Conformity and Obedience

Conformity and Obedience
Katrina Thompson
March 5, 2011
Dr. Keisha Anthony

Conformity and obedience are related to one another in that they both require people to change their own ideas about certain situations. Conformity consists of people going along with other people to satisfy the needs or wants of the whole group so acceptance is granted. Obedience is being submissive to other people based on their ideas of the way situations should be. Every individual has his or her own personality and feelings and he or she may not always agree with the group but there are times when conformity and obedience are the best solution. This paper will detail conformity and obedience in relation to each individual and the effects that they have on the self and society.
Conformity is conforming beliefs and opinions with a whole group instead of having an individual basis on situations. Many people conform to a group based on wanting to be a part of the group and not an outsider of the group. This happens a lot when working with teams either in the workplace or school. In the workplace, there are times when people have to work in teams in order to complete a project. With every individual having his or her own perspective and opinion, everyone may not always agree to the decision that needs to be made. There are times when individuals base his or her opinion off what everyone else in the group is saying or agreeing to.
A person may know based off experience what works and which is the right direction to take but others in the group may not have experienced certain situations and therefore, he or she is basing his or her opinion off someone else. When a person has experience in certain situations, it makes the person wiser and knowledgeable and he or she is able to make a decision which works best for the entire group. If a group is working together and the person with the knowledge of the situation is being contradicted by other members in the group, the person with... [continues]

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