Category: Conformity

Participating in risky behaviors seems to be a component of individuals’s daily lives, however, adolescence is an especially magnified time for potentially dangerous actions. Such questionable behavior associated with teenagers consists of alcohol and drug use, improvident driving, as well as neglectful sexual actions. These actions are believed to have increased during this period because teenagers’ awareness of what is around them is perceived to be less sharp in hazardous situations in comparison to adults. Teenagers are believed to overestimate their control in dangerous situations, leading to risky behavior.

However, scientists who study and analyze the decisions teenagers make, are now reprimanding this prevalent theory. Although young adults are known to disregard hazards in situations, contrary to popular belief, they are also known to overestimate the risks of situations as well. Therefore, the risky actions teenagers tend to lure towards cannot be explained through the act of underestimation in possibly dangerous situations.

But what does make teenagers act out in these certain actions in what seems to be more than the average adult? One of the potential answers researchers may have found is how peers can influence a teenager’s actions. Young adults tend to spend much more of their time with their friends rather than their family during this period in their lives. Therefore, this leads to more possible conformity to fit in and have friends. When one yearns for the need to belong and feel accepted, they tend to fall into pressure more easily.

Although these accusations sound accurate, it is still up in the air as to what the role of social influence has on young adolescents. Leading to psychological scientist, Lisa Knoll and her colleagues, at the University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, to begin the process of figuring out the correlation between social influence and adolescent’s sense of risk perception. Knoll and her colleagues were looking to see if social conformity differs depending on who is influencing one another. The main takeaway they were looking for was to see if teenagers are more heavily influenced by other’s perceptions, and if they are, who is most influential to them? Going along with these questions, the researchers also wanted to know if social influence declines as one gets older.

Knoll and her colleagues studied and investigated social influence on risk perception across development from late childhood to adulthood. They then recruited 563 volunteers between the ages of 8 to 59 years old. The volunteers were asked to review several various scenarios that were considered “risky,” and included a potential health risk, such as cycling with no helmet or climbing on top of a roof. The participants then ranked the specific scenarios from low to high on their perception of “risks.” The researchers predicted that adults would be more influenced by other adults rather than teenagers and that adolescents would be more heavily influenced by teenagers than adults.

When all of the participants ranked their original answers, they were then shown the way others ranked the risky scenes. However, the ratings the volunteers saw were not real ratings, the researchers concocted them for the study, to see if others’ opinions would influence them differently the second time. Knoll and her colleagues were curious to see who reconstructed their perceptions to conform, as well as who influenced this change.

The researchers hypothesized that teenagers would be more influenced by other teenagers in comparison to adults. However, the results found were astonishing and concise. No matter the age group, people were influenced by others’ perceptions, altering their original ratings to conform more to others. Even the older adults displayed conformity, despite social influence diminishing from childhood. The teenagers in the older range were influenced equally by adults and their peers of their age. The teenagers that were only in the younger spectrum showed a stronger influence from their peers.

The evidence found from this study suggests that the time from childhood to adolescence proves to be a crucial period in the development of risk perception. This also shows that early adolescence is the time in one’s life when teens value their peer’s opinions more than their own, leading to more conformity during this time in their lives.

As always there are limitations that come along with studies. In this study, participants were grabbed from one location on one day, and it was not repeated. For more specific and detail-oriented results, Knoll and her colleagues could have gone to different locations throughout a certain period to make sure the results from the first study were consistent throughout each trial.

If there were to be follow-up studies, researchers could explore conformity throughout various countries. If one were to do this study in a different country they could potentially find extremely different results because conformity is not consistent throughout the world. Another idea for a follow-up study would be to hone in on certain ethnicities and to vary the results among the different ethnicities. I think that the results could potentially vary a lot, and could be an interesting way to perceive teenagers and social influence as well.

Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury and The Maze Runner directed by Wes Ball show how governments use their power to utilise conformity and individuality to maintain control of the dystopian societies in the two texts. Ray Bradbury’s 2008 republishes version of his 1953 novel is set in a dystopian society that burns books in order to control dangerous ideas and ill-fated concepts. The novel tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman who questions the book-burning policy and undergoes astonishing grief and uprising as a result. Wes Ball’s movie, The Maze Runner, is set in a futuristic dystopian society where teenagers of the next generation of ‘leaders’ are unknowingly sent to a glade which is at the centre of a giant labyrinth. The main character, Thomas, tries to convince his cohorts that he knows a way out of the maze. Both texts show examples of how governments in contemporary society use conformity and individuality to maintain control of their societies.

The term conformity means to perform or act in a certain way in addition to complying with the rules set by the governing bodies. Conformity is one of the leading themes in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. The dystopian society that the narrative is based in demonstrates high social morals for its residents, it coerces the public to deliberate and act in the same way. The citizens in the book are a part of a population that is characterised by the author as being brainwashed by the domineering government that controls their day to day lives. the theme of conformity is found throughout Bradbury’s novel, the character’s in the speculative narrative live mundane lives; the men work, and the women stay at home and watch reality TV on their wall length televisions. The characters lives in Fahrenheit 451 are very tasteless and commonplace, however the people in the novel who are against the ways that the government uses their power aren’t regarded the equivalent of the others. They are viewed as anomalous to society, for example Montag doesn’t conform to the social standards set by society when he reads a book in front of his wife’s friends. Because this is against the ‘no-book’ rule set by the government, the women became afraid of Montag and report him to the authorities which resulted in Mildred, Montag’s wife, leaving him. The women were afraid of him because they have been conforming to the governments rules and regulations about books being banned for so long that they don’t know how to act. “Beatty snorted. ‘Oh, no! You weren’t fooled by that little idiot’s routine, now, were you? Flowers, butterflies, leaves, sunsets, oh hell! It’s all in her file. I’ll be damned. I’ve hit the bullseye. Look at the sick look on your face. A few grass-blades and the quarters of the moon. What trash. What good did she ever do with all that?’” (Bradbury, 2008; 59). The slander of Clarisse’s character demonstrates the occurrence of conformity in Fahrenheit 451. Clarisse is the only character that is closely linked the protagonist, Montag, that lives a happy and unique life. She spends her free time outside and plays in the rain, she asks a lot of questions, but all these activities are despised by society. The government in this dystopian society fear Clarisse Because she is inimitable and creative – she didn’t follow the social norms of society – so they kept a file that follows and monitors her actions.

The highly anticipated film of 2014, The Maze Runner, shows how the governments force society to conform. The government in this film force the Gladers to conform to the unsanctioned leaders, Newt and Alby by listening to and following their rules. Without having leaders to follow the Gladers would kill each other because they have no one to control their actions and no rules to follow. Conformity is found throughout Wes Ball’s blockbuster movie and also shows examples of modern contemporary society. Recently in world news the ‘American government has place sanctions on some of the most significant government and business organisations enabling and executing China’s campaign to eradicate the culture and language of more than 1 million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang province.’ (Hiatt et al, 2019). Although tragedy happened after the movie’s release there is evidence that shows that if the government make society conform to their expectations something corrupt is going to happen. By the Chinese government creating concentration camps to ‘eradicate’ a religious belief is similar to what W.I.C.K.E.D. are doing in The Maze Runner. The Chinese Muslim community is being conformed because of their government much like in The Maze Runner. Whereas, in the Chinese concentration camps the Chinese Muslims are put there because of the communist government – that being Xinjiang province – and he only want his religion in china. In The Maze Runner the government kidnapped an abundance of teenagers and created an experiment using them as ‘lab rats’ that is supposed to try and kill the majority of them to find a cure for a disease outbreak.

The intemperance and interference are the trademarks of the principles in which Montag lives. Although it seems like a narcissistic set of morals or standards, the society is not one that celebrates or tolerates any assertiveness. Decadence and mindless entertainment are the way people live in this futuristic world. Society is all the same and therefore no one has their own sense of individuality and freedom. When society sticks to movies, sports and racing their cars, pursuits that require little to no individual thought, they are left alone by the government and society, but if they aren’t like Clarisse and the many other secondary characters in the novel that read books and are curious as to what the government is hiding. These people do not abide by the rules and are using their newly found individuality and freedom against the power of the government.

