Category: Conformity

Abstract

The present research delved into sexual orientation and its effect on women’s conformity to gender norms. Sexual orientation refers to one’s emotional, romantic and sexual to men, women, or both sexes. In this study, sexual orientation was used to study the effects on women’s conformity, specifically, to gender norms.

Introduction

Background of the Study

In a time where human beings are becoming more open in expressing their individual characteristics and having these unique characteristics accepted and celebrated, it is important to find out just how far society has come in terms of embracing individuality. Both conformity and gender norms are socially related terms that have been used in a number of studies separately. The act of conforming is usually done towards general norms in society, while gender norms are more specific in nature. These two concepts are discussed and researched upon extensively in the academe but there are some variables and factors that are overlooked and understudied. Human sexuality comes with a wide array of terms, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sexual orientation is who an individual is attracted to romantically or sexually. There is a lack of studies being done on sexual orientation as a variable that could affect how gender norms are being practiced. Some previous findings have shown that there is a discrepancy in conformity to female gender norms depending on the culture (Sanchez-Lopez, et al., 2009).

Gender norms

Gender norms (sometimes referred to as gender roles) falls under a wide spectrum of socially held beliefs with a set of behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes that are deemed appropriate by society (Levesque, 2011). These norms vary depending on gender. Males are perceived to be more independent, aggressive, or seen as the more dominant sex (Parent & Moradi, 2009). Contrasting to men, women are seen as gentle, caring, and empathetic (Parent & Moradi, 2010). In anthropological studies, women’s roles began back in the hunter-gatherers period when women stayed at home to look after the children and men were the ones searching for sustenance. This historical perspective is pivotal in the coming centuries to follow because men as the breadwinner of the family support the thought that the basic family structure would collapse if the father or male were not present. Survival being the keyword; human beings are genetically inclined to do everything for the main purpose of survival and procreation. As such, gender roles began to form and evolve in society. Gender roles are performative acts that are oftentimes unconsciously executed (Butler, 2004). These acts can be referred to as feminine or masculine. Although the subfactors of femininity and masculinity are not specifically set, there are a number of incidences that lead to the conclusion that femininity and masculinity are multidimensional social structures (Butler, 2004). Basic feminine stereotypes may also include some masculine traits and vice versa, thus making the distinction between the two ambiguous.

Development of gender norms in people

Gender identity develops in children at the age of two when they start noticing physical differences in each other (Thompson, 1975). This is when parents usually, and any other external variables, start to teach children what they should or should not do; although children still have cross-gender preferences (preference of the opposite gender’s toys or clothing). A cognitive theory called the gender schema theory coined by Bem (1981), talks about how children develop gender roles through their everyday interactions and observations from their environments and cultures; she labeled this phenomenon as sex typing. In a recent study by Bian, Leslie, and Cimpian (2017), they found that the lack of women working in highly intellectual fields is due to the fact that by age six, girls are more likely to regard “smart” as a field that was more suited towards boys and end up losing interest in these fields.

Masculine gender norms

Masculinity and femininity refer to the degree to which an individual sees themselves possessing masculine or feminine traits (Stets & Burke, 2000). These two concepts have long been researched on for many purposes. Masculine gender norms, or masculinity, refers to the social construct that describes men based on their physical attributes and behaviors. A more masculine individual engages oneself in more dominant, autonomous, and even competitive behaviors (Ashmore, Del Boca, and Wohlers 1986).

Feminine gender norms

Feminine gender norms, or in other words; femininity is a socially constructed term that is used to define females as caring, empathetic, sensitive, etc. These terms have gentle undertones and it expresses how a woman is expected to act in society. Gender roles in general differ depending on the culture and environment. A study on gender norms among females in Spain by Sanchez-Lopez, et al. (2009) compared the results to another study done in America using the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) scale showed that US female students conformed more to feminine gender norms than Spanish women.

A study by Eagly (2009) delves into the prosocial behaviors of gender. Women share more communal and relational behaviors while men are agentic, strength intensive, and collective oriented. Prosocial behaviors assess the way humans interact with each other.

Conformity in a Filipino perspective

In Filipino psychology, there is a concept called “pakikisama” that is the equivalent to conformity (Pe-Pua & Protacio-Marcelino, 2000). It is an act of submission for the sake of camaraderie. Filipino people are pressured into conforming with others for the sake of sacrificing certain traits in order to have a smoother relationship with others. Although this may seem like a positive act that may not always be the case. In a recent study by Saito (2010), he talked about the abusive powers of using pakikisama in the youth. The Filipino youth use pakikisama to bully others into getting their way or to get others to join dangerous cliques/gangs. This concept can be used to manipulate young individuals by using their own psychology against them.

Gender norms in Philippine context

The Philippines is known as one of the most egalitarian countries with regards to gender. However, masculinity and femininity are still very much evident in the Philippine setting. Prieler (2013) mentioned that in a study on gender representation in Philippine television, females were more engaged in housework (45.9 % vs. 24.5 %) and males were more engaged in the workplace (17.9 % vs. 7.4 %). These findings were based mainly on the social cognitive theory and the cultivation theory.

A number of gender differences have been studied in the Philippine setting. One of which was about emotional relationships and physical behaviors among Filipino adolescents. This study discovered significant differences between the two sexes based on the two factors. Comparing to other countries in Asia, females engaged in some emotional relationships at younger ages than males. However, males engaged in relationships at a faster pace than females (Upadhyay, et al. 2006). The progression of relationships —experiencing crushes, courtships, dating then eventually sexual intercourse, may differ among the two sexes as well, which then affects how the two sexes perceive these emotional relationships (Upadhyay, et al. 2006).

Gender norms and sexual orientation

In our society, the main indicators of our gender are mainly the behaviors, values, and attitudes which are learned through the socialization process (Mahalik et al., 2003; Mahalik et., al, 2005). Usually, these generate ideas about how men and women should act. Gender norms commonly reflect the values of groups that are powerful and dominant in the society. A study by Gilbert and Scher (2009) found out that women tend to reflect themes of agreeableness, attractiveness, domesticity, and subservience to men. However, men reflect the themes of self-reliance, pursuing success, acting tough, being competitive, controlling emotional expression, feeling superior to women, having positive attitudes toward casual sex, and fearing and hating sexual minority men. On the other hand, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society (2008) sexual orientation dictates a person’s emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to other individuals. The term “coming out” is used when a person is declaring a homosexual identity. This can start with homosexual fantasies or dreams. Sexual orientation includes gay, lesbians, bisexual, and so on.

Sexual orientation

Sex is a broad term that has been discussed in a number of studies. Sex in itself, tackles a number of terms that ultimately differ in definition. Sexual orientation is just one out of the many concepts used to describe one’s sexuality and the moderating effect in this proposed study. Sexual orientation is referred to as 1) patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes, 2) the preferred term to use in order to describe one’s attractions to men, women, or both sexes, and 3) the personal trait individuals possess to be attracted to men, women, or both sexes (Dembrroff, 2016). The researchers of this study aim to discover if sexual orientation plays a moderating effect on a female’s conformity towards their respective gender norms.

In a separate research done by Oswalt and Wyatt (2011), an empirical data show wherein the researchers had 27,454 students from 55 different universities all over the United States and were enrolled in a university showed that 93.8% students identified as heterosexual, 1.9% said they were gay or lesbian, 2.9% identified as bisexual, while 1.5% said that they were unsure. It is also important to note that gay, lesbians, and bisexuals (GLB) individuals are more prone to having mental health disorders and engaging in negative risk behaviors such as substance use and abuse, self-injurious behaviors, and suicidal behaviors compared to their heterosexual counterparts. In the educational setting, the ones who encounter unique and challenging experiences and usually the least accepted group are the sexual minority college students or the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and queer. These college students are more likely to be the targets of harassment and derogatory remarks compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Commonly, gays are most often targets of the degrading remarks while lesbians are most or excluded (Rankin et al., 2010).

Social Role Theory

In examining one’s conformity to gender norms, the researchers needed to first examine both genders’ social roles, and with that being said, Alice Eagly’s Social Role Theory became the theoretical framework for this research. The Social Role Theory delves into the differences and similarities between both male and female in terms of social behavior (Eagly & Wood, 2016). There are a number of differences between both sexes which ultimately affect their social roles. However, their social roles also depends on 1) differences presented in each of their physical features and related behaviors which include childbearing and other biological features, and 2) the number of differences between social, economic and technological factors. Because of the number of differences both males and females have, certain occupations and activities are more efficient when performed by either sex (Eagly & Wood, 2016).

