Conformity Research Paper
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Sometimes people conform even when they are aware that it is not the right thing to do. This essay will explore the reasons and factors that influence conformity. Research into conformity became very important at the end of the World War Two, as many people hypothesised that Germans were born evil. It has since been proven that most people will, at some point in their lives, obey an unjust command.
Conformity is a part of social psychology. Social influence involves the exercise of social power by a person or group to change the attitudes or behaviour of others in a particular direction. Social and cultural factors (Perrin and Spencer 1980) that …show more content…
Conformity can also be “Yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield, 1955: 191-198). Conformity can be both desirable and undesirable. The difference between these types of conformity is that desirable conformity is conforming to rules in society such as social norms and law and order, where as undesirable conformity is conforming to something even when the person conforming, knows is it wrong. For example the case of Rodney King which occurred in 1991 is a prime example of what undesirable conformity is. This case involved four police officers being acquitted for using excessive force against a black motorist named Rodney King. This case proved to cause major up roar with the black community as 10 of the jurors who acquitted the police officers of the charger, was …show more content…
This was proven with Sherif (1935) using the auto kinetic affect, where he concluded that individuals answers varied on how far the light moved. He found that after the group converged, they conformed to an estimate they all agreed on. This experiment showed that people conform, if they think that others know more than them, and they want to follow the group to do the right thing. This type of conformity usually involves internalisation – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an
Sometimes people conform even when they are aware that it is not the right thing to do. This essay will explore the reasons and factors that influence conformity. Research into conformity became very important at the end of the World War Two, as many people hypothesised that Germans were born evil. It has since been proven that most people will, at some point in their lives, obey an unjust command.
Conformity is a part of social psychology. Social influence involves the exercise of social power by a person or group to change the attitudes or behaviour of others in a particular direction. Social and cultural factors (Perrin and Spencer 1980) that …show more content…
Conformity can also be “Yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield, 1955: 191-198). Conformity can be both desirable and undesirable. The difference between these types of conformity is that desirable conformity is conforming to rules in society such as social norms and law and order, where as undesirable conformity is conforming to something even when the person conforming, knows is it wrong. For example the case of Rodney King which occurred in 1991 is a prime example of what undesirable conformity is. This case involved four police officers being acquitted for using excessive force against a black motorist named Rodney King. This case proved to cause major up roar with the black community as 10 of the jurors who acquitted the police officers of the charger, was …show more content…
This was proven with Sherif (1935) using the auto kinetic affect, where he concluded that individuals answers varied on how far the light moved. He found that after the group converged, they conformed to an estimate they all agreed on. This experiment showed that people conform, if they think that others know more than them, and they want to follow the group to do the right thing. This type of conformity usually involves internalisation – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an