Conformism is ... the concept and features of conformism

Ancient philosophers believed that a person living in society could not be independent of him. All our life, the individual has various relationships with other people (mediated or immediate). It acts on others or itself is exposed to them. It often happens that a person can change his opinion or behavior under the influence of society, agrees with someone else's point of view. Such behavior is explained by the ability to conform.

Conformism is a device, as well as passive consent with the order of things, with opinions and views that exist in a certain society where the individual is located. This is unconditional following with some samples having the greatest pressure force (recognized authority, traditions, the opinion of most people, etc.), the inhangation of his own point of view on any questions. This term translated from the Latin language (conformis) means "so-like".

Research on conformism

Muzafar Sheriff in 1937 was engaged in studying the emergence of group norms in the conditions of the laboratory. In the dark room there was a screen on which a point light source appeared, after it moved chaotically for a few seconds and then disappeared. A person who has been tested should have noticed, how much the light source was shifted, if compared to its first appearance. At the beginning of the experiment, the subjects held him alone and independently tried to answer the question. However, at the second stage, three people were already in a dark room, and they agreed to respond. It was observed that people changed the opinion on averaged group norm. And at the further stages of the experiment conducted, they sought to continue adhere to this norm. So the sheriff first with the help of his experiment proved that people tend to agree with the opinions of others, often trust the judgments and views of the strangers, to the detriment of their own.

Solomon Ash in 1956 introduced the concept of conformism and announced the results of his experiments in which a stacnifier group and one naive subject participated. A group consisting of 7 people participated in the experience, which was aimed at studying the perception of lengths of segments. During it, it was necessary to specify one of three segments, which was drawn on a poster corresponding to the standard. During the first stage, the submersible subjects almost always gave the correct answer. At the second stage, the whole group was going together. And the members of the passing specially gave the wrong answer, but the naive subject was unknown to this. A categorical opinion, all submersible participants in the experiment provided strong pressure on the opinion of the subject. Judging by Asha, about 37% of all past tests still listened to the incorrect view of the group and thereby showed conformism.

In the future, ASH and his students organized many more experiments, varying the material presented for perception. Richard Krachvilde, for example, offered to estimate the area of \u200b\u200bthe circle and the stars, while providing a passing group so that they claimed that the first less than the second, although the star was equal to a circle in diameter. Despite such an extraordinary experience, people who showed conformism were found. It can be safely argued that during each of its experiment, Sheriff, Ash, Krachvilde did not use hard coercion, there was no punishment for the opposition to the opinion of a group or promotion for agreeing with group views. However, people voluntarily joined the views of the majority and thereby showed conformism.

The conditions for the emergence of conformism

S. Milgram and E. Aronson believe that conformism is a phenomenon, which is more or less, in the presence or absence of the following conditions:

It increases, if the task that needs to be performed is quite complicated, or the subject is noncompeatient in this matter;

Group number: The degree of conformism becomes the greatest when a person faces the same opinion of three and more people;

Personality type: A person with a similar self-esteem is more susceptible to the influence of the group, unlike the person with an overpric;

Group of group: If there are experts, its members are significant people, and if there are people relating to the same social environment in it, conformity increases;

Cohesion: than a coarse group, the more she has the power over their members;

The presence of an ally: if a person who defends his opinion or doubts the other, at least one ally appears, then the tendency to submissal the pressure of the group falls;

Public answer: A person is more susceptible to a conformism when he must speak to the rest, and not when he records his answers to a notebook; If the opinion is publicly expressed, it is usually trying to adhere to it.

Conditions related to conformism

According to S. Asha, conformism is a person's refusal from meaningful and expensive views to optimize the adaptation process in the group, it is not just any alignment of opinions. Conformal behavior, or conformism, shows the degree of subordination of the individual pressure of the majority, the adoption of a certain stereotype of behavior, standard, value orientations of the group, norms, values. The opposite of this is independent behavior that is resistant to group pressure. There are four types of behavior in relation to it:

1. External conformism is a phenomenon when the norms and opinions of the group man takes only externally, the internally, at the level of self-consciousness, he does not agree with it, but it does not say aloud. In general, this is true conformism. This type of behavior is characteristic of a person who adapts to the group.

2. Internal conformism takes place when a person actually assimilates the opinion of the majority and agrees with him completely. Thus, there is a high level of self-sufficiency. This type is adaptable to the group.

3. Negatives manifests itself when a person resists in a group opinion in every way, very actively trying to defend his views, shows his independence, proves, argues, seeks to ensure that his opinion becomes in the end the opinion of the whole group, does not hide this desire. This type of behavior indicates that the individual does not want to adapt to the majority, but seeks to adapt them to themselves.