Synthesis

These specific subtopics was discussed in the review of related literature in order to further expound on the complexity of the variables in the study. There are many things that interconnect gender norms, conformity, and sexual orientation. The background surrounding these variables is also explained because it is important to note each component intersectionally. The cultural impact is also important because conformity differs depending on the environment an individual is raised in.

Conceptual Framework

The researchers will investigate the relationship of the different sexual orientation namely homosexuals, bisexuals, and heterosexuals and conformity to the different gender norms for both females and males. The different gender norms will be based on two scales called Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) and the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI).

Significance of the Study

These concepts can be detrimental in an individual’s mental health because it limits people to certain behaviors that may not be akin to the way they identify. This is further complicated once sexual orientation is introduced but for the sake of simplicity and to focus on gender norms, heteronormative concepts will be used. So if a man has a generally feminine personality, society will classify this individual as an oddity or an outlier; this isolation follows him throughout his developmental years.

The researchers will gather participants by using different social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach more people. Afterwards, the participants will be given a survey that will ask for their demographics including age and sexual orientation. The CMNI scale will be answered first, following with the CFNI scale.

References

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Introduction

In everyday life the actions of people are influenced by their environment and those around them. It is common for individuals to alter their actions in order to fit in with societal norms as it is looked down upon to be different, or in an out-group (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). The changing of one’s actions and activities to meet said group norms can be classified as either compliance, conformity or obedience. Each having their own particular response to types of communication, such as requests or laws (Xie et al., 2016). The three levels of social influence having both similarities and differences, which will be outlined within the essay. With use of comparison and contrasts – moreover with the additional reference of relevant theories, concepts and research, each social influence level will be explained and then compared against each other. Overall this will illustrate what each level entails and real-life examples of it.

Compliance

The first level is compliance, being the most common in everyday life and simplistic of the three social influences. It occurs when behaviour is in response to a request, either direct or indirect and is based off of following or agreeance (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). For example, if someone were to ask for the salt at the dinner table and someone else hands it to them, they would be complying with the request that was made. Individuals are motivated by their need to get their reward and to do so in the most effective and simplistic way possible – which in the case of compliance it is what they have requested (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).

Compliance works by a certain group of individuals following an unwritten set of rules in order to be included by said group, rather than laws of society (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). Furthermore, individuals are fully aware of the request and the requirement to respond in a certain way (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). The result that is gained from compliance is a short-term adaptation to the setting, typically maintaining the status quo in order to keep the situation at a state of equilibrium or norm (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011).

The door-in-the-face technique is an approach that reflects how the magnitude request can influence whether someone will comply with it or not. To begin with, the person will ask a grand request which will be rejected, then following it up with a lesser request. In turn this increases the chances of compliance with the lesser request (Millar, 2010). This works by the comparison of the two, the lesser request seeming to be easier to comply with and accomplish when compared to such a large request such as the first. The target of the request is then to feel as if the other has lowered the request in order to accommodate the other and has been perceived to be more effective than asking for the smaller request straight away (Rodafinos, Vucevic & Sideridis, 2010). Examples of the door-in-the-face can include asking for a large sum of money, such as $100, and when that is refused asking for a lesser amount such as $10 instead. Additionally, the technique is easy enough to be implemented into retail and workplace scenarios. Research has found that in the workplace, employees tend to be more compliant to requests due to monetary benefits that influence them to follow such requests. Advertising campaigns also incorporate compliance by playing on established norms (Karakostasa & Zizzo, 2016).

In summary, compliance is the most simplistic of the three social influences, being practical and one that provides short-term results to situations that require the upholding of established social norms (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). The implementation of the door-in-the-face technique aids in the compliance occurring and can be used successfully in a multitude of situations such as borrowing money or workplace tasks (Millar, 2010).

Conformity

A step above compliance is that of conformity. Conformity is the voluntary change of behaviour to align with those of others, typically to match the majority (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). The act of conforming is seen to be contagious as it is undesirable to stand out from the prominent in-group (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). People tend to conform to the roles they are believed to have, relying on perceived ideas rather than clear instructions (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). In order for individuals in a group to conform, there must be an authority figure whom influences the others, pressure being a requirement for conformity (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). Conforming to match the norms of the group can also be seen as an emotional buffer, protecting an individual from experiencing negative emotions such as isolation or rejection (Yu & Sun, 2013). An example of conformity that is seen constantly is that of people following the latest fashion trends in order to fit in with the majority.

Research has found that social norms are one of the most influential factors when it comes to the conformity of individuals, often adjusting their own behaviour in order to fit the supposed norm. The study conducted by Aarts and Dijksterhuis (2003) can be referenced as an example. The experiment found that environments can affect one’s behaviour due to normative behaviour established by social norms and strong associations with the environment. In the case of Aarts and Dijksterhuis (2003)’s study the environment was libraries and the behaviour was being silent when within the building. Another example of conformity is an individual disagreeing with the majority’s mentality however when asked their thoughts will agree with the majority, wanting to avoid negative responses.

The process of conformity includes two variations; informational influence and normative influence (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). Informational influence occurs when the individual themselves lacks knowledge, in turn looks to the group for guidance, or compares their own behaviour with that of the group’s. This results in internalisation, the individual accepting the views of the group they looked to, altering their own existing behaviours (Mallinson & Hatemi, 2018). A hypothetical example would include travelling to a foreign planet and accepting a request to being shown around by the aliens that inhabit the planet. In this scenario the aliens are considered the majority and the human is seeking knowledge and guidance. Alternatively, normative influence is the conformity of the group’s behaviour to gain acceptance and fit in, avoiding disapproval. An example of this form of conformity is peer pressure. When both of said processes have been influential in the conformity of behaviours, it is known as dual-process dependency (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011).

Certain factors have been found to influence whether the rates of conformity within a group increase or decrease. This includes; the size of the group, the difficulty of the task the group is faced with, the social status of the group, and when individuals are not in the presence of the group (Levitan & Verhulst, 2015). Factors that increase conformity are larger sized groups, difficult tasks that require the group to consult with each other to solve and the group’s social status. Alternatively, conformity decreases when individuals are away from the rest of the group, being due to them only conforming to fit in with the group and caring about how they are seen by the rest of the group (Levitan & Verhulst, 2015). These factors were found during the 1951 experiment on group conformity, conducted by Solomon Asch (Mallinson & Hatemi, 2018).

When compared to compliance, conformity illustrates increased stakes and social influence on groups. Conformity involves altering one’s behaviours, and sometimes morals, in order to better fit in with the majority – which results in avoidance of negative emotions and social isolation from what is considered the in-group (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). Conforming to the majority can also be due to lack of knowledge and in turn seeking it out, causing a change in existing thoughts and behaviours (Mallinson & Hatemi, 2018). Environments and social norms also influence the need to conform during certain situations (Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2003). The consequences that result from not conforming are more than those received from noncompliance. Nonconformity can result in an individual being in the minority, or out-group being a long term consequence, whilst noncompliance can result in short-term negative emotions between just those involved in the situation (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011).

Obedience

Finally, the third concept of social influence is obedience. Unlike the other two mentioned, obedience is behaving in a certain way due to a higher power ordering you to do so without question – being considered a more extreme version of compliance (Gibson, 2018). Examples of those who hold higher power include teachers, bosses and parents to list a few that are relevant in everyday society.

Obedience is a learnt behaviour that develops over time, individuals having different responses to those who hold authority due to past experiences. It stems from either fear or respect, sometimes both (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). Those who hold authoritative powers have had those powers given to them by society due to their social standing or occupation (Drummond-Smith, 2017). Failure to obey the orders of those individuals results in a social punishment, as the expectation is stated clearly for the individual to follow (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011; Xie et al., 2016). Obeying laws, following established social norms in society and religious beliefs are all instances that occur due to obedience.