The Maze Runner shows that the control that the government has over society appears that they cannot express themselves through their individuality. As a result of the high level of control from the governing bodies means that the Gladers are forced to suppress their everything they know and remember – if they manage to remember their past – what their life was like before entering the Glade. When the government stripped the youthful teenagers of their memories, they also have their individuality purloined. Once this occurs, they all become one and aren’t their own person anymore. Correspondingly, by having their memories and personality taken the Gladers are forced to rebuild themselves based on the environment they are in and the people around them.

Both dystopian texts show that government power can overrule society into being conformed to strict rules and beliefs and not being able to be their own individual. Ray Bradbury and Wes Ball have used their power in making these texts to show that governments will do anything to maintain power and control of society.

REFERENCE LIST

1. Bradbury, R. (2008). Fahrenheit 451 (2nd ed.). London: Harper Voyager.
2. Hiatt, F. (2019). Finally some consequences for China’s concentration camps. [online] The Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/finally-some-consequences-for-chinas-concentration-camps/2019/10/10/0c3e99c0-ead0-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
3. Somers, J. (2018). Fahrenheit 451 Summary. Retrieved 29 October 2019, from https://www.thoughtco.com › fahrenheit-451-summary-4176865

Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau brought to light the divinity of nature and humanity as the main point of it all was to the inherent goodness of people and nature. They believed that people work at their best when they are self-reliant because they can express independence and create themselves instead of following the conformity of society. In all, Transcendentalism has become a form of intuition with oneself, it has allowed people to have their sense of meaning, trust, and imagination to create and it’s exactly what Louisa May Alcott did in her film Little Women; she took Emmerson and Thoreau inspiration of limitless and potentiality and implemented it on women. With regards to this, Little Women depicts the life of Four sisters who are at home with their mother while their father is fighting at War. Meg and Jo who are the two oldest and the two youngest Beth and Amy are struggling under the guidance of their mother Marmee. As time passes news comes that their father falls ill leading Jo to make a sacrifice and sell her hair so her mother can be with their father; when their mother leaves Beth becomes sick with scarlet fever and later on, dies leaving just three of the sisters. Meg eventually gets married, Jo decides to move to New York and Amy leaves to live in Paris, but as the sisters separate, confusion falls within one another for instance, Jo doesn’t feel the love that she felt before with her husband who she then decides to leave and then meets a Professor by the name of Friedrich Baeher who wasn’t young nor rich but kind, unselfish, and intelligent; knowing her parents will disapprove, Jo starts to write stories and later on attends an event with Baeher where he speaks about religion to a couple of philosophers and becomes intrigued about his way of believing and thinking. As time passes, her sister Amy being now a beautiful grown woman starts to have feelings for Laurence but is hesitant in saying or doing anything because she is unsure about the whole ordeal as for Megan she’s been tied up with being a mom that she has neglected her husband but eventually snaps out of it. As things start to change, Jo finds out that Amy and Laurence are engaged and Sis is thrilled but it leaves her wanting to find love, she then meets up with the professor and she now feels that she’s able to connect with him leading her mind to travel philosophically. Nonetheless, all the sisters found a calling during their time in what I like to call confusion as they didn’t know what they wanted, they managed to find themselves through work and were able to live the life they wanted to live.

To continue, the way that transcendentalism is reflected in the themes of little women is by the first depiction of the sisters who were in the hands of their mother as they paid more attention and time finding ways to keep going to survive as they didn’t have the chance to grow as a person due to the struggle between family duty. At the time the role of women was so strict that there was so little to do as they were strictly depicted as household keepers and nothing more; the characters were expected to marry young and carry on their families but it’s not what they wanted to live up to, they wanted more from life and they considered that especially Jo who found herself after she left her husband. But, through the four different sisters, Alcott illustrated the roles of the women, Meg who married and became a mother, Beth who focused on her art and as a person, Amy who struggled in picking her side yet struggled to live a life of duty and her career and at the end, only two fell into the desired role of women, but Jo she became her source of inspiration especially when she began to write stories and think in a broader perspective as it always left her questioning the roles in life. More so, there is also the theme of the dangers that stereotyping has within the film, as Jo doesn’t want to be seen as the expected mother or woman she wants to earn her living and not just depend on a man and she does it, although she fell in love with the professor she was able to do what she wanted to do and set her goals nonetheless leaving her to find happiness. Overall as mentioned previously the meaning of transcendentalism is to grow and be entwined with nature and oneself, and even though two of the sisters still played their role as 19th-century women I have to say they found their meaning along with Jo who created her story and own work to finally become who she wanted to be.

