Conformism: what is it in simple words, examples, reasons, types

Conformity explains the desire of some individuals to blend in with the crowd. Conformity is a person’s desire to be the same as everyone else. It is difficult to answer unequivocally the question of whether conformity in psychology is considered a negative characteristic of a person, or whether the phenomenon of conformity in oneself needs to be developed.

In this article I will try to tell you what the concept of “conformity” means, who discovered the phenomenon of conformity, what types of conformity are found in the modern world, how conformity differs from conformity. To do this, I will present the psychological characteristics of conformity.

What is conformism

The literal meaning of the word “conformity” is “conforming”, “similar”, “similar”. The founder of the study of the phenomenon is S. Asch. He believed that such a personality trait as conformity is the individual’s conscious elimination of differences with representatives of the group to which he belongs.

In psychology, conformism is a person’s change of opinion or behavior under the influence of the opinions of others and submission to group pressure. It has been proven that in the personality structure such a quality as conformity suppresses a person’s individuality.

In sociology, conformity is a necessary component of personality that influences the success of an individual’s socialization. In sociology, this concept is attributed to almost every person to one degree or another. Socially, conformism is identified with a person’s adaptation to existence in a group. Conformity is understood as a person’s ability to follow the norms and rules established in a group. In social studies and politics, conformism is reconciliation. Political conformism can be observed during the period of pre-election agitation. Conformity in social science is associated with group pressure on the individual. This leads to a transformation of a person’s value system, a change in his positions and beliefs.

The definitions of conformity and conformity in psychology are almost the same, since these terms are synonymous. But there is also a difference between them. Conformity in psychology is a personal trait, and conformity is a style of behavior, a social pattern.

The opposite concept of this phenomenon is nonconformism and the desire for leadership. An example of nonconformism is a rebel who is ready to stand in opposition, defending his interests.

As socio-psychological studies show, internal conformity and external conformity are inherent in 50% of people. The phenomenon of group conformity was established in psychological experiments in almost all subjects who were under 17 years of age. The conformity effect allows a person to feel united with the group. To merge with a group, an individual is forced to accept the rules and norms of behavior in it, to make the values ​​of the group his own. In this case, conformism means the desire of an individual to follow the leader in a team. This trait of an individual helps him avoid difficulties and conflicts during the period of adaptation to a new team. The degree of manifestation of conformity is directly dependent on the numerical composition of the group and the level of its cohesion.

Group pressure processes

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Introduction:

Each of us will agree with the banal fact that society shapes people's behavior, their opinions and beliefs. The child, down to the smallest details and nuances, learns his native language. A member of a cannibal tribe thinks it's okay to eat people. All social sciences are based on the observation of the influence of a group on an individual. As for psychologists, group pressure on a person’s consciousness raises many questions for them to which they would like to receive a comprehensive answer.

How and to what extent do social forces limit our opinions and beliefs? This question is especially relevant today. The modern era, along with unprecedented technological advances in communication, has also led to the conscious manipulation of social relationships by people. There are many reasons why ordinary people and scientists are interested in learning how people form their opinions and what role social conditions play in this.

Group pressure processes

A prerequisite for the existence of any group is to serve a specific purpose. This implies a strong connection between a group's unity of purpose and its success in completing tasks. Psychologists, summing up the results of research in this area, came to the conclusion that achieving group goals contributes to high cohesion. Group members, individually or collectively, can exert pressure on others in the group to subordinate them to urgent tasks.

Such pressure can be extremely effective, influencing not only a person’s choice of a particular task, but also individual beliefs and even perceptions of reality. Solomon Ash demonstrated that people can be significantly affected by a wide range of perceptual judgments and evaluations.

Group pressure in a group performs the following functions:

• helps the group achieve its goal;
• helps the group preserve itself as a whole;
• helps group members develop a “reality” to relate their personal opinions to;
• helps group members determine their attitude to the social environment, which ensures adaptation in society.

Why is it so difficult to resist such pressure? It is known that in the course of group life certain group norms and values ​​arise and are consolidated, which to one degree or another should be common to all participants. Group norms are certain rules developed by a group, accepted by its majority and governing relationships between group members. A system of sanctions is also developed to ensure that all group members adhere to these standards. Sanctions can be encouraging or prohibitive.