Certain conditions need to be met in order to increase the effectiveness of obedience, that involves; proximity and legitimacy of authoritative body, the proximity of the victim and the degree of social support for obedience or disobedience (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). These conditions can be clearly observed in Stanley Milgram’s 1963 experiment. The study involved testing how far an individual would go in order to obey the commands of an authority figure, and how much it would take for them to finally refuse those orders (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014). The results of that study found that 65% of the participants did not refuse the orders of the person in charge at any point during the experiment (Griggs, 2016; Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). This is an example of blind obedience, as individuals will not question the orders of those in positions authority (Drummond-Smith, 2017).

Obedience stands out from the other two influences, having strong consequences for disobedience. Those who hold authoritative power are held to a higher social standard and the rules and laws in which those within the society are meant to follow are clearly defined and learnt throughout life (Gibson, 2018). Religious beliefs align with the behaviours exhibited in group conformity, where it is at an individual level and lacks serious consequences if not followed exactly. However like obedience the rules are clearly defined and the consequences for the individual are perceived as severe by that individual for example heaven or hell after death (Myers, Abell & Sani, 2014).

The Comparison Summary

To further expand on the before mentioned influences, this section will provide comparisons of both the main similarities and differences of the three. The similarities include; their influence to change behaviour and being needed to promote social cohesion. While the differences are; the power behind the request, the level of complexity, the consequences and their roles in society.

Firstly, the similarities. With these concepts being social influences, their main goal is to create a change in behaviour – either long-term or simply short-term. They are an adaptative technique that evolves alongside societal norms (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). Furthermore, these influences create a form of social cohesion throughout the whole of the society. This is due to all within said society having an understanding of what is required of them and what each influence stands for (Coultas & Leeuwen, 2015).

Secondly, the differences. As previously mentioned, each influence has a different level of power behind it and it’s required response (Vaughan & Hogg, 2011). While compliance occurs without a second thought, obedience is a learnt behaviour and adaptive. This also reflects how there are different levels of complexity and why the consequences for each differs. Finally, their roles in society. Whilst still applying to the previous difference, compliance tends to occur for one-off situations, being a smaller sum of the whole, however, obedience maintains social order and hierarchy in society authority (Drummond-Smith, 2017).

Conclusion

Overall, the concepts of compliance, conformity and obedience are increasingly more complex versions of one another, the three working in levels. They are influenced by differing scenarios that an individual would be in, each coming with a different consequence if not followed. They all heavily rely on established social norms that allow them to be differentiated from one another, each being applied to different situations. Despite having similarities and differences, the three are more similar than they are different – the differences being smaller scale than the similarities. Numerous studies and theories work to further explain how and why these social influences work in the way that they do, including door-in-the-face technique and Milgram’s 1963 obedience experiment. To conclude, compliance, conformity and obedience have similarities and differences that set them apart from each other whilst still being quite similar overall.

Human beings often overlook the horrors of humanity as they neglect the personal wellbeing of others. Ursula Le Guin’s speculative text “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and Shirley Jackson’s dystopian short story “The Lottery” encapsulates the effect of social conformity within a society. Written in the aftermath of World War II and towards the final years of the Vietnam War, Jackson and Le Guin’s works present idyllic societies, yet with a dark twist. Both writers go into great lengths to stress the joyful government of each society and begin their dystopian short stories by depicting an ideal city, leading up to the point in which they introduce the dark secret that secures prosperity throughout the society. One distinct difference between the two texts is the narrative in which it is told. While Le Guin allows her readers to create a society fitting to their limitless imagination, Jackson utilizes a character versus character conflict. Although Le Guin and Jackson’s texts differ in various aspects of their dystopias, their striking similarities outweigh the contradictions.

Le Guin and Jackson present the existence of a scapegoat which authenticates the reality of each society and directs suffering to one individual to ensure stability of the “greater good” for the rest of the population. Le Guin portrays Omelas as the utmost perfect society as the narrator prompts the reader to construct various aspects of the story, making the details of this society dependent on the reader’s judgement. Later, the brilliance of the town begins to seem controversial as the narrator questions, “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No?” and chooses to invoke credibility with one additional detail (Le Guin). An acknowledged yet isolated child in a basement is left to live in appalling conditions, and is the one catch for those living in perpetual perfection. Every delightful experience of the citizens of Omelas “depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (Le Guin). This scapegoat’s existence allow the readers to reflect on the underlying hatred in their lives, as well as the concept of unnecessary blame brought upon others. Furthermore, some decide to walk away from the immoral society while others justify the scapegoat on behalf of tradition, similar to Jackson’s “The Lottery,” in which a dark custom occurs to ensure a successful approaching harvest.

Although Jackson introduces her short story “The Lottery” as more realistic and simplistic, she makes intemperate statements on the welfare of the village and their need for a scapegoat. Similar to Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” Jackson begins her famous gothic story in a simple way as she depicts a town that gathers one morning to participate in an annual activity. The town’s practice is follows the custom of “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson). This custom presents the necessary death of a townsperson as a sacrifice for a healthy harvest in the future. For the hope of a healthy harvest in the future, the death of a townsperson is necessary. The victim is later identified as Tessie Hutchinson, the established scapegoat of Jackson’s short story. The isolated child in Omelas relates to Tessie Hutchinson, as both are victims of being scapegoated as part of their society’s tradition and practice in return for abiding eminence. Le Guin and Jackson’s short stories demonstrate the willingness of the two distinct societies to inflict suffering upon an individual to validate the wellbeing of the village and portray mankind’s cruel characteristics in an apathetic approach. The reader experiences outrage during Tessie’s stoning in “The Lottery,” as well as in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” and reveal the prevailing concept of scapegoating within the system of socialization. Ultimately, the works of Le Guin and Jackson lead their readers to address the concept of morality within both texts upon acknowledging the scapegoat within each society.

Readers also question the concept of morality behind the idea of the scapegoat in Jackson’s “The Lottery.” With an established victim by the end of the short story, the readers are led towards an unexpected conclusion and away from their expectations as Mrs. Hutchinson is stoned to death by her fellow insouciant villagers. It is evident that the lottery has been hosted for many years because Old Man Warner states that the lottery is the “seventy-seventh year [he’s] been in the lottery” (Jackson). Additionally, this presents the idea that the inhabitants of the town value tradition and ritual with little intention to change tradition, despite the immoral custom. The narrator hints at the failure to determine what’s right and wrong and stresses the danger of blind faith, which is seen in today’s world. It is ubiquitous for people to pray to gods and honor higher powers without factual or concrete evidence of their existence, and are blinded by ignorance in certain practices and tradition. The town participates in the drawing solely for tradition’s sake, leaving their involvement in the practice impulsive and mindless. Jackson’s short story also suggests social conformity, as Tessie Hutchinson has had no problem in participating in the lottery. However, up until the point where she becomes the victim, she exclaims, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson). This unexpected turn of events proves that under pressure, people’s mindsets are prone to change. Lastly, Mrs. Hutchinson serves as an ironic allusion to Anne Hutchinson, a conspicuous individual who became an inspirational figure for religious protestors in colonial America. Just as Anne Hutchinson was banished from the Massachusetts Bay colony for challenging religious affairs and interpretations, Tessie was stoned to death as she challenged the custom and tradition of the lottery.

Similar to Jackson’s “The Lottery,” Le Guin leads her readers to question their own sense of morality as they acknowledge the existence of the scapegoated child in Omelas. Some citizens determine whether or not to “renounce the exploitation of others” that “justifies their comfortable life” or to “walk away from the town” (Le Guin). Although some acquiesce to the scapegoated and confined child, others walk away, unwilling to accept the disturbing crime. The townspeople in “The Lottery” who do not question their actions, whereas those of Omelas, the few people with a moral conscience and integrity –not only question their ethics, they reject them by leaving the community. However, some citizens view the poor child’s treatment and question the morality of their society. Those who walk away do so in darkness and risk living in incognizant existence. This ultimately proposes the notion of morality within the readers once again as the audience questions their own sense of virtue as they consider their own decisions under such conditions.