In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Franz Kafka depicts Gregor Samsa and his acceptance with the the psychological and mental repercussions of an inalterable physical transformation. The local segregation that Gregor faces within his household parallels to the seclusion of the cultural ‘other’, who lies on the outskirts of societal norms. Throughout history, minority groups have been oppressed by dehumanizing stereotypes and stigmas for conditions of religion, race, gender, or sexuality. Gregor throughout his life has been a nuisance to his surroundings; however once his physique matches his status to others, Gregor’s humanity falls into question. Gregor’s failure to acknowledge his intrinsic value and overcome his isolation set by degrading standards of his environment reveals that conformity creates alienation. Therefore, since systematic seclusion of society holds universal implications, Gregor Samsa serves as a symbol to represent repressed groups detached by prejudice.

Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis and identity as a “gargantuan pest” threatens his family’s dynamic and values (Kafka 13). Margaret Sönser Breen in her book ‘Reading for Constructions of the Unspeakable in Kafka’s Metamorphosis’ compares Samsa to minorities in post September eleventh American society. After the sudden attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, the American people separated themselves from non-normative cultural groups who appeared to jeopardize collective safety. Breen notes that the dangerous perceptions “quickly resulted in damage to hundreds of [Middle Eastern, Arab, and Muslim] stores, mosques, and businesses, as well as violence against thousands of people simply because they carry a mark of ‘difference’” (Breen 121). Gregor’s father similarly perceives Gregor as dangerous when he “pushed [him] relentlessly” (29), despite him “heavily bleeding[,] far into his room” (Kafka 30). Fear of the unpredictable and unknown creates incentive to force the “alien” into isolation or in position for assimilation. Gregor’s family utilizes tactics of social policing and surveillance to not only hide him from their neighbors and the rest of the world, but to also maintain authority over his essence. In the removal of furniture in Gregor’s room, the mother and sister debate between the choice to keep his personal possessions in hope of conformity or to gain control over his state in favor of his subordination into something lesser than human. Gregor contemplates being able to “freely crawl” or “forgetting his human past” (Kafka 43); however, since he never possess the power to make the decision for himself, the action serves more as confining regulation rather than liberation.

Organizations and governments create policies to combat cultural minorities classified as “harmful” based on imposed social stigmas. Gregor’s separation and persecution reflects Franz Kafka’s own experience as a German-speaking jew in Prague during the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and anti-semitism. During the 1930s, the Nazi party achieved domination by presenting the Jewish people as the cause for the social, political, and economic hardships that faced post World War one Germany (Browning). In combination of prejudices, criminalization, and violence through the genocide of the holocaust, the Jews were dehumanized and regarded as cultural aliens. Anti-semitism heavily influenced the circumstances of Gregor’s naissance to his environment and subsequent isolation. His metamorphosis prevents him from fulfilling his duty to his family and brought significant burden to their cumulative obligations. The entire family strips Gregor of his humanity in order to justify their will to get rid of him. As they resort to his condition as the source of their “complete hopelessness” and “endless torment” , Grete notes that they had “to banish the thought that it’s Gregor” (Kafka 53, 62). Correspondingly, participants in ethnic cleansing or genocide must mentally dehumanize victims in order to justify their actions.

