Conformity or How to Waste Singular Potential
A critical and objective view on conformity
Cambridge dictionary defines conformity as “behavior that follows the usual standards that are expected by a group or society”. From a psychology perspective it is “the tendency for an individual to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of the people around them. Conformity can take the form of overt social pressure or subtler, unconscious influence”.
Critical part
Already in the psychology definition there are elements that raise my attention: “social pressure”, “unconscious influence”. These are elements that are outside of the control of a lambda individual. So why would anyone let those dictate one’s own will, behavior or desires?
It is well known that we humans are complexes beings, psychology can keep on the work of figuring out some universal rules and findings. In medicine there is constant progress but it seems that even medicine has some limits of how deep it can go into understanding the body, and the mind (both being linked as one package). There are a lot that is being currently done in terms of study to get a better understanding of all the human mechanisms but in my sense the human will still be at some level “mystical” and not fully “studied”. That is also what make us humans so fascinating.
So going from that point, I find it limiting to consider conformity. Why? Why would any want to apply a certain selected common rules/norms to individuals who are quite unique at some level?
By doing so, in some cases the social cohesion may be facilitated, yes. It may also be useful in some work environment, yes. But in parallel, there is a loss of creativity. We all see the world with different eyes, from different backgrounds; and reducing all that to just one common way of doing, is in my sense a waste.
Each of us was born with specific gifts to give to the humanity (or not — that is up to each one). By conforming you leave behind your gift and conform to any one else’s gift, see? Then the one individual who conforms looses its individual gift and the humanity looses to the depend of very few who manage to highly influence the mass through their gifts.
So let’s all value our own gift/s, respect other’s and of course respect common local and international written laws.
Apart from that, when it comes to social conformity: no, but naturally that’s up to each of us to choose what works best .
I don’t believe we were put here with our differences to conform to a uniform state of mind — Author Sonya Teclai
Objective part
How about digging deeper to see the conformity with an objective eye as well?
Why Do We Conform?
Researchers have found that people conform to a number of different reasons. In many cases, looking to the rest of the group for clues for how we should behave can actually be helpful. Other people might have greater knowledge or experience than we do, so following their lead can actually be instructive.
In some instances, we conform to the expectations of the group in order to avoid looking foolish. This tendency can become particularly strong in situations where we are not quite sure how to act or where the expectations are ambiguous.
Types of conformity
In 1955, Deutsch and Gerard identified two key reasons why people conform: informational influence and normative influence.
Informational influence happens “when people change their behavior in order to be correct”. In situations where we are unsure of the correct response, we often look to others who are better informed and more knowledgeable and use their lead as a guide for our own behaviors. In a classroom setting, for example, this might involve agreeing with the judgments of another classmate who you perceive as being highly intelligent.
Normative influence stems from “a desire to avoid punishments (such as going along with the rules in class even though you don’t agree with them) and gain rewards (such as behaving in a certain way in order to get people to like you)”.
Research and Experiments
Conformity is something that happens regularly in our social worlds. Sometimes we are aware of our behavior, but in many cases, it happens without much thought or awareness on our parts. In some cases, we go along with things that we disagree with or behave in ways that we know we shouldn’t. Some of the best-known experiments on the psychology of conformity deal with people going along with the group, even when they know the group is wrong.
Jenness’s 1932 Experiment: In one of the earliest experiments on conformity, Jenness asked participants to estimate the number of beans in a bottle. They first estimated the number individually and then later as a group. After they were asked as a group, they were then asked again individually and the experimenter found that their estimates shifted from their original guess to closer to what other members of the group had guessed.
Sherif’s Autokinetic Effect Experiments: In a series of experiments, Muzafer Sherif asked participants to estimate how far a dot of light in a dark room moved. In reality, the dot was static, but it appeared to move due to something known as the autokinetic effect. Essentially, tiny movements of the eyes make it appear that a small spot of light is moving in a dark room. When asked individually, the participants’ answers varied considerably. When asked as part of a group, however, Sherif found that the responses converged toward a central mean. Sherif’s results demonstrated that in an ambiguous situation, people will conform to the group, an example of informational influence.
Asch’s Conformity Experiments: In this series of famous experiments, psychologist Solomon Asch asked participants to complete what they believed was a simple perceptual task. They were asked to choose a line that matched the length of one of three different lines. When asked individually, participants would choose the correct line. When asked in the presence of Confederates who were in on the experiment and who intentionally selected the wrong line, around 75% of participants conformed to the group at least once. This experiment is a good example of normative influence; participants changed their answer and conformed to the group in order to fit in and avoid standing out.
Influential Factors
The difficulty of the task: Difficult tasks can lead to both increased and decreased conformity. Not knowing how to perform a difficult task makes people more likely to conform, but the increased difficulty can also make people more accepting of different responses, leading to less conformity.
Individual differences: Personal characteristics such as motivation to achieve and strong leadership abilities are linked with a decreased tendency to conform.
The size of the group: People are more likely to conform in situations that involve between three and five other people.
Characteristics of the situation: People are more likely to conform in ambiguous situations where they are unclear about how they should respond.
For all inquiries, you can reach out to me via email [email protected]
Until next time, take good care, remember to look up, admire the sun when you get the chance.
References
Wei Z, Zhao Z, Zheng Y. Following the Majority: Social Influence in Trusting Behavior. Front Neurosci. 2019;13:89. Published 2019 Feb 11. doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.00089
Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51(3), 629–636. doi:10.1037/h0046408
Le texier T. Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment. Am Psychol. 2019;74(7):823–839. doi:10.1037/amp0000401
Morgan TJ, Laland KN. The biological bases of conformity. Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. Published 2012 Jun 14. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087
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