The recurring motif of a scapegoat in both dystopias serve as an appropriate way to refer to today’s society. Dystopian literature constantly reveals dark objectives within the human race and mankind’s truest flaws, as seen through Le Guin and Jackson’s works. Human beings selfishly allow others to take responsibility for their wrongdoings, and would occasionally choose to have them suffer if it meant they could continue their lives in pure bliss and perfection. Tradition in “The Lottery” is blindly engaged by the villagers in a terrifying yet realistic way. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” the citizens willingly sacrifice the wellbeing of an individual in an effort to sustain utter perfection, only understanding that happiness comes with suffering and pain. As seen in the Holocaust and slavery, the concept of scapegoats is unrestricted, and readers redefine their own moral conscience through Le Guin and Jackson’s work. In conclusion, we must learn how to take responsibility for our own actions, whether it be righteous or immoral.

What’s the problem with conformity? Debasish Mridha once said, “A closed conforming society is a sick society waiting to die from stagnation and inner illness. Only openness is the treatment.” The novel Fahrenheit 451 has a main character named Montag who profession is a fireman. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his insipid life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse shows him many wonders of the world and causes him to reconsider the reason of why he is burning books. After all the conversations with her, the society’s submission to the law that prohibits apprehension, thinking, and creativity damages Montag very much. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the novel through leisure, schooling, and fright.

Conformity is represented through leisure in this novel. By seeing how Montag and his wife spend their free time by just watching television shows a lot of how these people are so conformist. The media system in this book is designed to attack the mind with things with little importance or value and meaningless emotion every day, even during sleep, so as to distract the mind from real intellectual consideration. Montag experiences this as he tries to memorize a passage from the Bible; he is distracted by an ad for toothpaste, and he can’t concentrate. Mildred is a great example of conformity because she spends her whole time watching TV and even called family the characters in the television shows. They give her joy and distract her from what is happening in the world. A great example of conformity is this one, “Well, said Betty, the crisis is past and all is well, the sheep returns to the fold. We all sheep who have strayed at times.” Betty makes a direct comparison between firemen and sheep in a flock both are supposed to blindly follow the crowd of which they are a part without any questions asked. Betty acknowledgement of staying from the flock shows how he knows that at some times firemen question their job but they always come back because of the influence of conformity.

Next form of conformity in this novel is schooling. Clarisse tells Montag that schools are institutions that promote athletic activities and keep students engaged by making them watch television teachers. Learning and the gaining of knowledge are not the main issues for the schools. In a society where books are illegal and knowledge is censored, schools are basically institutions that supervise children while their parents are working. Clarisse tells Montag that she does not learn anything in school and students are prohibit from asking any kind of questions. History, art, and math are presented to students in short segments, and in-depth analysis is nonexistent in the school setting. Beatty tells Montag that ‘intellectual’ is practically a swear word and a book is perceived as a ‘loaded gun.’ Schools no longer educate children and are simple institutions where kids are barely supervised and tired themselves by engaging in a lot of physical activities.

Last but not least is fright, throughout all the novel fright is one of the biggest issues this people had during the whole novel. Montag’s wife Mildred is frightened by new, unfamiliar ideas of any kind that’s is why she always watching TV, doing drugs, and having suicidal thoughts. It is noticeable that the government’s purpose the whole novel was to put fear on the people in order for them to control the population. Fear can be a huge factor why a lot of people conforms with almost anything even if they don’t agree with it. In a research done by multiple students they found that misconduct, including substance abuse, was predicted best by perceived peer pressure toward misconduct, low opinions of the value of treatment by disposition to conform to antisocial peers, and sense of stigma associated with being treated by perceived peer pressure toward conformity. In agreement with this point it seems like young people would do drugs just because of the fear of not belonging with the “cool ones.” The government is this novel influenced and manipulated everyone by making them afraid of all the knowledge that was inside the books. One example is when Beatty says “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book.” In this quote Beatty gives Montag another ridiculous excuse for him to burn the books. Since any person can be offended by a subject, he argues that all books are better off destroyed than allowed to provoke anger. Beatty uses an example of a book linking tobacco and cancer. He shows the benefit of destroying information about lung cancer to keep cigarette companies in a good standard, but the public health risks as people will have less knowledge of what smoking can do to them.

Evidence points to leisure, schooling, and fright to be the main reasons why the characters in this novel were very conformist. Leisure because the wife’s main character spends her free time watching television, taking pills, and having suicidal thoughts instead of doing other activities that were prohibit by the government. Schooling because the education system was trained to prepare students just for physical activities and they did not commit to teach them a subject that would make them to get more knowledge about the real world. Fright because the government use to talk bad about the books and stick fear in their mind in order for them to keep them manipulated in thinking in whatever they wanted them to think. Conformity is a big issue we still faced in today’s society. Most of us are grown into some form of conformity at one time or another. At what point does following the rules become wrong? When is it too much? Over the years many people begin to question what the acts of following the crowd can mean; whether or not we need these orders, and structures to function; or whether it’s really worth losing yourself just to make everybody feel happy.

Works Cited

1. Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967.
2. Raniseski, J. M., & Sigelman, C. K. (1992). Conformity, peer pressure, and adolescent receptivity to treatment for substance abuse: A research note. Journal of Drug Education, 22(3), 185-194. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.imperial.edu/10.2190/RLXR-8UXC-X7WN-DVLF

The concept that we conform to other people and what they approve of isn’t a new one. Humans as a whole have a common habit of adopting beliefs and ideas to follow behaviors of mainstream society and use this as a shortcut for decision making and problem solving. Rather than pursue personal desires, people choose to conform to society because it’s often much easier to follow the road others have paved instead of making a new one. However, in order to break barriers, you cannot conform. Theodore Melfi’s 2016 film ‘Hidden Figures’ and Bruce Dawe’s poem ‘Teaching the Syllabus’ support and also challenge this contention of conformity and breaking barriers.

Conformity is a social influence and pressure that creates a shift in an individual’s behavior and beliefs so that they can fit in with a particular social group. When faced with the term ‘conformity’ we tend to call ourselves nonconformists, however every individual often has a quick habit of conforming in social scenarios, whether it be in just a minor conversation or within an important social decision at school, work or anywhere else. If majority is leaning towards one option, people start to believe that that option is the correct solution even though that may not even be the correct answer. Social pressures from the environment around you force you to choose things or act in a specific way that conforms to your surroundings, even in situations that you feel as if it is wrong. Positively, if you were to independently go your own way and not conform to societal expectations, then you would be breaking barriers and creating change.

Now although in order to break barriers you cannot conform, there are some instances in which conformity may be more of a respectable thing instead of an unfavorable thing. Conformity can provide a sense of group identity and belonging to individuals. Conformity can aid in rule enforcement, as every society has specific rules for people to follow to prevent chaos and disorder.

‘Hidden Figures’ is based on true life experiences of three mathematical engineers; the film references the period during the early civil rights movement where people of color had to conform to society’s rules and expectations. ‘Hidden Figures’ portrays the many aspects of conformity; viewers saw that people of color in the film had to abide by rules and use separate bathrooms, water fountains, coffee machines, libraries and schools. Dorothy was kicked out of a library because she wasn’t white; Katherine had to run to the next town to use the bathroom because there wasn’t a ‘colored’ one at her work. Knowing the wrath of the government and the higher power, in many moments of the film these ladies had to conform to society’s rules, restricting their daily actions and lives. This was not always the case though, as the trio had to break barriers by not conforming to society’s expectations and stand up for themselves at NASA so they may finally give their careers a positive push in the right direction. It wasn’t unusual to have a group of mathematicians at NASA, but what makes this trio distinctive is that they were both African-American and female. In a room full of white men, Katherine was the first female person of color to work as a ‘computer’ at NASA. Another example when ‘Hidden Figures’ symbolized breaking barriers was when Mary approached the court and demanded a chance to study a course at an all-white school, being the first colored woman to study there. Moments such as these in the film intended to inform and challenge the audience and their perceptions of conformity and breaking barriers, providing a call to action to take a risk themselves.

Society has come a long way since the 1960s and the civil rights movement, no longer enforcing many of these unequal colored versus white rules. Although the widespread problem of racial segregation has since been resolved, conformity is still an issue in today’s modern society. In school, everyone worries about fitting in, craving to belong and desperately trying to conform to the high school social rules and be one of the so called ‘cool’ kids. In the poem ‘Teaching the Syllabus’ Bruce Dawe criticizes the school syllabus and references the educational system to the way it seems to be in real life. In the poem Dawe writes, “Teaching those with wings to walk up mountains, teaching those with feet of lead to fly…”. This except from the poem showcases the unnecessary pressures put on individuals to make them into something they’re not, suppressing their individuality and identity.

