...Conformity and Obedience Conformity: Conformity is a type of social influence or compliance in belief or behaviour in order to fit in or it could be known as behaviour in accordance with socially accepted conventions (also known as social norms) which could be standards or regulations within the public services such as dress regulations within the armed forces or the police. Compliance means the act of conforming or obeying an order or request and compliance with common practices is conforming to a common or reoccurring act, an example of this is when a recruit within the armed forces sees other soldiers saluting officers or standing in attention and this act keeps occurring the recruit would soon comply with those common practices. Social norms are what seem normal in a group or society, this could be acts or beliefs. Most people comply with social norms so that they do not feel an outcast within their group and to not seem abnormal within the group. An example of this could be that a group of friends seem to think it is normal to bully people, one of the members may see this as a terrible act but to not feel an outcast like the bully victim, the person complies with the social norm and starts to bully with the rest of the group. Self-esteem is how an individual may see their own worth and how much self-respect and confidence that person has towards themselves, a person’s background or upbringing may have an effect on their self-esteem. Someone who has a low self-esteem...
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...What are Social Problems (a) Generally, a problem is a social condition that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world. If there were only positive consequences, there would be no problem. A social problem such as unemployment, alcoholism, or drug abuse may negatively impact a person’s life and health, along with the well-being of that person’s family and friends. Problems can threaten our social institutions, for example, the family (spousal abuse), education (the rising cost of college tuition), or the economy (unemployment and underemployment). Our physical and social worlds can be threatened by problems related to urbanization and the environment. It has to be noted that social problems need to seeing as interconnectedness of the problematic issues under study. Social problems should not be viewed as a separate issue to be solved independently from others. We need more than one theoretical approach in studying social problems. The study of social problems develops an appreciation for the complexity of social problems and why divergent perspectives are required in order to analyze so many different issues. You may not just look at Child defilement or unemployment as a single social problem because at some stage they tend to have linkages for a certain trait to continue escalating Second, a social problem has objective and subjective realities. A social condition does not have to be personally experienced by every individual...
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...Influences of Conformity and Obedience Jamie Tyler University of Phoenix Social Psychology Psych555 Prof. Kimberly Kinsey May 7, 2012 Influences of Conformity and Obedience “Social influence broadly encompasses any changes on beliefs, attitudes, or behavior that result from interpersonal interaction” (Fiske, 2010). There are several concepts that aid in the analysis of social influence. Two of these concepts are conformity and obedience. Conformity is the influence of the majority on an individual and obedience is the influence authority has on subordinates. Conformity and obedience are related in the fact that they both have the ability to persuade an individual or group of individuals to change his or her thoughts, actions, and behaviors, regarding a particular situation. Conformity and obedience are also related in that they can change the way individuals view others within a certain community, culture, ethnic group or environment. This paper will evaluate the effect of group influence on the self using both classical and contemporary literature, compare and contrast concepts of conformity and obedience and analyze individual and societal influences that lead to deviance from group norms. Conformity and obedience are important factors in groups because they command members of a group to follow societal norms. Conformity is a needed concept of social influence because it can enhance members of a group sense of belonging, as well as, self esteem. Conformity can be clearly...
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...Conformity and Obedience in the 20th Century The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members' thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In her essay "Group Minds," Doris Lessing discusses our paradoxical ability to call ourselves individuals and our inability to realize that groups define and influence us. We, as humans, hold individualism in the highest regard yet fail to realize that groups diminish our individuality. Lessing writes, "when we're in a group, we tend to think as that group does... but we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group" (p. 334). Groups have the tendency to generate norms, or standards for behavior in certain situations. Not following these norms can make you stand out and, therefore, groups have the ability to influence our thoughts and actions in ways that are consistent with the groups'. Lessing's essay helps set the context to understand the experiments that social psychologists Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo conducted to explain conformity and obedience. Solomon Asch's experiment in "Opinions and Social Pressure" studied a subject's ability to yield to social pressure when placed within a group of strangers. His research helped illustrate how groups encourage...
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...Conformity and Obedience Psych/555 May 11, 2013 Dr. Anthony Conformity and Obedience Humans are known as social animals as they live life together while forming a variety of groups and try to improve their relationship within groups. Interaction with others is a natural consequence of residing in society. During this process the interaction of society and its rules has social implications of each. If the people face no social impact, like peer pressure, a large portion of them to demonstrate compliance by modifying their behavior, thoughts, decisions, as expected. This paper will discuss the issues of conformity & obedience. Compare and contrast the concepts of conformity and obedience. Conformity is well observed when people are in groups, which exerts pressure in their lives on things they do not normally do in their routine life. When an individual is compatible with group of self, it presents the devotion of the individual to group norms. Gender, culture, personality & other factors have great influence on how individual recover in a group (Fiske, 2010). Conformity has a wide impact, as it refer to people who have a common behavior with peers, and these people are thought to help some social rights to their behavior. In groups, people also believe that correspond to group as their behavior is often inspired by the principal group members. (Martin & Bull, 2008). The chances of people who responded, can only be determined when they are all alone, experience which...