In the presence of social sins, minority status can elicit sentiments of guilt and shame. Gregor Samsa expresses similar alienation to the circumstances of homosexuality. The significance of his door and room from the rest of his local community also expresses the closeted seclusion and suppression of the LGBT community. Especially during Kafka’s lifetime, homosexuality was considered immoral and even criminalized in many countries and under religious institutions. The weight of social sins incite the pains of isolation and burden of guilt that Gregor experiences. The “small red apples”, weaponized to restrict Gregor back into closed confinement, allude to the fall of humanity in the book of Genesis (Kafka 48). In society, sinful culpability systematically exercises suppression of homosexuality and dehumanization of a minority that deviates from the traditional family structure.

Gregor’s form and forced isolation serves to represent all non-normative groups as prejudice universally affects all who fail to meet the criteria of the conventional majority. Paul Landsburg in a literary journal, ‘Kafka and the Metamorphosis’, explains “to be an exception or in the minority is the original social sin. When in society any group of men characterized by racial or social heredity is denounced as ‘vermin’, there will always be one group that from then on will see nothing but the other’s rottenness” (Landsburg). Gregor’s physical appearance serves as a mark of contrast to normality similar to star of David during the Holocaust or even physical traits that have brought upon malicious stereotypes such as skin tones. In many instances, Cultural “otherness” instills fear of threat and preconceptions about groups of people enough to enact waves of social control. Kafka exposes the fatality of conformity through Gregor’s complete submission to external norms, causing him to become what his environment envisioned him as until they inevitably saw him as nothing.

Social Influences: Media, Fashion, and Pop Culture manifest the need for conformity to Society’s standards leads to dissatisfaction.

Does a collection of individuals create a society? Or does society, itself, make up its individuals? Flashback to hundreds and thousands of years ago when our cavemen ancestors explored the earth without knowledge and intelligence only to rely on instinct to thrive, they were able to create a society of their own though much less complex than what we have right now, but as through years’ human evolution has come a long way. Not only did our brains develop that made us capable of intelligence making our thinking more complex as well as our society. Though, as humans, we are considered to be the smartest animals on the planet; there are still many complexities we cannot understand; an example would that be: human behavior, is more than what science explains that it is more than the hormones produced by the glands in our bodies or the chemical chemistry in our brain, it is a subjective phenomenon that differs from person to person, (Bornstein & Kagan, Human behavior, 2019)). The article provides information about how human development is shaped not only through biological aspects but also environmental as well.

We are now in a digital age where there is a widespread usage of technology. The task is made much simpler now, gone are the days when communication was possible only through telegrams and writing letters and sending them to the post office, it certainly was not that efficient and also information was not that readily made accessible too, not as quite as it is in the modern digital era wherein in handheld devices such as cellphones, tablets, and laptops become a gateway for communication between people, which was intentionally its main purpose, but over the years the functions of those devices have evolved and become used more for its entertainment purpose, though communication is still very much its prominent feature, it has become more evolved compared to before when communication was still limited to a certain range and flow of information was not that yet diverse; now, almost everyone at this digital age is in a possession of a handheld device connected to the internet. In fact, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2019, that adults with mobile connectivity are especially likely to be online a lot. Among mobile internet users – 86% of Americans who use the internet at least occasionally using a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device – 92% go online daily and 32% go online almost constantly (Perrin & Madhu, 2019).

The effect media has been having on society Correlating to what has been discussed in the previous paragraphs on the prevalent use of gadgets in our modern day society; as it is the medium for the internet web therefore making access to the media but what is media? Media is meant to inform, create, educate, and share content coming from society as its creators. Society and media have a co-dependency relationship wherein, society needs media for it to thrive as a form of interaction towards other people in society and or as an outlet of one’s creation, bringing color to life while media needs society for the simple reason that media could not exist without the components of society, which are the people. However, the media is one of the biggest influencers on how people live. For example, the feminine beauty ideal which is defined by the media is having the perfect pear-shaped body, flawless white skin with no blemishes or scars, a symmetrical face, and a perfect smile being the embodiment of perfection. Mass media is all-pervasive and advertisements are always seeking out to grab people’s attention. Every day people are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful-looking models, who vow to make every woman’s life perfect. In other words, it appears as though the advertising industry thrives on people’s vulnerability to buy into the ‘beauty myth’ that the people in the media have successfully stereotyped (Mayne, 2000). That is just how the majority perceives beauty, it is what we see when we browse through our phone’s Instagram accounts of celebrities we look up to and the current trends revolving around them; why? Because we create this obsession with them, part of the reason is that we would want our lives to be like theirs and though there are respectable celebrities in the industry, we cannot deny that they are part of the scheme that governs the media.