In real life, the educational system forces students to behave and think a certain way and conform to all these rules, killing the creativity and love students have for learning. Having to juggle everything the education system throws at them, it’s not uncommon for students to have to pull an all-nighter for studies instead of having time to explore interests and passions. A metaphor for the school system, the poem positions audiences to comprehend how the higher power such as the school system is controlling people to be ‘picture perfect’ and become what society wants us to be. Supporting the contention, the poem shows how the unjust rules that society sets is not always suitable for each individual as everyone is unique and therefore you should break barriers and go your own way. As the poem implies, each individual has their own way of learning and thinking; so why not break barriers? Why conform to society’s rules set for every person when all humans are so unique and different?

Conformity is changing an individual’s behavior to fit in to society and the people around them. Pressures from the people around push you conform to the majority and change your attitudes and personal social beliefs. In both ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Teaching the Syllabus’, viewers see how conformity influenced the actions and beliefs to individuals. Although tempting to take the easy road and go with the crowd instead of going your own way, in order to break barriers, you cannot conform to the negative expectations of society.

Societies, groups, authorities, conformity, and nonverbal communication. Where we believe we stand within all those are usually far from the truth, however no one will admit to conforming because society now promotes individuality and uniqueness. What most aren’t aware of is the influence groups cause. Groups change the way a person thinks, react, and make decisions.

Group Pressure

Many factors come into group pressure. Social interaction, for example, is a daily dilemma every person faces. Social interaction is how a person acts or reacts based on others around us. Let’s say someone generally happy and excited goes to a festival where others are expected to be the same exact way, however when arriving to the festival the individual is surrounded by glum faces and grumpy attitudes. No one’s dancing, smiling, nor enjoying their time, even when nothing is wrong with the festival at all. Some of the main responses of the person is to refrain from having a good time they expected to have.

Conformity and Obedience to Authority Experiments

Solomon Asch conducted an experiment on conformity in groups. Asch wanted to see how groups can influence a person’s agency. He had a group of men incorrectly match lines together to see if a person who wasn’t answering wrong on purpose would still say the correct answer after hearing every other person say a different one. The results were that most participants conformed and said the wrong answer to not be the odd one out.

Milgram conducted an experiment on obedience to conformity. The overall gist of his experiment was to bring in subjects and actors. The ‘authorities’ were men in lab coats and the actors were called learners in the experiment. The subjects were told by the man with authority to shock a person during a series of questions if they got the answers wrong. After a good amount of wrong answers, the voltage of the shock would become higher and higher up to a maximum dangerous target. The objective was to see if the person were still going to shock the actors even after numerous amounts of shrieks from the actor. Overall Milgram found that the majority of the subjects proceeded to shock the actors because a man of authority told them to continue.

Personal Response

When reflecting the actions of the participants of the two experiments, I’ve come to an understanding and relation to their actions. I’ve been put in many situations where I felt I had to conform to what the groups around me were agreeing to, not because I wanted to, but because I felt the pressure of the group as a whole. I felt that if the majority of the group had one opinion, I should agree to make them happy and not focus any attention to myself. When it came to Milgram’s obedience to authority, almost anyone has had to obey authority, weather it would be from the law of from their own home. For me, conforming to authority varies between their principles and my morals, or so I’d expect. None of which is true I’ve been in several similar situations where I had to or thought I had to obey my superior authorities, even when things weren’t in my favor.

Possible Interventions

Groups and groupthink that changes a person’s agency are hard perspectives to change, let alone avoid. No exact change can come to the group as a whole, however change may occur to the person alone. If someone were to completely trust their instinct and logic the influence of groupthink would lessen and encourage them to avoid conformity. Another way to change the groupthink that causes others to change their behaviors is to (again referring to one person of the group) to not be so judgmental on an opposing opinion.

Conclusion

Conformity and obedience can be either great in some situations, but for the majority it’s a terrible thing each and everyone of us are doing. Most of society conforms to the pressure of powerful groupthink, and I am not one to be excluded. Asch and Milgram proved most of us obey and conform, however there are possible interventions, and as basic as it sounds, it’s just learning to act on one’s own thoughts aside from what others may think.

References

1. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDhA
2. BigHistoryNL. (2013, March 19). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYLCy5PVgM

Believe it or not! We all conform. Conformity is compliance with socially accepted standards. Even though we believe that all of our thoughts and actions are self-made, there was an initial influence that was bestowed upon us by others that makes us think that way. For example, while growing up in an African-American household, The only type of music playing in the house was old-school R&B. Whether I like the music or not, everyone played that genre in the house. So what do I do? I begin to listen to old-school R&B music. I could’ve ventured off into another genre but because I wanted to enjoy the same music as my family members, I adopted old-school R&B into my life. We don’t even realize it but conforming is just a part of life and the way we grow up. We question how valid that idea of conformity is but it has been proven in various scenarios that we do conform to survive.

Test and Experiments

There have been many experiments conducted to prove how influence and conformity affect people, the most famous of experiments being the ones conducted by Solomon Asch. “Solomon Asch was a 20th-century psychologist best known for his experiments in social conformity, called the Asch Paradigm or Asch Conformity Experiments.”(GoodTherapy 2). Solomon experimented to analyze the extent to which social pressure from a majority might impact somebody to adapt. Asch devised what’s presently the notion of a traditional scan in psychology, whereby there was an undeniable answer to a line judgment task. If the participant gave a confederate unsuitable reply it would be clear that this was once due to the fact of cluster strain. The end of the experiment showed that about a third of the subjects conformed with the wrong answer because they believed the majority was correct.

Another notable experiment was done by Stanley Milgram,” He conducted an experiment focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience.”(Wikipedia1). Milgram selected contributors for his trial by way of newspaper publicizing for male participants to participate in an investigation of mastering at Yale University. Toward the beginning of the trial, they have been acquainted with any other member, who was once a confederate of the experimenter. An educator is cautioned to oversee an electric-powered stun each time the student commits an error, expanding the diploma of stun each time. There have been 30 switches on the stun generator set apart from 15 volts (slight stun) to 450 (peril – intense shock). The student presented specifically incorrect responses, and for every one of these, the educator gave him an electric stun. At the point when the instructor would not alter a stun, the experimenter was to give a progression of requests/goads to assurance they continued.65% (66%) of individuals proceeded to the most enormous stage of 450 volts. Every one of the members proceeded to 300 volts.

The strong-minded individual you claim to be will tell you to believe what you think but the influence of a group or someone of high authority can quickly persuade your thoughts.

Personal Observations on Conformity

Now that we are aware that conformity takes place with group pressure, I decided to take matters into my own hands and study to what extent people respond to group pressure. I set up an experiment where I walked up to random People and I asked them to take a picture with my friends. My friends were told by me to throw a hand gesture in the picture but the random person did not know. Observing all my friends through their hands up in the picture, the random person (test subject) threw his hands up in the picture. I Tested my theory five times, And out of that four subjects through their hands up in the picture. What does that say about individuals? It shows that with others’ influence, we are willing to give in to what other people are doing to not look stupid. Conformity is another way we survive day-to-day life. Even though 80% of my subjects fell victim to conformity, I Was still curious. I began to survey people with questions about conformity. Out of my subject group of 22 people, a large group of them swayed towards conformity answers. The fact that most of my subjects so victims of conformity just shows that people do not want to feel alone so they may change what they think without actually thinking. What does ultimately back in the Granny’s truth and we unconsciously conform as a survival tactic.

My Thoughts

After reading McRaney’s book I have come to many conclusions myself that a character conforms if he or she chooses a path of action that a majority favors or that is socially acceptable. We ought to figure out for ourselves whether or not to conform to such a social etiquette. Influence impact arises from one’s desire to attain approval or avoid disapproval from others. This effect happens even when people have the right conduct or opinion in mind, but they adapt it so they will fit in. Fitting in offers them a sense of belonging and alliance. We are taught as quickly as we are old sufficient to hold close the idea that it is bad to be unique and to keep away from being different. At some point, however, we should decide inside ourselves whether or not to spend each day trying to be like everyone else because society says we need to or dwelling each day properly to ourselves. Our strength as a character is tested by what we decide. The benefits of being actual to ourselves greatly outweigh any bad components of choosing a path.