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...Conformity, Obedience and Authority Discipline within the Uniformed Public Services is very important; they have responsibilities to the public concerning their safety and well-being within society. Discipline is used in all sectors of the Public Services; this means that they are more likely to do what is required of them even if they disagree with what they’ve been asked to do. However, it can always be written in the report afterwards so it is made clear to those in the higher ranks who may read it. Discipline ensures that all Uniformed Public Services and the public are not put in unnecessary danger. The need and role of discipline within the Police In the police the role of discipline is essential. This is because should Members of the police wish to abuse his or her power, they can’t do so as easily as there are consequences that have been put into place to reduce it happening. For example, if a police offer pulled someone to the side and requested to search them, the individual has the right to request a reason for the search. The officer would need to have a good reason. Good reasons may be the individual looks like a suspect pending investigation or they have a strong reason to believe that the individual is carrying illegal substances on their person. This is a very good thing because the police used to be able to stop anyone without giving reasons. During 2010 and 2011 in England the number of stop and searches that then lead to arrests was over 60020 individuals...
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...Consequences To Conformity, Compliance and Obedience Pertaining to Social Pressure Social Influence and Groups "Social influence is the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others" (Feldman, 2013). Many people know from their own experiences the undeniable pain, as well as changes in behavior, that is experienced by submitting to these type pressures, that otherwise, never would have resulted. Social pressures cause people to conform, comply, and obey. Furthermore, these actions and behaviors can have severe negative affects to our personal relationships, which will be address in the following paragraphs. Conformity: Following What Others Do Conformity can be defined as a change in behavior and attitudes that happens because of a need to follow other people (Feldman, 2013). Frequently, people conform to peers and social pressure because of their psychological need to be accepted. Everyone wants to feel loved and accepted. However, when this acceptance comes at the dangerous cost of conforming to social groups, changes occur that are sometimes not thought out and/or unexpected (Encyclopedia for Marriage and Family, 2003). For example, many times people lose their individuality and will not grow as a person because they do not feel they can voice their own thoughts and opinions. This is for fear that in so doing, they will go against their peer groups and become unaccepted. This type conformity usually begins during adolescents...
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...M3. Explain why conformity and obedience are important in the public services, with reference to research studies. Conformity and obedience are forms of social influence which strongly affect our behaviour is social situations, from following fashions and unwritten social norms which organise our behaviour, to committing immoral acts because we are commanded to by someone who appears to be in a position of authority. This essay looks at the similarities and differences between the three, looking specifically at the factors that influence each two. Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match those of others within the group. Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant. In order to conform, the group member must attribute someone as having the legitimacy and credibility to lead or influence the group's behaviour. Without this "leader", conformity toward the group's goals will be less prevalent. If a member of the group fails to conform to the groups needs, he/she would lose credibility with the rest of the group. Conformity is a change in an individuals behaviour according to certain accepted standards within society as well as the influence of others whether this be a real or imaginary influence. There are 2 key concepts of conformity, acceptance or compliance. People plan to join a specific public service because they want to belong to that team because they may like the sentiments of the service etc. Hence...
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...discrimination, attitudes, attitude change, person perception, self, social influence, helping behavior, | |empirical methods, parenting styles commentary, competition | | | |Lord of the Rings | |[pic] | |Issues dealing with attitudes, violence, deception, compliance, obedience, person perception, self, altruism, interpersonal attraction, | |personal relationships, helping behavior, aggression | | | |Chocolat | |[pic]...
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...we will have internet access, or you can bring in a DVD (or even a VHS tape), or you may create the entire presentation on DVD to show in class. (b) describe in detail the social-psychological principle you believe is relevant. Your job here is to demonstrate that you understand the principle or theory, and that you can describe it in your own words. You don’t need to do library research for this – using your text or your lecture notes as resources is fine. You need you to show us that you have a good understanding of the concept/principle. It’s best if you are specific about the principles you discuss. For example, don’t just indicate that your scene illustrates helping, or conformity, or persuasion, or aggression. Instead, indicate what specific theory, or principle or aspect of helping/conformity/persuasion/aggression, etc. that your scene illustrates. (c) Elaborate on how the selected scene illustrates the...