Take K-pop as another example; it is the most popular type of genre in the music industry. It is unique because of its style, unpredictability, and diversity in themes, and overall it is aesthetically pleasing, which the main factor is why is it so popular, and that makes fans increase at a faster rate. Many become fans without knowing the darker side of K-pop, about how the industry and the companies slave off their idols making them sign slave contracts to overwork them until they collapse; or pressure them to lose weight so that they would look perfect in styled clothes fit for size 0s. Not only do the managers in the industry put pressure on the idols, but it seems that in the world of K-pop, fans expect their idols to come as close to that standard as possible. It’s not surprising (albeit a bit saddening) that idols have to work to the standard of their fans to maintain a steady fan base for themselves (and a job), but does anyone stop to consider whether or not the standards of “perfection” placed on the shoulders of idols is too unrealistic? (Buzz, 2012)

Changes in self-perception

 Marketing and advertising campaigns are the ones that are mainly brainwashing how we think by catering to the interest of the youth of today through putting the 20% major influence ring, trend-setting teens in charge of the other 80% of teens as followers which decreases the moral standards leading to it to decline eventually, putting ideas of by buying whitening/tanning products or undergoing services like plastic surgery would make us feel contended with ourselves because they make it seem like self-love is impossible to achieve. This type of mindset is very toxic to our mental health and psyche because the doubt that we have for ourselves is always going to be present as long we continue to believe the lies that media, advertising campaigns, and marketing show us; it is also harmful to our body as well, because of the pressure to be in the standards of the society we often have the urge to punish ourselves into harmful diet fads, practices, and lifestyle which roots to manifesting a few mental health problems or disorders like bulimia, anorexia, self-harm, depression, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. So why do we go to extreme lengths just to be considered “normal” by society? The answer to that is conformity; “When the consensus comes under the dominance of conformity, the social process is polluted and the individual at the same time surrenders the powers on which his functioning as a feeling and thinking being depends” (Asch 357). In today’s youth conformity is a major problem. It’s more centered on following the latest trend, how should people wear clothes, how people should act, etc. focusing more on the opinions and ideas of other people rather than their own. It’s the lack of individualism that is the problem or the fear of being different. Society puts these pressures, especially on teens, the reason why people do not step out to say they’re different is because they are afraid to be labeled and judged by people around them. This toxicity sprung forth from commercials, media, Hollywood, the fashion industry, and modern pop culture.

Conclusion

Media plays an important role in our lives because of how influential it is to our society, it mirrors how we think, act, and speak and projects it to us in different forms we call entertainment; but though it is a reflection of us humans we should not let it define us because every one of us has our own identity. Though we should keep in mind and be knowledgeable about the current trends in society, we should not let Them dictate them on how we would be like. Thive for perfection is useless because there is no such thing as perfect in this world but that does not mean that we could never find happiness; because it lies within contentment and acceptance. Being happy with ourselves no matter how we look like is the best type of love we all deserve and it’s equally rewarding but once we realize that, that is attainable and strive for it the reward makes the journey so worth it.

References:

1. Asch, S. (2008). ‘Opinions and Social Pressure.’. Retrieved from Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
2. Bornstein, M. H., & Kagan, J. (2019). Human behavior. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.
3. Buzz, N. (2012, August). Nihon TV. Retrieved from soulbeats.com: https://seoulbeats.com/2012/08/idols-striving-for-perfection-its-a-hard-knock-life/
4. Kehl, K. (2013, May 5). Conformity Attacking Today’s Youth. Retrieved from https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/553093/Conformity-Attacking-Todays-Youth/
5. Perrin, A., & Madhu, K. (2019, July 25). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from pewresearch.org: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/25/americans-going-online-almost-constantly/