The Truth About Conformity

Conformity to be a good or a bad thing. On one hand, it deteriorates diversity in people’s thoughts but on the other, it may provide A more efficient and easier way to reveal something you may not have thought of. The major reasons that humans conform to the expectations of their peers is that they desire to discern who they are in the world, who they favorbecominge, and to create their very own values separate from their parents. The people who blindly conform to society’s beliefs no longer query the authority or the correctness of these ideals. A folk who blindly accepts a clique’s beliefs doesn’t ask herself if she thinks that these ideas are proper or if she concurs with them, furthering the continuation of a society that doesn’t query authority and falls into any entice placed earlier than it. Conformity is inevitable, and a skill that we use to survive in the world today. We can believe that we are strong individuals all we want but we soon realized that everything we can believe that we are strong individuals all we want but we soon realize that most things we are accustomed to today are simply things we are influenced by other people.  

Ever heard your parents say, “If your friends jump off a cliff, would you jump off too?” Of course, anyone in their right mind would say no. Conformity is a behavior by socially accepted conventions. Something we all find ourselves doing, whether it’s buying those pair of shoes that you can’t afford, but everyone else has, or even becoming a vegan, because who would sit down and think becoming vegan would be a good idea? As Muhammed Ali, once said, “The man who has no imagination, has no wings.”

Conformity; is the loss of individuality. Brainwashed. In the worlds created by Ray Bradbury and Arthur Miller, in the novel and play, Fahrenheit 451 (F451) and The Crucible, we see the universal and timeless detrimental effects of conformity to human nature.

In olden day Salem where the Crucible is set, the government as a whole, is a theocracy, with the legal system based on the Cristian bible. We see 16-year-old girl Abigail Williams, as a sneaky, manipulative young lady, whilst the Church and the main priest, Reverend Paris, see her as a child of god. In the day and age of 1952, witches were seen to be true and the work of Satan, thus starting the witch trials. This is where darling sweetheart Abigail Williams, got many people hung, stoned, and imprisoned because she claims she saw the devil upon many people, including her former obsession, John Proctor.

The values, attitudes, and beliefs of the Salem community believed everything the Church said was God’s word and to go against that was a sin, this can be seen through the cultural assumption, that people’s culture is related to their religion. ‘According’ to their religion, they must show their respect to god, they cannot touch witchcraft, and they are not allowed to commit adultery. People who doubt to use of witchcraft will be punished. It is forbidden. This is the core of all problems. A prime example of this and also what happens when you try to go against the quota, is Mary Warren, who was a part of Abigail’s’ little children of god’s group who claimed they could see the devil. Marry Warren who was forced to confess to her lies by John Proctor in hopes of the Church releasing they are being fed nothing but pure lies, so they would realize his Wife. When Mary begins to confess, Abigail turns her back on Mary and starts acting like the Devil is on Mary’s shoulder. With her life now on the line, she finds herself giving in to the fear, and conforming for a sense of safety again. Author/Director, Arthur Miller has carefully positioned his audience members, to see the danger of what conforming can do to you, but also to see what happens when you’ve conformed for so long, that going against what everyone else does and thinks, even when what they are doing is wrong, is just something you would never consider.

Because God hated everyone and wanted innocent people to die… sounds about right. Does that all sound familiar? We see this happening in our day-to-day lives. Remember that time it was YOU who ate your mum’s last cookie, and instead of confessing to your wrongs, you blamed it on your younger sister and they coped the blow? Yeah EXACTLY like that (just minus the murder and hangings… I hope).

In a similar vein, Ray Bradbury, author of F451, set out to show us, once again, what the effects of conformity have on one’s sense of individuality and freedom, and it’s scary. The society in which the story takes place, installs strict social regulations on its population, forcing the public to act, talk, and think the same. The citizens are a part of a population seemingly brainwashed by the oppressive government that controls their daily lives. Conformity is found throughout the novel in many different aspects. Everyone lives the same days, every single day of their lives (Groundhog Day, we’ve all been there). Their lives are bland- to the point where depression and suicide become a social norm. After Montag returns home to discover that Mildred has taken pills and is unresponsive in her bed, he questions why the hospital sent a machine instead of a doctor to help her. This response given by a hospital operator highlights how common suicide attempts are and how the hospital has decided to handle such events- “We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built.”

“I’m anti-social they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it?” This quote shows the social stigma in the novel, held against creative and unique people in such an oppressive society depicted in the novel. Those who go against the social norms and ask or talk are often questioned and labeled crazy, and need psychological evaluation. This pushes the pressure on people to remain quiet and dull.

Sometimes, being forced to do and be something, makes you want to not do or be what you’re being forced to do or bed. Like when you decide to finally do your chores without asking and then your parents ask and you’re turned off doing anything for them? No? Just me? Okay. Well at least Montag relates, because after being just a firefighter burning books, and being so controlled by the Government, and his work. He is inspired by 16-year-old Clarisse, who asks him “Are you happy?” This sparks a flame in Montag. He becomes a renegade and goes against his everyday life, he starts to read, talk, and ask.

Ray Bradbury cleverly uses the phoenix as a representation of hope throughout the novel, symbolizing Montag and his inspirational journey. The word phoenix symbolized immortality, but for the people in Fahrenheit 451, their only hope was that the phoenix would be burned out, and be reborn again. The myth of the phoenix gave optimism to the life of Montag, to the books, and the world of Fahrenheit 451. The world was now dying, and nobody seemed to care, because the government had brainwashed the people. It was a situation, where not only the brave, but the ones who can think for themselves, who can help break the government’s control.

Conformity is not only a loss of individuality, but a loss of freedom, of thinking, of asking. This novel and film have cleverly portrayed the dangers and detrimental effects conforming takes on one’s life and soul. So next time you feel obliged to do something, just because everyone else is, remember Ray Bradbury’s wise words, “If they give you lined paper, write the other way.”

Social psychology studies how people’s feelings, behaviour and thought are influenced by the presence of others. It examines the different ways in which individuals change their behaviour and ideas to match with the demands of the social group they belong to (conformity), or to execute the order of a person they consider as an authority figure over them (obedience), (CrashCourse, 2014).

Latane’ and Darley explain the difference in noticing an emergency situation when an individual is alone compared to when he is with others by conducting a smoke-filled experiment, where the first step was noticing the event. During the experiment, they put some participants in small groups and others alone and asked them to complete a questionnaire; while they were completing it, the experimenters started to let some white smoke come into the room and timed how long it took before the first participant looked up and noticed the smoke.

At the end of the experiment, it has been noticed that the people who were working alone noticed the smoke in about 5 seconds and within 4 minutes, 75% of them have taken action. Whereas, on average, the first person in a group condition noticed the smoke after 20 seconds and after 4 minutes only 12% have reported it. This clearly emphasizes the power of the social situation on noticing; in other words, we barely see emergencies when we are with other people; this is what is referred to as the bystander effect. The Croydon asylum boy assault, which is the situation where we based our analysis on, reinforces this study in a way that, people witnessing the assault didn’t take immediate action until it was too late, social psychology refers to it as a diffusion of responsibility when more individuals are present in an emergency situation, this reduces each individual’s chance to offer help to the person in need because each of them expects the other individual in the group to make the first step; here, individuals noticed the emergency but did not interpret it as one, hence don’t assume responsibility ( Pond, 2017).