In the first case, the group encourages its members to comply with the group's demands - their level of emotional acceptance increases, their status increases, and other psychological rewards are applied. In the second case, the group is more focused on punishing those group members whose behavior does not meet the standards. This could be a boycott, a decrease in the intensity of communication with the “offender”, a decrease in his status, exclusion from the structure of communicative relations, etc.

The threat of social rejection or other punishment can serve as a powerful reinforcer for conforming behavior. The most painful of these measures are intended specifically for adolescents due to age-related characteristics.

The desire for social approval is so deeply ingrained in most people that they are more likely to willingly conform to the expectations of others rather than risk provoking their disapproval. A person's need to accept others in a group may be so strong that it will extend to complete strangers.

Further research into the phenomenon of conformity led to the conclusion that not only the majority of the group, but also the minority can exert pressure on the individual. In accordance with this, two types of group influence began to be distinguished: normative (pressure is exerted by the majority, and his opinion is perceived by the group member as the norm) and informational (pressure is exerted by the minority, and the group participant views this only as information on the basis of which he should carry out his choice).

Types of conformity

The phenomenon of group pressure received in social psychology the name of the phenomenon of conformism (from the Latin Conformis - similar, consistent). It consists of conflict between an individual's opinion and the group's opinion and overcoming the conflict in favor of the group.

The word “conformism” itself has a very specific meaning in ordinary language and means “opportunism.” At the level of everyday consciousness, the phenomenon of conformity has long been recorded in Andersen's story about the naked king. Therefore, in everyday speech the concept acquires a certain negative connotation, which is extremely harmful for research, especially if it is carried out at the applied level.

The matter is aggravated by the fact that the concept of “conformity” has acquired a specific negative connotation in politics as a symbol of reconciliation and reconciliation. In order to somehow separate these different meanings, in the psychological literature they often talk not about conformism, but about conformity or conformist behavior, referring to the purely psychological characteristics of the individual’s position in relation to the position, acceptance or rejection of the group. a certain standard, opinion, characteristics of a group, a measure of an individual’s subordination to group pressure. The term “social impact” has been used frequently in recent years.

There is a distinction between external (public) compliance and internal (personal). With external conformity, the opinion of the group is accepted by the individual only from the outside, but in reality he continues to resist it. It is a demonstrative presentation of the imposed opinion of a group in order to gain approval or avoid condemnation, and perhaps even harsher sanctions from group members.

Internal conformity (sometimes called true conformism) is expressed in the fact that the individual actually internalizes the opinion of the majority. This is a real transformation of individual attitudes as a result of internal acceptance of the position of others, assessed as more reasonable and objective than their own point of view.

Despite all the differences, both forms of conformity are similar in that they serve as a special way of resolving the conscious conflict between personal and group dominant opinions in favor of the latter: a person’s dependence on the group forces him to seek real or imagined agreement with it in order to adapt his behavior to, seemingly alien or unusual standards.

Compliance studies identified another possible position that was amenable to correction at the experimental level. This is the position of negativism (nonconformism). In this case, when a group puts pressure on an individual, and he resists this pressure in everything, trying at any cost to act contrary to the position of the prevailing majority, at any cost and in all cases to prove the opposite point of view. Only at first glance does negativity look like an extreme form of denial of correspondence. In fact, as many studies have shown, negativism is not true independence.

On the contrary, we can say that this is a special case of conformity, so to speak, "conformity inside out": if a person seeks to resist the opinion of the group at any cost, then he is in fact again dependent on the group, because he must actively develop anti-group behavior, an anti-group position or norm , that is, to be attached to group opinion, but only with the opposite sign (numerous examples of negativity are demonstrated, for example, by the behavior of adolescents). Therefore, the position opposing conformity is not negativism, but concepts such as “independence”, “independence of position”, “resistance to group pressure”, etc.

Experimental study of the phenomenon of conformity

How much does our opinion depend on the opinions of people around us? In other words, how strong is our impulse toward social conformity?

Psychology began to study these problems in the late 19th century, when scientists became interested in the topic of hypnosis, which was discussed in the works of the French doctor Jean Martin Charcot (teacher of Sigmund Freud). Psychologists have shown that the monotonous repetition of instructions can cause involuntary physical changes in awake people, such as trembling or stiffness in the hands, as well as tactile or olfactory sensations (heat or smell).

