You walk around school and you see the same square Kanken backpacks looking like they are about to burst, the same white Air Forces climbing up the stairs, and the same Airpods, constantly blasting music through ears.
Conformity in the social context is, by definition, behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions. It is best exemplified through the famous ‘elevator experiment’, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1960s. In this experiment, a participant entered an elevator in which all the other people, who were confederates of the experiment, faced the back of the elevator. This is obviously not normal behavior; in our day-to-day lives, most people enter an elevator and turn to face the door. However, this was not the case in that particular elevator, and the researchers wanted to see how the participant would react.
Surprisingly, most participants succumbed relatively easily to the norm of standing with their backs to the elevator door. Slowly but surely, the participants turned and soon joined everyone in facing the back, as if it was what one would usually do in the elevator.
There are many videos online replicating this experiment, accompanied by comical commentaries and laugh tracks. I have watched these videos with lots of different people, and in every instance, everyone has laughed at the naive participant. There has always been at least one person that denies they would ever react in the same way as the participant, and implied that they were more intelligent than them.
But look around! Every day, we are influenced by everyone else. Some industries even depend on it. Take fashion, for example. The whole concept of trends and styles is based on what the public sees and likes, but these days, most of the exposure to these styles comes from social media and celebrity influencers. When celebrities endorse brands and styles, people place a higher value on the product, because to many people, celebrities provide a sense of familiarity and trust. A trend is formed through a few influential people endorsing a style and many other people following it.
In terms of fashion, the tendency of people to conform does not pose any threats. And it is undoubtedly one of the major reasons civilized societies can be established. However, to what extent could this psychological trait lead to undesirable or even dangerous behavior?
Not conforming to social norms can cause a fear of social rejection, and this fear is usually what drives us to make decisions that may go against our personal beliefs or risk our safety. Conformity can come most commonly as a result of peer pressure. An example of this could be when there is a common thing that everyone seems to dislike. Whether it be a kind of food, subject, or person, when a group of people all dislike one thing, it can be difficult to go against the status quo, so you are forced to conform. Another, more consequential example is the rise in popularity of vaping, among teenagers in particular. Despite the fact that vaping has been proved to be detrimental to health in various ways, e-cigarettes have become a popular trend that many teenagers want to be a part of.
It is important to note, though, that peer pressure is not something that is only present in the adolescent years. Even adults are subject to negative peer pressure, albeit in different areas to teenagers. It could come in the form of unwillingly going to an office party because everyone else is going, or feeling pressured into getting married because other people your age are.
Of course, this is not to say that there are no positive sides to peer pressure. Though the phrase comes with negative connotations, matters such as the decision to go to the gym because your friends are going and being motivated to study harder because your friends are all studying hard are examples of positive ways conformity can affect you.
So to what extent is conformity a good thing? And how can we avoid it from getting out of hand? Conformity can be both good and bad, and can be considered necessary to make life easier. It is in our nature, as social animals, to want to feel included in a group and to take socially desirable actions. Whether the choices you are making are desirable in wider society or in just a small part of the society is something you have to recognize. If facing the back of an elevator was illegal but everyone in your elevator was doing it, you must recognize that it is probably better to face the front, even if you’re alone in doing so. And do it with confidence! Who knows? You could be the trailblazer for that elevator.
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