The Stanford prison experiment is a study that shows how people readily conform to their social role. The study has been conducted on volunteers, whom the role of prisoners and guards were randomly assigned to. The experiment took place in the basement of Stanford university converted into a mock prison, and prisoners (volunteers) went through the normal process from arrest to incarceration, were the deindividuation process started. The prisoners at their arrival in prison were given an ID number and uniform. The guards were given a different uniform than the prisoners and could exercise their control over prisoners in any other ways apart from physical violence. Within a few hours, guards began to harass prisoners. The first day passed without incident, the second day, the guards were surprised by the rebellion which took place, and decided to use stronger punishments to oblige the prisoners to obey their orders; as days were passing by, guards were becoming more aggressive towards prisoners deriving in prisoners breaking down and deterioration of their emotional states. Zimbardo decided to end the experiment on day 6 due to the prisoners’ severe emotional breakdown. This experiment reveals how people readily conform to their social role. Guards believed prisoners deserved to be controlled and the prisoners internalized their prison role by incorporating it into their belief, which influenced their cognition attitude and behaviour. The concept of deindividuation which is the loss of self-awareness and restraint that occurs when individuals are part of a group is characterised by the loss of an individual’s unique way of looking at and judging situation over the adoption of the attitudes and beliefs of the group he belongs to, whether good or bad. Most of the time, this leads to discrimination towards the other groups(prisoners). The Croydon boy assault reinforces this study in a way that the gang that attacked the boy was not following social norms anymore, that gang may have been based upon prejudices towards immigrants which they nurture and finally acted upon by becoming aggressive towards immigrants just because they are different. We assist here in a group of individuals who have completely lost their sense of judgement and self-awareness, they are carried away by the beliefs of their gang which they strongly adhere to and display it by discriminating towards immigrants; being immersed in a group may have been another factor that triggered such violence, as individuals are anonymous; moreover, not having a model of defiance strengthens their unanimity. (CrashCourse, 2014). Besides, the scene occurred close to a pub, this leads us to question whether the attackers have been intoxicated or not with alcohol which is an excitant reducing the ability of people to inhibit their aggression (University of Minnesota, 2015)

Moreover, psychologists have studied how the behaviour of individuals changes when they are part of a group or according to the role they are assigned to.

Ash line experiment explains the influence of groups in conformity. Ash puts two cards on a table. The left one represented the reference line and the right card showed the comparison line. The eight subjects involved in the experiment were made of seven confederates instructed to give the wrong answer by the experimenters and this was unbeknownst to all individuals who participated, only one was a genuine subject. The experiment resulted in the subject choosing the wrong answer when he was asked which line matched the reference line, just because it was the answer given by the participants who intervened before him and the same situation happens across a number of trials. This emphasizes the influence of the group on our behaviour, sometimes people deliberately make wrong choices to avoid being ridiculed by the group, this is normative conformity or they doubt their own answer and think if all other people are going for a specific answer, that means it should be accurate which is referred to as informational social influence. The outcome of conformity is that the behaviour and beliefs of individuals become similar to those of the group as there is unanimity in their actions, with no model of defiance (University of Minnesota, 2015).

The attackers in the ‘Croydon boy assault’ gang might be constituted of individuals who know they are implicated in antisocial behaviour, but because they want to be liked and accepted by the group, they made the choice to conform to the beliefs and behaviour of the gang, this could be due to the influence the gang has on outsiders, which make their adherents to feel superior to others or simply because they feel protected knowing their group will always revenge them if they are attacked by outsiders, the reason why we can assist in a group of attackers, whom in a common accord, almost kill an immigrant.

The agentic state is the state in which an individual obeys orders, perhaps to do something they know is wrong because he will hand the result of his actions to the authority figure that has given him the order; in the agentic state, individuals see themselves as agents acting for the authority figure. who gave them the order, so they don’t feel responsible for the outcome of their actions.

In an attempt to explain the agentic state, Milgram conducted an electric shock experiment aiming to see if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure that incurred going against their moral’s values and harming others. The participants (40 males) were divided into teachers who were asking the questions, learners who were supposed to answer the question and the experimenters (wearing a lab coat to reinforce his authority figure) who was monitoring and giving others. It is being said to the participants that the experiment aimed to test the effect of punishment on learning. In the experiment, unbeknown to the real participant who was the teacher, the learner was a confederate participant but to convince the real participant that everything was authentic, a shock of 45 volts was administered to him as a test. The experimenter strapped the learner into a chair with his arm attached to electrodes. Participants read a list of paired-associate words tasks to which they received a pre-recorded series of verbal answer from the learner with the real participants believing it to be true. Each time the learner gave a wrong answer, the teacher was ordered by the experimenter to give him an electric shock starting from 15 and increasing in a set of 15 more volts than the previous one when the next button was pressed. Surprisingly, the teacher, despite the sign of distress shown by the learner as the result of the pain inflicted on him through the shock, did not stop the experiment; the experiment revealed some time when the teacher has been reluctant but continued after being encouraged by the experimenter. Through this experiment, we can see that people naturally obey those regarded as authority figure and consider it as normal behaviour even if obeying them means going against their moral code because they don’t feel responsible for the results of their action. This is what lead Adolf Eichmann to say for his defence on the extermination of millions in the death camp during the second world war ‘I was only following orders’ because he saw himself as in the agentic state (Lawton and Willard, 2015).

In Milgram’s experiment, the shock was gradually increasing, starting from 15 volts, which gave the impression of not doing something horrible to the participant, however with this kind of situation when the first shock is given, it becomes more difficult not to continue because the deeper in you are the more difficult it is to escape in other words when you start obeying less harmful orders it becomes easier to obey the most dangerous ones. This is known as a gradual commitment, a technique consisting of persuading an individual to accept slightly difficult tasks in order to get him to do more difficult ones. Moreover, the participants have been trapped in a situation because they did not know they would deliver electric shocks until it was mentioned to them when they were already at the experiment, which makes it difficult for them to leave (Lawton et al, 2011).

Reference list

Crashcourse, (2014), Social Influence: Crash Course Psychology #38 last accessed on 18022021: https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=UGxGDdQnC, CrashCourse, (2014), Prejudice and Discrimination: Crash Course Psychology #39 last accessed on 18022021: https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=7P0iP2Zm6a4, CrashCourse, (2014), Aggression vs. Altruism: Crash Course Psychology #40 last accessed on 16022021: https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=XoTx7Rt4dig, Lawton et Al. (2011), AS Psychology for AQA (A), chapter 5: social psychology. Pond, T. (2017), Piliavin et al (1969) – Good Samaritanism https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=16qnA7-vYik, University of Minnesota, (2015), Introduction to Sociology Chapter 14: Psychology in Our Social Lives.

Bibliography

1. Rolls, G. (2015), Classic case studies in Psychology 3rd ed, Routledge 27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN32FA.
2. Khan Academy,(2014), https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=ds3-ljxTRvo last accessed on 16022021: https:www.bing.comvideossearch?q=deindividuation khan academy youtube

Conformity has been an important topic of interest in the psychological field whereby it suggests human behavior is influenced by the presence of a group due to social pressure. A pioneering piece of research in conformity studies is Asch’s (1952) Line Study, which the paper replicates. It investigates whether people conform to a wrong answer because of group pressure. This paper extends research in conformity to its effect on learning a new language. It investigates whether there is an effect and if this differs from the effect of conformity on cognitive tasks such as shape tasks. The paper also acknowledges the factor of the length of training on conformity when learning a new language by having a longer length condition and a shorter length condition. The study found consistency with Asch’s original findings where participants were informed of the obvious wrong answer. The was no significant difference in conformity between tasks and no significant difference in conformity with differing the length of training. The result indicates that there is still conformity in the modern-day and also suggests that conformity is not task-dependent. The implications of this research provide a greater understanding of how language may evolve.

Introduction

Conformity? A topic of interest for many years within the psychological field. It is widely accepted that human behavior is heavily influenced by social factors, such as esteem, popularity, or acceptance (Bernheim, 1994). The definition of conformity, although debated across the schools of disciplines, is generally accepted to be a behavior intended to fulfill normative group expectations as these expectations are perceived by the individual. (Willis, 1965). Research into conformity arises from Jenness (1932), who focused on conformity in an ambiguous situation involving a glass bottle filled with beans in which participants had to individually guess the number of beans. Participants then took part in a group discussion where they had the opportunity to hear about the other estimates given, and after participants had a choice to stick to the original answer or change their estimate, Jenness found most students changed their estimate to be closer to the group estimate. Sherif (1935), who examined the effects of conformity in ambiguous situations, found similar results in his conformity research. Participants underwent a visual illusion experiment and when tested in a group over numerous trials, participants conformed to the group norm. From both studies, it could be concluded that when in an ambiguous situation a person will look to others for guidance as opposed to using their judgments. However, these experiments are criticized due to their methodology, because of the ambiguity and lack of a true answer this makes participants more likely to conform because they are never, nor is it possible, to complete certain of their answers, (Crano, 2000). Whereas incorporating an unambiguous task avoids this issue, which Asch (1951), researched. His method involved placing real nave participants in a room with confederates who had agreed on their answers ahead of time. The real participant was deceived into believing the other seven people were also real participants. Each person was then required to say out loud which line (A, B, or C) was most similar to the target line in length. It was intended to find out whether the real participant would accept the majority view, even if it was wrong and it was found that a majority of participants conformed to the incorrect answer. Asch’s study has been very influential in conformity research and the implications of this study impact many different areas.