Sociologists soon began to use these discoveries to explain numerous social phenomena, from the spread of views in society to the formation of crowd opinions and the following of leaders. Sociologist Gabrielle Tarde summed it all up in the aphorism: “The social man is a somnambulist.”

When the new scientific discipline of social psychology emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, the first experiments were mostly simply demonstrations of suggestion. The experiments were designed according to a simple design. The subjects, most often college students, were asked to express their opinions or preferences on various issues. Later, they were asked to speak again, but at the same time the opinions of authority figures or a large group of peers were expressed. (Often the opinions presented were invented by the scientists themselves.)

Most studies showed the same result: when faced with an opposing opinion, the participants in the experiments changed their views, agreeing with the opinion of the majority or the opinion of authority figures. Obviously, a large number of voices expressed or the authority of someone else's opinion was already enough to change the views of the subjects, even if no arguments were given in favor of the majority opinion.

Today, the rapid success of these experiments raises some doubts. Based on some data, it can be assumed whether the researchers themselves, inspired by their theory, were subjected to self-hypnosis, and whether gullible participants in the experiments did not give the answers that, in their opinion, were expected from them.

The basic theoretical premises for these studies are now generally accepted and largely determine what most people say and think about propaganda and manipulation technology. These assumptions are that people are easily and painlessly manipulated externally through the instillation or influence of prestige, and that any idea can be “popular” or “unpopular” regardless of its true value.

Modern psychologists are skeptical about the assumption that social pressure will certainly lead to weak-willed conformity. Independence and the ability to overcome group biases are also inherent in humans. Moreover, it is possible from a psychological point of view: is it possible to systematically change a person’s views on a situation or object without first changing his knowledge and ideas about them.

Of particular interest are the famous experiments of Solomon Ash on the effects of group pressure, conducted in 1951. These experiments are considered classics, despite the fact that they have been subject to very serious criticism. Let's look at them in more detail.

A group of students were asked to determine the length of a presented line. To do this, everyone was given two cards - in their left and right hands. The card in the left hand showed one linear segment, the card in the right hand showed three segments, only one of which was equal in length to the segment on the left card. Subjects were asked to determine which segment of the right card was equal to the length of the segment shown on the left card. The difference was from two to four centimeters. When the task was completed individually, everyone solved the problem correctly.

The point of the experiment was to identify group pressure on individuals' opinions using the "front group" method. The experimenter had previously colluded with all but one of the participants in the experiment (the “naïve subject”).

The essence of the conspiracy was that when they sequentially presented all the members of the “front” group with a segment of the left card, they would give a deliberately incorrect answer, calling this segment equal to a shorter or longer segment of the right card. The "naive subject" answered last, and it was important to find out whether he would stick to his own opinion (which in the first series was the correct individual decision) or give in to pressure from the group.

So, the subject was faced with a confrontation between two forces: evidence of his feelings and the unanimous opinion of a group of colleagues. In addition, he must publicly state his views in the presence of a majority who have also expressed their opinions out loud.

Occasionally, a trained majority would provide correct answers to prevent the subject from suspecting a conspiracy against him. (Only on rare occasions did the subject actually become suspicious. When this happened, the experiment was stopped and the result was not taken into account.) Each series consisted of 18 experiments, in 12 of which the majority (bait participants) gave false answers.

Subjects could choose whether to act independently, reject the majority opinion, or agree with the majority without listening to their own feelings. Of the 123 subjects who took the test, many agreed with the majority opinion. Although under normal conditions subjects comparing lines accounted for less than 1% of errors, under group pressure minority participants changed their perceptions in favor of the misleading erroneous opinion of the majority 36.8% of the time.

People's reactions were not the same. About a quarter of the subjects represented one extreme, completely independent group, those who never agreed with the erroneous opinion of the majority. The second extreme is those who are almost always inferior to the majority. The subjects participating in the experiment showed a tendency to make fairly consistent decisions. Those who made independent decisions, as a rule, did not yield to the majority in all series of the experiment, and those who yielded to the group's opinion were not able to make free decisions throughout the experiment.

Among the independent people there were many who firmly insisted on their own self-confidence in their own rightness. They did not listen unconditionally to the majority's answers, but they were able to overcome doubts and restore internal balance. Others, acting independently, believed that the majority answered correctly, but continued to disagree with him, since they considered it their duty to call things as they see them.

