person will act inversely in different
situations. Theorists have typically distinguished between three types of social influence which are
compliance, conformity, and obedience.
Compliance is often referred to as an active form of social influence in that it is usually intentionally
initiated by a person where they may choose to comply or not to comply. Yet, the thoughts of social
reward and punishment may lead them to compliance when they really do not want too. During the
1970s, psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment in which participants played the roles
of guards and prisoners in a mock–prison set up in the basement of the psychology department at
Stanford University. Originally slated to last two weeks, the experiment had to be terminated after
just six days after the guards began displaying abusive behaviour and the prisoners became anxious
and highly stressed. The experiment demonstrated how people

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