A particular area of interest that sparked discussion around conformity is its impact on society and politics. Coleman (2007) argues that when conformity influences voters’ choice it could hijack a democratic government and lead to serious violence, particularly against minority groups. Thus indicating that conformity in a particular context can have serious consequences. Similarly, conformity research has also discussed its impact on law and jury decision-making. Tanford and Penrod (1986) found that during jury deliberation, jurors who changed from guilty to not guilty were the result of conforming to group pressure, despite not changing their private decision thus showing signs of compliance, a type of conformity (Deutsch and Gerad, 1955). Further solidifying the importance of research on this topic of conformity as it may have a detrimental impact on individuals in society. Further research also explored the relationship between conformity and the education system, a key institution for secondary socialization. Menter (2016) finds that teacher education is highly influenced by conformity to the wider institutions and their frameworks of standards, and thus it could be argued that education is politically controlled. They find that a consequence of this is that in teaching, which is meant to be a creative and critical occupation that can ensure the health of a society, it may be discouraged to incorporate new ideas and change and instead it is encouraged rather to conform to old, widespread practices which could lead to a system of stagnation and regression (Peters, 1966). Despite that, another key institution of socialization that research has found is influenced by conformity in the workplace. Facades of conformity (FOC) are similar to, yet different from, other forms of conformity (Wong, 2018) and are defined by Hewlin (2003) as suppressing a personal view to embrace organizational values to survive in an organization. Hewlin et al (2016) found a positive relationship between perceived job insecurity and FOC, which is in line with Stormer and Devine’s (2008) research that found FOC is highly affected by the internal psychological factor of perceived risk to their livelihood. Thus clearly showing the impact of conformity in the workplace.

Therefore, it is clear that Asch’s research and findings on conformity have serious implications in many different domains. However, a key area of interest that conformity may influence that hasn’t been explored is language. Previous research has focused on conformity and its influence in many institutions that affect many in society however, what has been neglected is the impact on language as this is the basis of communication between people, which is a recurring theme of how conformity is translated in the various areas as previously discussed. Therefore it is crucial to research how conformity can influence and create biases in language, particularly in learning a new language. Bakhtin (2010) believed that language existence is purely used for socializing, and described language learning as a struggle to learn the language for the sake of participation in specific speech communities (Norton and Toohey, 2011). As it is clear that language has a social function it is important to acknowledge social biases in language learning. Previous research discussed other forms of biases in learning a new language. Language is a socially transmitted system, whereby biases at a small individual level can have strong effects on language structure (Smith and Wonnacott, 2010). Smith (2011) argued the biases in learning a language for an individual can determine the learnability and cultural stability of language. In language learning, there may be biases that could affect how languages change over time and generations. Conformity bias in language learning is also crucial to understanding how language can change over time, therefore the present study aims to explore the influence of conformity on learning a new language.

Just as important as it is to understand the implications of conformity, it is also important to understand factors that could prevent conformity. One factor that previous research from Allen and Levine (1971), is social support. They found that effective social support reduces conformity to a unanimous group and the factor that underlies this is a social supporter providing an independent confirmation of social and physical reality. The present study aims to explore another factor that may reduce conformity and its influence on learning a language which is the length of training. Boiling and Hardin-Pierce (2016) found that the longer the training the greater the confidence and therefore reducing conformity. Thus indicating that length of learning could influence individual confidence in their understanding rather than relying on and conforming to others.

This study, therefore, aims to replicate Asch’s (1952) study. There is a need to research whether these original findings still hold today and have ecological validity. Participants will join a video call with four confederates and one experimenter. Participants will be asked to match an original shape to labeled shapes and pick the same size, answering verbally. All confederates will be unanimous and give the same incorrect answer, to test whether the participant conforms to this wrong answer, even when the correct answer is obvious. The study also intends to explore the effect of conformity on learning a language where similarly participants will be taught an artificial language and during the testing phases will be surrounded by a unanimous group of confederates giving the wrong answer, to test whether they conform to the wrong word or rely on own their knowledge of what they have learned and not fall into the social pressure. It will also examine the effect or length of training on conformity, whereby participants will either undergo a short training to learn the words or a long length of training. This research will be a between-study design and is most appropriate to prevent demand characteristics that may influence the results. The study intends and predicts that in this replication, participants will conform to the wrong answer even when the answer is obvious. It also predicts that there will be a difference in conformity during the language task and cognitive shapes task. It also predicts that there will be a decrease in conformity when participants undergo a longer length of training compared to a short length.

In the language task, 58.6% of participants did not conform, 10.3% conformed in only one critical trial and 31% conformed to both.

Ordinal logistical regression was conducted to address the research question of whether conformity differed between the cognitive task and language task. The odds of conformity in the cognitive task was 0.825 (95% CI, 0.291 to 2.343) times that of the odds of conformity in the language task, a statistically non-significant effect, Wald X2(1)= 0.130, p=.718.

Another ordinal logistical regression was conducted to address the research of whether conformity differed between the short length of training compared to the long length of training. The odds of conformity when the length of training is short was 4.284 (95% CI, 0.887 to 20.691) times that of the odds of conformity when the training was longer, a statistically non-significant effect, Wald X2(1)= 3.278, p=.070.

Discussion

The first aim of this study was to replicate Asch’s (1952) original findings and examine whether social pressure may make people conform even though the right decision is obvious. The second aim of this study was to investigate the effect of conformity in learning a new language and examine whether there would be an increase in conformity rates for this compared to a cognitive task. Alongside this, the third aim was to investigate the effect of length of training on conformity and examine whether there would be a decrease in conformity rates for a longer length of training compared to a shorter length of training.

About our first hypothesis, our data were consistent with Asch’s (1952) original findings, as results found that participants did conform to the incorrect answer in both trials. In the original findings, 33.2% conformed to the incorrect answers and 66.8% did not conform. Similarly, our findings found that 33.33% conformed to the wrong answer and 66.67% did not conform. This may suggest that because of the social pressure to look to others, participants conformed to the obvious incorrect answer. A possible explanation for this consistency of findings is the group size. In Asch’s (1956) study he found that the number of confederates was an important factor in conformity. With only one confederate the conformity rate was 3% and with two it was 13% however with 3 or more confederates conformity increased to 33% with no further increase in conformity after 4 confederates. This indicates the importance of group size on the conformity rate. The same conclusion was reached by Hogg and Vaughan (1995), who found that conformity peaks with three to five people. Our study understood this impact and ensured we had 4 confederates to fully examine conformity.

About our second aim, results indicated that there was no significant increase in conformity in the language task compared to the classical cognitive task. This demonstrates that conformity may not have a strong influence on learning a new language. A possible explanation for this might be the fact that the majority of the participants are students studying at a university that may have an individualistic culture. Research has found that there is a difference between individualistic and collectivist cultures whereby those in an individualistic culture prioritize human independence and freedom and see people as separate individual units. Compared to a collectivist culture that values group cohesion rather than individual pursuits and perceives individuals as interdependent with each other (Oyserman and Lee, 2008). Further research shows the impact of culture on conformity, as individuals with a collectivist culture are believed to be more likely to conform because collectivist cultures ‘promote a higher level of commitment amongst members than individualist culture’ (Fukushima et al, 2009). Therefore, it is possible that given that most participants may come from an individualistic culture, this leads to more confidence and assurance in their knowledge and makes them less likely to fall into social pressure and conform to the wrong word. In support of this, for the present study it was found that when analyzing the facial expressions and tone of the non-conforming participants, most indicated expressions of assertiveness in their answers and confusion for the Confederate answers. Meanwhile, for conforming participants, facial expressions also included confusion and those who partially conformed were most likely to conform to the 3rd trial as they showed even harder efforts to find the ‘right’ answer by squinting their eyes and moving close to the camera and then saying the obvious wrong answer, as they conform to the group.