We are glad to welcome you, dear readers! The phenomenon of group pressure, also called conformity, is a rather interesting phenomenon in which an individual refuses his opinion, even if he is sure that he is right, and agrees with someone else’s, preferring submission to the conflict. And today we will learn why this happens, as well as what types of conformity are distinguished.
Experiment
Initially, the psychologist Solomon Ash decided to investigate this phenomenon, becoming interested in how a person is ready to defend his point of view, not receiving support from others, and sometimes even opposing them.
In 1951, he assembled a group of subjects whose task was to determine the length of the presented line. They could do this by showing the cards that they were given in advance. One showed three segments with different lengths, and the second one showed one, but exactly the same as on the first card. When the subjects took this test individually, the results were positive, everyone coped with the task. But it was important for Solomon to prove the effect of social pressure on the individual. Even if it’s in a small group.
Therefore, he placed the subjects in one room, colluding with all the participants in advance, leaving only one in the dark. They should have intentionally shown wrong answers. To find out if this one non-dummy test subject will succumb to the influence of the others. And, as you might guess, in most cases, individuals, not knowing about the collusion, gave the wrong answer. They leaned on others, ignoring their own feelings because they didn’t want to stand out. Only a quarter of the participants, and there were only 123 of them, showed independence and stood their ground to the last, arguing that others were wrong.
Conformity
Conformity, in its essence, is such an “adaptability”, when there is not enough courage and willpower to contradict others, the only way out of a conflict or difficult situation is to recognize someone else’s point of view, albeit illogical, sometimes stupid.
It manifests itself in individuals with low self-esteem who do not believe in themselves and their abilities, are afraid of rejection, are prone to living through toxic shame, or are unable to cope with any kind of pressure and manipulation due to their character traits and personal life history. It is also often formed in individuals with a low level of intellectual abilities, which is why they trust any conclusions that others make, since they themselves are unable to figure out some issue on their own.
Distinguish between external and internal conformity. With an external individual, just for the sake of appearance, he agrees with the group, he demonstrates subordination in order to avoid aggression in his direction, or simply attention, as a participant who is different. And no matter what, he will continue to act against them.
And with the inner, a person really begins to believe in what others say. Although initially treated critically and cautiously to their words. There is a reassessment of values, attitudes, the internal picture of the world and its perception are changing.
Factors affecting the development of conformity
There are factors in connection with which a completely independent, independent and spiritually strong person with the inclinations of a leader can back down and give up his point of view. Thanks to them, it becomes possible to anticipate and predict the development of events in the group. Which is sometimes very important, especially if it is related to business.
So, the factors influencing the desire to adapt and «merge» with the majority:
- Age and gender. It is believed that women and children are more prone to conforming behavior than men.
- Importance of information. The more valuable and closer to a person any material, the more fiercely he will defend it.
- status and authority. It has been observed that the higher the status of those who speak out, even if it is incorrect, the majority will still accept their position, even if they doubt it. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a minority to win. And put pressure on people, the number of which exceeded them at times.
- The number of like-minded people. The more of them, the more difficult it is to resist.
Negativism
Negativism, at its core, is a protest against structure, methods, systems, and so on. The psychology of a person prone to negative behavior is that it is important for her to resist the majority. And sometimes it doesn’t even matter whether she agrees with this majority of opinions or not. The position itself is important — against everyone. Usually these are people with a strong will, character. They don’t take criticism or devaluation personally. On the contrary, the more they have to endure in this position of “the only one”, “not understood by everyone”, the more they satisfy their need for self-expression, getting attention.
An interesting fact is that negativism is the same manifestation of conformity, just polar, as if «inside out». That is, a person, despite attempts to prove something to the contrary, is dependent on those with whom he is fighting. He will not be able to rebel if he is not attached to the opinions of others.
He takes an anti-group position, and if it changes, he will have nothing to rely on. Otherwise how to choose a strategy of behavior when you are used to focusing on models formed by other people? This is how teenagers usually behave in the period of maturation. And no matter how they try to show their autonomy and maturity, arranging conflicts, protests, in fact, they need their parents, their love and care.
Conclusion
Since the information in the article is provided briefly, I want to give a simple example that will show how the phenomenon of group pressure works. Remember the fairy tale «The King’s New Clothes» by Hans Christian Andersen? It told about two weavers who were able to convince the whole kingdom that they had sewn the most beautiful dress. Although in fact the king was naked. And only a child dared to tell the truth.
By the way, I recently published an interesting article about Savant Syndrome — a disease of geniuses. I recommend reading.
In conclusion, I want to note that this phenomenon performs important functions — rapprochement and maintaining the integrity of the group. Which becomes able to jointly achieve the goals set for it. If you are interested in knowing how you usually behave in society, I recommend taking this test. And that’s all for today! Good luck and success to you.
The material was prepared by a psychologist and Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina.