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Nicholas Parker Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102-014 9/22/2013 Conforming to the Group There is a thing called the wolf pack mentality or pack mentality as some call it, the idea of group solidarity and unification is the easiest way to describe it. It is when all members of the group come together as a unit. Of course this is an animal trait and we humans have as well, we are social creatures that tend to enjoy the company of others. Groups tend to have a large influence on its members, causing them to conform to the groups and its norms. Weve all seen it whether it be a sporting event or musician concert, even something as simple as just being around a new group of people, the group as a whole influences the individuals to conform to the group and assimilate. The real question would be what causes this and why does it happen. First everyone has more than likely experienced this phenomenon more than once and might not have even been aware of it. I personally have felt this happen to an extreme, Last year I participated in popular college campus event called Humans Versus Zombies a game campus wide game of hunt and tag, incorporated into the daily lives of the college students who so choose participate. A zombie apocalypse is simulated where a few students act as zombies hunting down the human player and convert them into zombies, while the human players try to survive the simulation. It was my first time ever trying this game, having been convinced by a few of my upper-classmen friends that it was fun and I should participate I decided to play. After
Comment [t4]: Good example Comment [t3]: Good Thesis Comment [t1]: Could Have used a better title

Comment [t2]: Nice wording makes us appear to be animals.

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a whole day of avoiding zombie players and surviving I was attacked by a zombie and turned into one on the first night. I had tried my best to prepare for the event by spending over $50 on equipment such as two Nerf gun, the implied simulation self-defense weapons for human players, magazines for the Nerf guns and ammunition to be used to kill any zombie in an encounter. Needless to say I was furious at the fact that I had not even had a chance to use any of the equipment that I had paid for out of my own pocket, I was barely able to contain my emotions in front of the zombie player who had just score a meal or kill on me. After a small exchange of information for conversion purposes, namely my information to confirm the kill on me to the database the game uses, I was told were I should go to meet up with the other zombies to start the night mission simulation. Upon arriving at the location, still in a horrible mood from the recent encounter, I was greeted by the other players with open arms and enthusiasm, hiding my negative attitude I mingled with the other players as we waited to start. As this continued I slowly felt better about the situation, even not caring like the others, it was not until we were about to start when some of the veteran players started to give motivational speeches, emphasizing our power and superiority as a team and cohesive unit, getting into character and helping get the others into character, getting us to cheer, shout, and even chant, it was then that I realized I was cheering shouting and chanting along with the others having completely forgotten my negative attitude from what had simply been 30 minutes ago. I had unknowing conformed to the group, even being motivated to the aspirations of the group. The main reason this happens is because at a young age we are taught to be like the group, to be a part of it; if we are not a part of it we are therefore alone. According to the Festingers Cognitive Dissonance Theory studied by Gerald N. Sande and Mark P. Zanna, as individuals we strive to maintain consistency with our cognitions, and that inconsistencies with
Comment [t6]: Great connection from game experience to the pack mentality. Comment [t5]: This is a good example but I do not think that everyone will understand it.

Parker 3 those cognitions causes discomfort to us, driving us to fix the problem what this means is that we feel uncomfortable going against our ideas and principles, for example the idea that we should join a group, it then feels uncomfortable to be blatantly unlike the others in the group around us. This is also evident in Carvers Self-Attention Theory studied by Brian Mullen, that we at times usually triggered by an outside force like an audience that we take ourselves as the focus of our attention, or become aware of ourselves. In this theory behavioral standards define appropriate behavior, some even become very noticeable and important to the environment, becoming the norms for the group, through self-attention an individual will notice if their behavior does not match the group standard, and usually then proceeds to adjust their self to fit in the group standard this emphasizes the previously stated theory, if an individual notices they are not acting as they should within the group they then feel compelled to adjust and conform. A good example of this would be the elevator sociology experiment, a sociological experiment of a group setting social norms for an individual in which the control subjects behave as a group against the societal norms like facing backwards. The unknowing subject eventually conforms to the group and joins them facing the back of the elevator, they even go as far at one point to change the direction they face and the subject follows. Another theory that shows that we do in fact change our behavior in the presence of others groups, is called the Self-Presentation Theory in which self-attention takes effect and we take note of the fact that we are being viewed by an audience and therefore will seek to please the audience, behaving as the audience would expect us to. This is easily explained with the fact that you would not be at church with your parents acting like you do if you are out partying with fraternities or sororities.
Comment [t7]: Good comparison

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To reiterate, individuals conforming to a groups behavioral standards is completely natural. It almost happens out of our control, it is almost instinct for us to feel safer and stronger if we are in a group and to be part of the group we have to act like the group does. It is also comparable to drafting in a race, hanging in directly behind the car in front of you riding in the vacuum they create called a slipstream, the slipstream not only makes it easier for you to keep up, being a vacuum it actually sucks you in and pulls you along forcing you to follow them or be out on your own.
Comment [t8]: Nice comparing a peer pressure to a vacuum.