4. Nonconformism is the independence of norms, judgments, values, independence, inconsistency in group pressure. This type of behavior is characteristic of a self-sufficient person, when the opinion does not change due to the pressure of the majority and is not imposed on other people.

Modern studies of conformism make it an object of studying four sciences: psychology, sociology, philosophy and political science. Therefore, there is a need to separate it as a phenomenon in the social sphere and conformal behavior as a psychological feature of a person.

Conformism and psychology

Conformism in psychology is the personal compliance with imaginary or real pressure of the group. With such behavior, a person changes personal attitudes and behavior in accordance with the position of the majority, although he did not share it earlier. Individual voluntarily refuses his own opinion. Conformism in psychology is also the unconditional consent of a person with the position of the people around him, regardless of how coordinating it with its own sensations and ideas adopted by norms, moral and ethical rules and logic.

Conformism and sociology

Conformism in sociology is a passive adoption of social order, which already exists, opinions that dominate in society, etc. From it it is necessary to distinguish other manifestations of uniformity in opinions, views, judgments that can be formed in the process of personality socialization, as well as change Views due to convincing argumentation. Conformism in sociology is the adoption by a person a certain opinion under pressure, "under pressure" of a group or society as a whole. It is explained by the fear of any sanctions or reluctance to remain alone. When studying conformistic behavior in the group, it turned out that about one-third of all people tend to show such behavior, that is, they obey their behavior of the opinion of the whole group.

Conformism and philosophy

Conformism in philosophy is a widespread form of behavior in modern society, its defensive form. In contrast to collectivism, which involves the participation of an individual in the development of the Group's decisions, a conscious masterment of the values \u200b\u200bof the collective, the correlation of its behavior with the interests of the whole society, the team and, if there is a need, submission to the last, conformism is the absence of its own position, non-critical and unprincipled following any sample which has the greatest power of pressure.

A person who uses him is fully absorbed by such a type of person who is offered, ceases to be himself, completely becomes like others, which is expected to see the other members of a group or society as a whole. Philosophers believe that it helps the individual does not feel lonely and anxious, although he has to pay for this loss of his "I".

Conformism and political science

Political conformism is a psychological installation and behavior, which is an adaptive (adaptive) following the standards that were previously adopted in society or a group. Usually people are not always inclined to follow social standards, only due to the fact that they take values \u200b\u200bthat underlie the same norms (law perception). Most often, some individuals, and sometimes even most follow them due to pragmatic feasibility or because of the fear of applying negative sanctions to them (this is conformism in a negative, narrow sense).

Thus, conformism in politics is a method of political adaptation as passive adoption of existing orders, like blind imitation of the stereotypes of political behavior that dominates in society as the absence of its own positions.

Social conformism

Social conformism is a non-critical perception and following opinions that prevail in society, mass standards, stereotypes, authoritative principles, traditions and installations. A person does not try to resist the prevailing trends, even though the internally he does not accept them. Individual perceives economic and socio-political reality without any criticism, does not express any desire to express his own opinion. Social conformism is a refusal to bear personal responsibility for perfect actions, blind subordination and following the prescriptions and requirements that comes from society, party, states, religious organization, family, leader, etc. This submission can be explained by tradition or mentality.

Pros and cons of conformism

There are positive features of conformism, among which such:

Strong team cohesion, especially in crisis situations, it helps to cope with them.

The organization of joint activities is becoming easier.

The adaptation time of the new person in the team is reduced.

However, conformism is a phenomenon that carries and negative points:

A person loses the ability to independently take any decisions and orient to unusual conditions.

Conformism contributes to the development of totalitarian sects and states, conducting mass genocides and murders.

The development of various prejudices and prejudices against the minority occurs.

The conformism of the individual reduces the ability to make a significant contribution to science or culture, as creative and original thought eradicates.

Conformism and state

Conformism is a phenomenon that plays an important role, being one of the mechanisms responsible for the adoption of a group decision. It is known that any social group has a degree of tolerance, which refers to the behavior of its members. Each of them can deviate from the rules accepted, but to a certain limit, while its position is not undermined, and the feeling of general unity is not damaged.

The state is interested in not losing control over the population, so it relates to this phenomenon positively. That is why conformism in society is very often cultivated and put on the dominant ideology, the education system, media, propaganda services. This is predisposed primarily by the state with totalitarian regimes. Nevertheless, in the "free world", in which individualism is cultivated, the stereotype of thinking and perception is also the norm. The society tries to impose standards, lifestyle. In the context of globalization, conformism acts as a stereotype of consciousness embodied in a common phrase: "The whole world lives so."