CONFORMITY

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, defines conformity to be, behavior that is the same as the behavior of most other people in a society, group, etc. (2014).  Most of us have a daily routine that follows the norm of society’s social laws, it is in that most of us have conformed to what society has deemed as normal behavior, and more often than not, most of us will not deviate from that norm.  According to Sociology Guide.Com, conformity is described as the genesis of the study of social conformity or stability is the assumption that there is order in nature and it can be discovered, described and understood (2014). 

Conformity is the changing of one’s behavior or belief as a result of group pressure.  This comes in two forms.  Compliance is outwardly going along with the group while inwardly disagreeing; a subset of compliance is obedience, compliance with a direct command.  Acceptance is believing, as well as acting in accord with social pressure (Myers, 2012, pg. 188).  The idea of changing ones beliefs system and ultimately influenced by how others want us to act, in a manner that may be different than if we were by ourselves holds the same concepts and logic that of other life events (discussed on this site), and sometimes even coincide with one another.  More than likely we have all felt pressured to follow the rules, regulations, and laws that man and society has set forth for us to all follow.  We have maybe even felt pressured to conform to a group or click in order to fit in or be accepted.  There are many examples of Conformity in our society, and for many of us we experience on a day to day basis.  And, although in some instances conformity can be good for society, there are those instances that conformity can be negative on social growth.

Tamara Avant, a Psychology program director at Southern University, discusses in the article, Examining the Mob Mentality, the ideals of Mob Mentality and the negative aspect of conformity.  Avant states, that when people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness; and that when people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity. Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone (Avant, 2011, para. 3).  When one conforms in the manner or group setting as in a football game, that individual no longer thinks of acts of individual (invert), but much more of the groups act (extrovert) and the acts may seem appropriate.  We have all heard f examples of mob mentality, and certainly none of us could every believe that we wouldn’t take part in the negative aspects of Mob Mentality, however, I don’t believe that everyone that may take part in the negative aspects of Mob Mentality, ever thought that they would.

 

References

Avant, T. (2011). Examining the Mob Mentality. Examining the Mob Mentality. Retrieved from http://source.southuniversity.edu/examining-the-mob-mentality-31395.aspx

Conformity. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conformity

Conformity. (n.d.). Sociology Guide. Retrieved from http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Conformity.php

Myers, D. G. (2012). Chapter Six. In Social psychology (p. 188). New York: McGraw-Hill.