Influences of Conformity and Obedience

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Influences of Conformity and Obedience Paper PSYCH 550 July 15, 2012 Dr. Jay Greiner Influences of Conformity and Obedience Paper Human beings are stated to be social animals due to the fact that we have an unspoken desire to live together, for interaction with others is the natural way of living in society or the “norm”. Covered in this paper will be defining conformity as well as obedience, analyze a classical study concerning the effect of group influence on the self, analyze a contemporary example of the effect that group influence has on the self, and analyze individual and social influences that lead to deviance from dominant group norms. The following is an analysis of conformity and obedience. The concept of conformity and obedience Conformity There are factors that have to be taken into interpretation when conformity is taking place, these factors are: informational influence, normative influence, size of group, awareness of norms, presence of an ally, age differences, gender differences, and cultural influences. Each of these factors plays a significant role in conformity and have their own process. Informational influence is when you conform due to the fact that you believe others are correct in their adjudications. For conformity is when you accept to put your personal feelings or opinions to the side in order for the group to be unified. When a person conforms they become one with a group for it shows the person’s dedication to the group’s standards. “Culture, gender, personality and other factors are believed to have great impact on how people conform themselves in a group settings” (Fiske, 2004). The concept of conformity has a broad meaning because it refers to individuals displaying common behavior as others in a group, but this is something that is group sensitive because everyone is not the same, and your behavior is something that is

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