Topic > The social impact of conformity and the reasons why people conform

Index Why we conformTypes of conformityInfluencing factorsResearch and experimentsWorks cited:The process or act of changing our behavior to fit in or even get along with the people around us is what we talk about compliance. It is a kind of collective influence that involves agreement with what is happening or being done by people around us. It also involves carrying out our activities just like the rest of the people. It's about copying what other individuals do so that one can be considered normal. In psychological studies, various definitions have been put forward to imply the social impact exerted by conformity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay First, a change in the behavior of a person or group as a result of the influence of another person or group can be called conformity. In this case, the group or person will act in a specific way due to the influence exerted on him by another person or group. Conformity can also refer to a behavioral change in a person(s) instigated by other individual(s), but does not refer to internal changes in beliefs or attitude. Compliance is subject to obedience and conformity as it is the result of a change in behavior caused by other individuals regardless of the type of stimulus. (Breckler, Olson, & Wiggins, 2006). Secondly, conformity can be defined as giving in to group pressure. For example, going with friends to watch a movie. Friends may have thought the movie was good, but you think it wasn't. Therefore, you are forced to pretend that it was great for you too, so that you cannot be the only one left out (Eysenck, 2004). Why We Conform There are a number of reasons why people conform. It may be due to the idea of ​​looking to a group to know how we should behave (Deutsch and Gerald, 1955). This is because other individuals are a rich source of knowledge and experience that could be of great help to us. Other times, we conform to a certain group to eliminate the aspect of ourselves that seems silly, especially when how we should act remains a mystery and when we are dealing with ambiguous phenomena. Types of Conformity According to Deutsch and Gerald (1955), people tend to conform to a certain group others due to normative and informational influence. Normative influence involves conforming to things like rules to avoid being punished and gain a reward, such as being liked by others. Informational influence involves changing behavior as a corrective measure. In cases that arise with uncertainty about our response, individuals tend to depend on other, more intelligent individuals to guide their actions. For example, a student in a class may agree with another student's judgment because he is intelligent. Identification is another form of conformity that involves conforming to the things a person is expected to do based on their social roles and responsibilities. For example, being in prison implies that people modify their behavior allowing them to adapt to expected roles. Influencing Factors Compliance can be influenced by some factors. First, the complexity of the task is an influential factor (Asch, 1951). Greater or lesser compliance may result from the complexity of the task. When people are faced with a difficult task, they are inclined to comply more. However, increased difficulty can cause people to accept different answers that can be-2020