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...CONFORMITY IS A CHANGE IN AN INDIVIDUALS BEHAVIOUR ACCORDING TO CERTAIN ACCEPTED STANDARDS WITHIN SOCIETY AS WELL AS THE INFLUENCE OF OTHERS WHETHER THIS BE A REAL OR IMAGINARY INFLUENCE. THERE ARE 2 KEY CONCEPTS OF CONFORMITY, ACCEPTANCE OR COMPLIANCE. ✓ Acceptance - Many people conform to social norms in order to feel accepted in the society they live in. ✓ Compliance - This is acting in accordance with something that is requested or following rules etc. Compliance is normally passed down the ranks in the public services Factors which influence conformity People tend to conform more if they have a low self esteem or they feel they need to be socially accepted. A single person is also more likely to conform to feel part of a group of people than two or more people. The strength of the influence as well as the immediacy and the number of sources of influences are also factors of conformity according to THE SOCIAL IMPACT THEORY. Conformity= Compliance with common practices Compliance means doing what other people in our social standing do in our daily lives. Most people, in most social groups, conform in everyday things like speech, dress codes, eating habits etc. This kind of conformity is known as " social control"- the numerous pressures as individuals grow turns them from babies into members of our society. The main agencies of social control are the family, the peer group, the media, religion, employment and the law. All of these encourage conformity of one...
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...deliberate or sometimes occur subconsciously and the individual in question may not be aware of them (Wood, 2000). There are various forms of social influence among which the most important and widely recognised ones are conformity and obedience. They are concepts that put into perspective how individuals’ behaviours are affected or influenced in a group or social circumstances. This essay looks to explore compliance and obedience in detail. It may seem sometimes these two concepts might be slightly similar in how they affect behaviour in such situations; however they are not to be confused for each other. This essay aims to clarify such perception and distinctively point out the similarities and differences between these two concepts by exploring how they come about and factors that influence them using relevant research evidence. Conformity can be defined as the inclination by individuals to modify their attitudes or manner of behaving to suit that of the social standards. It simply means to succumb to pressures of the society (Crutchfield, 1955) However, it does not necessarily mean that their opinion or perception has changed; it simply means that they have changed their behaviour just for the purpose of being considered acceptable by the society. Conformity is also known as the majority influence. It occurs as a result of informational social influence or normative social influence. Informational social influence is one in which individuals tend to change their behaviour when...
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...Influence of Conformity and Obedience “Social influence broadly encompasses any changes on beliefs, attitudes, or behavior that result from interpersonal interaction” (Fiske, 2010). Humans are known as social beings that live together forming diversity of groups forming and improving relationships within their groups. Social influence, which is very natural, is the result of communication and interaction in between groups. Conformity and obedience are concepts that support the analysis of social influence. Conformity and obedience both can persuade and change an individual(s) thoughts, actions, and behaviors. They also can change the individual(s) views of others within the community, culture and/or ethic group. In this paper I will discuss the issues of conformity and obedience; I will compare and contrast the concepts of conformity and obedience, analyze a classical study concerning the effect of group influence on the self, analyze a contemporary example of the effect that group influence has on the self and analyze individual and societal influences that lead to deviance from dominant group norms. Compare and contrast the concepts of conformity and obedience. Conformity is an important concept of social influence for it increases individuals or groups sense of belonging and self-esteem. Conformity is clearly observed when people are in groups that pressures individuals to say or do things that they normally would not do to be compatible with the group, to fit in...
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... • Knowledge and understanding of research methods associated with this area of psychology • Knowledge and understanding of ethical issues associated with this area of psychology. |Content outline | |Social influence |Conformity (majority influence) and explanations of why people conform, including informational | | |social influence and normative social influence | | | | | |Types of conformity, including internalisation and compliance | | | | | |Obedience to authority, including Milgram’s work and explanations of why people obey | |Social...
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...Conformity and obedience within the public services Conformity and obedience within the public services What is obedience and conformity? * The ability of respecting and following instructions given by your superiors. * Doing what you are told to do * Conform/Obey the regulations and orders given by someone in authority The relevance of conformity in the public service: It is very important in public services to comply with or to be in accord with something. Every member of the public services such as Police or Armed Forces would wa nt to be accepted by their colleagues and belong to a professional team; otherwise they would refuse to join a specific service if they will know that the respective team does not have the right qualities and abilities such as team work, communication or reliability in order to fulfill a particular task. In fact, is about team spirit and how they perform and conform the commands given by some in authority in order to complete the task in most successfully way. On the other hand if one of the members does not conform to the standards of the team, the performance of this could go down and the public will have to face the consequences as they would not be able to bring a particular task at the end. Influences on obedience: * Fear (physically and psychologically) * Reward (positively reinforced with medals for good or heroic acts) * Love...
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