Topic:

Social Influence

Question : Conformity maybe good or bad depending on the situation. Describe the three factors affecting conformity and explain three reasons why people resist the pressure to conform. Submitted to: Valerie Sterling in partial fulfillment of the requirement for: Name of Course: Bachelors Degree in Business Administration Student name: Carolyn Henry

Due Date: March 13, 2011

Conformity is the act of act of matching attitudes, beliefs and behaviours to what individuals perceive as being normal of their social group. In other words it is a form of social influence in which individuals change their behaviour or attitudes to adhere to existing social norms. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure

Conformity may have positive or negative effects depending on the situation. People conform for a desire to achieve security within a social group. This group maybe similar in age, religion, culture, or educational status. An unwillingness to conform may lead to rejection and in this way persons avoid the risk of criticisms and some other negative outcome. On the other hand conformity influence the formation and maintenance of social norms and help societies function smoothly and predictably. In this sense it can be a positive force that prevents acts that are disruptive or dangerous.

There are many factors influencing why people conform and the extent to which they will conform. Three of which will be discussed.

Firstly, social psychologist Turner (1991) have said that cohesiveness have a great influence on conformity. Cohesiveness is defined as the extent to which one is attracted to a particular group and wants to belong to it. The more value an individual places on being a member of a social group, the more the individual conforms to the rules set and avoid anything that will go against the group dynamic. Crandall (1998); Latane & Herrou; Noel etal (1995) agrees with this saying that the more persons like or is attracted to people, the more they want to be like them thus they conform. An example of this may be seen where individuals want to join clubs. They do their best to adhere to the formal and informal rules of the club including those of speech and dress. A second factor influencing conformity is that of social norms. Social norms are what society deems appropriate for a social group. There is a fundamental human need to belong to social groups. Evolution has taught us that survival and prosperity is more likely if we live and work together. However, to live together, we need to agree on common beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors that reduce in-group threats act for the common good. Normative social influence indicates that we conform because we have the need to feel acceptance in our group/society. We want to give a good impression, not only fit in, we want to be a well accepted member of that group. Therefore we alter our behaviour to meet group expectation because agreeing with

them and behaving as they do causes us to be liked, and, of course teachers, parents and friends laud such behaviours. When we do not know how to behave, we copy other people. They thus act as information sources for how to behave as we assume they know what they are doing. Also because we care a great deal about what others think about us, this provides a safe course of actionat the very least, they cannot criticize us for our actions. We are more likely to use this principle when the task in question is important to us. This type of social influence is driven by a desire to be right so we therefore use others opinions as guide to defining our social reality and our own actions and opinions. Informational social influence is said to be a very powerful source of conformity. A final factor affecting conformity is that of the situational norms. These are norms that tell us how to behave in particular situations or environment. One does not have to aware of these norms for them to influence behaviour. They may be activated in an automatic without conscious thought. In an experiment carried out by Aarts & Dijksterhuis (2003) they found that when individuals we expected to visit a library which was considered a quiet zone their situational norm was activated and when they were asked to read they read less loudly than those individuals who visited another location. Similar results were garnered when they tried the experiment on an up scale restaurant. These individuals were however not expected to behave this way where the norms did not apply. The conclusion is that situational norms operated in many different locations and can automatically influence behaviour in these settings.

Although pressures toward conformity are strong many persons resist them, most people do not go along with social norms but rather they pick and choose, conforming to most but rejecting at least a few. One reason persons resist the pressure to conform is that of maintaining their own uniqueness. That is the need for individuation, being distinguishable from others. Maslach, Santte and Wade (1987) states that though, in general, people want to be like others they do not want to be exactly like.