Essay about On Conformity and Obedience - 1176 Words

Conformity and Obedience People have been changing their behavior or obeying someone else’s commands for years. This continues today in our everyday lives. Conformity and obedience seem similar but differ in several ways. Conformity is defined by psychologists as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. Similar to this, is obedience. Obedience is defined acting in accordance with a direct order or command. Normally people conform to reap a reward or to avoid punishment. If we comply with a direct order or command it is considered obedience. Most of the time when people comply, it is to be accepted among others so they are not seen as outsiders. On the other hand, when we obey, we are obeying a command an authority figure†¦show more content†¦This allowed him to gain their obedience; they knew that they had to obey him to avoid punishment. There was no way to escape Jones, he seemed to be everywhere. He had them spying on one another and anything not acce ptable would be immediately reported to Jones. He also had loud speakers everywhere that he would send messages through, this let the followers know that he was everywhere no matter what they were doing. Because everyone was obedient and thankful to Jones it was difficult to think he was wrong. In 1972 he staged his own death to sow panic then relief among his followers; he also staged attacks on his temple to further heighten fear, this also increased solidarity (Russell, pg 40). Jones also had his followers practice suicide drills and stated that â€Å"the proper thing to do was to kill yourself before they get you†(paraphrase article). The mass suicide/murder that happened on November 18, 1978 consisted of about 1,000 people drinking lethal cyanide punch. This included small children, women, and men; a total of 912 people died. Both obedience and conformity played a role in this tragedy. If they did not obey his command of drinking it then they would be shot in the head. O thers complied with the drinking of the poison because they had to believe what was in accordance with others including Jones. Prisons are also similar to cults, they include obedience and compliance. A great example is theShow MoreRelatedConformity and Obedience1770 Words   |  8 PagesConformity and Obedience Assignment In this assignment I intend to evaluate Stanley Milgrams studies of obedience and in particular the ethical issues broken. I hope to determine whether the knowledge gained justifies his experiments. After the destruction and atrocities committed in World War II many historians argued that there must be some sort of character defect that made the German people more obedient. Mailgram’s study was an attempt to test ‘the Germans are different’ hypothesis. TheRead MoreHistory Of Obedience And Conformity1729 Words   |  7 PagesHistory of Obedience and Conformity With the utterance of â€Å"research in obedience,† Stanley Milgram is the epithet in social psychology. 56 years ago, Milgram tested the limits of a person s ability to commit deeds that would normally be directionally challenging to their moral compass when commanded to act by an authority figure. Just 15 years after the World War II Holocaust, the Milgram experiments was a social psychology response to a topic of â€Å"particular relevance† during that time (MilgramRead MoreConformity and Obedience Essay3326 Words   |  14 PagesConformity and Obedience Task: outline and evaluate findings from conformity and obedience research and consider explanations for conformity (and non-conformity), as well as evaluating Milgram’s studies of obedience (including ethical issues). The following essay will be about understanding what is meant by and distinguishing the differences between the terms conformity and obedience. It will show the evaluation of two key psychological studies which seek to explain why people do and do not conformRead MoreObedience and Conformity Essay508 Words   |  3 PagesObedience and Conformity Both obedience and conformity involve social pressure in obedience the pressure comes from behaving as you are instructed to do; whereas in conformity the pressure comes from group norms Behaviour in obedience is determined by social power, whereas in conformity it is influenced mostly by the need for acceptance. In nearly all societies, certain peopleRead MoreConformity and Obedience Essays2559 Words   |  11 PagesConformity and Obedience Why do we conform? Two basic sources of influence: normative social influence, the need to be liked, accepted by others and Informational influence: need to be correct and to behave in accordance with reality. 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This desire is so overwhelming that one might go to any extent toRead MoreConformity And Obedience Are Both Social Behaviors1935 Words   |  8 PagesConformity and obedience are both social behaviors that are influenced by those around us and determines our behavior in social situations. When we change our attitude or behavior based on those around us, we are conforming to their behavior. When we obey what we are told, by what we perceive to be an authority figure, we are being obedient. Conformity and obedience can have positive or negative results on our lives, depending on the situation and the individuals involved. Symbolic interactions areRead MoreAdaptive Social Behaviors, Conformity, Compliance And Obedience1369 Words   |  6 PagesAdaptive Social Behaviours Conformity, compliance and obedience are a set of adaptive social behaviours that one makes use of to get by in daily social activities. They are all some form of social influence, which causes a change in a particular person or group’s behaviour, attitude and/or feelings (Cialdini, 2000, 2006). Various forms of social influence have been used for a variety of reasons; sometimes to help individuals stray from harmful behaviour such as smoking; other times [not as altruisticRead MoreMajor Categories Of Social Influence : Conformity, Compliance, And Obedience2039 Words   |  9 PagesKatrina Venta PSY 226 Community College of Aurora March 11, 2016 Abstract There are three major categories of social influence: conformity, compliance, and obedience. Conformity is the change of behavior to be able to fit in and gain approval from other people. Compliance, on the other hand, is when a person changes their behavior in response to being asked directly. While obedience is a response to an authority figure directing an individual (Kenrick, Neuberg, Cialdini, 2010, p. 183). These social influencesRead MoreAsch s Conformity Experiment And Milgram s Obedience Experiment Essay1586 Words   |  7 Pagesexperiments; Asch s conformity experiment and Milgram s obedience experiment. The two experiments will be compared for validity and their ethics. In addition, this report will take into consideration Zimbardo s Stanford Prison experiment and the Lucifer Effect. To analyse how obedience and conformity theories can be used as an example of why good people can turn bad. This report will also look at how obedience and conformity can be applied to the c riminal justice system. Conformity Solomon Asch s