Conformity and Obedience

Conformity and Obedience: Whats the Difference? Lesley Robinson

Psychology 1, SJVC Online Melissa Brewer January 26, 2012

Conformity and Obedience

Social influence is the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others (McGraw-Hill, 2011, p. 343). Have you ever been instructed to do something that conflicted with your beliefs by someone who you believed had authority over you? Have you ever noticed when you are in a group of people, and they are saying things or doing things that are different from what you are saying or doing? Did it make

you feel uncomfortable? Did it make you feel the need to go along with the group? If so, then you were conforming to social influences. Conformity is the tendency to align our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around us. It's a very, powerful force. As much as

people like to think of themselves as individuals, the fact is people are driven to fit in with others. Other peoples behaviors and attitudes have a strong effect on how people behave, especially when they are in a group. People often look to the behavior of others to determine what is expected of them or how they should behave or act (McGraw-Hill, 2011). Humans are social animals who have the desire to live and interact with each other. People often change their beliefs and attitudes to conform to the groups behavior. The best way to describe conformity is to think

about teenagers. They seek acceptance by conforming to social influences, so they will be accepted and not rejected. They reject the basic teachings and instructions of their parents (dont swear, dont smoke, dont steal, etc.) and conform to the social influences of their peer groups (Dawson, 2011).

Conformity and Obedience

Conformity becomes obedience when an authority figure exerts the influence. Conformity occurs through social pressures. Obedience occurs

when people respond because an authority figure commanded them to respond. In order for them to respond, they must believe the authority

figure has the power to request what is asked of them (Mcleod, 2007). From a very young age, children are taught to obey authority figures. Beginning with their parents and then when they attend school,

they are taught to obey their teachers. Later, when they attend college and obtain jobs, they follow the directions and instructions of their professors and bosses. Because society demands that we respect authority figures,

obedience often occurs out of fear (Dawson, 2011). Psychological experiments show that people will change their own beliefs due to social influences. For example, in an experiment conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s, participants changed their own beliefs in order to conform to the group. The participants were shown three lines. Two lines were the same length and one was a different length. They were asked to identify out loud to the group, which two lines were the same length. The participants went along with the group even though the groups answers were obviously wrong (McGraw-Hill, 2011).

Conformity and Obedience

People will also obey an authority figure even if it means harming someone. In an experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s,

people were willing to administer high levels of electric shocks to people in order to comply with an authority figure (McGraw-Hill, 2011). Another

example is when Adolf Hitler commanded the German military to annihilate the Jewish people (Mcleod, 2007). As humans from an early age, we are taught to obey authority figures, beginning with our parents. As we grow up, our peer groups begin to have social influence over us, and we encounter other authority figures in society, such as teachers and bosses. We are willing to sacrifice our beliefs to conform to social influences.

Conformity and Obedience References Dawson, O. (2011). Difference Between Obedience and Conformity; Obedience vs. Conformity. Retrieved 26 January 2012, from

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-obedienceand-vs-conformity. McGraw-Hill. (2011). Psychsmart. New York: McGraw-Hill. Mcleod, S.A. (2007). Simply Psychology; Obedience in Psychology. Retrieved 26 January 2012, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/obedience.html.