During the study, the following conclusion was made: the degree of compliance depends on factors such as the nature of the situation in the experiment and the composition and structure of the group. However, the role of these particular characteristics has not been fully understood.

The most important reasons for this include, first of all, the laboratory nature of the group, which does not allow us to fully take into account such a factor as the significance of the expressed opinion for the individual. The problem of the significance of a situation, as a rule, is very acute in social psychology. In this context, the problem of significance has at least two sides. On the one hand, one can raise the question of whether the material presented is meaningful for individuals?

In Ashi's experiments, these are segments of different lengths. It is easy to assume that comparing the lengths of these segments is a minor task. In a number of experiments, the material was varied, in particular, instead of the lengths of the segments, the areas of geometric shapes, etc. were compared. All of these modifications can, of course, help provide a more meaningful selection of material for comparison. But the problem of significance in its entirety is still not solved by this, because it has another side.

Significant in the full sense of the word is for a person a situation associated with real activity, with the real social connections of this person. Significance in this sense cannot be increased at all by sorting objects for comparison. The correspondence found in solving such problems may have nothing to do with the person's behavior in some much more complex situations in his real life: you can easily yield to the group when comparing lengths of lines, areas of geometric shapes, etc., but maintain independence of opinion in case, for example, of a conflict with the immediate superior.

Most critics rightly point out that the results of Ashi's experiments cannot be generalized to real situations, since the "group" here is not an actual social group, but a simple set of people specially collected for the experiment. Therefore, it is fair to say that what is being studied here is not the pressure of a group on an individual, but the situation of the presence of a group of people temporarily united to perform a task set by the experimenter.

Conclusion

Specially organized studies show that in different situations the percentage of people demonstrating conformal reactions can vary from 15 to 80. This allows us to consider conformity as an important factor in human social behavior.

What determines the value of human conformity? First of all, from the meaning of the opinion expressed for him. The more important it is for him personally, the lower the level of compliance. Secondly, from the authority of people who express certain views in the group. The higher their status and authority for the group, the higher the conformity of group members. Compliance also depends on the number of group members expressing their position, on their unanimity. The probability of matching increases with group size and reaches a maximum in the presence of 5-8 people.

The phenomenon of conformity works especially clearly when the group majority puts pressure on a person, and it is unanimous in its beliefs. The following factors also influence the level of conformity: age (conforming behavior is more likely to occur in young and old people) and gender (women are usually more conforming than men), social status (people with higher status are less susceptible to group pressure), mental and physical condition ( poor health, fatigue, mental stress enhance the manifestation of compliance).

Speaking about teenagers and high school students, they tend to demonstrate conformism when communicating with a group of peers (a very strong desire to “be like everyone else”), and negativism when communicating with adults. Given this, it is advisable to place the adolescent as little as possible in situations of group pressure from adults or the class, unless they are a source of norms and values ​​for him. At high school age, the likelihood of making independent decisions increases, but the correspondence with communication with a significant group of peers or adults is still very high (for example, various youth criminal groups).

Kinds

Traditionally, there are 2 types of conformism: internal and external. In short, the definition of internal conformism is associated with a person’s actual change in his own attitudes, opinions and positions. The external version of this phenomenon involves creating the appearance of a change in a person’s views: he remains unconvinced, but outwardly expresses agreement with the opinion of the majority.

In accordance with another approach to the classification of conformity, it is customary to distinguish such varieties as:

1. Identification is a definition of conformity in psychology, based on the individual's desire to merge with the group. This species is divided into subspecies:

• classical identification - a person’s desire to be like an authoritative person, which is achieved by developing certain personality traits and expressing sympathy for the leader;
• identification of reciprocal-role communication is a form of intra-group influence of team members on each other (merger with the group is achieved through condemnation of challenging behavior and encouragement of standard behavior).

1. Submission is an outward expression of agreement with an authoritative person within one specific situation (while the person’s actual beliefs remain the same).
2. Internalization is a complete or partial coincidence of the positions of a person or group with the beliefs of the leader. In psychology, it is believed that such conformity is the result of a person’s active mental activity.

In philosophy, conformism is classified into rational and irrational. Rational conformism is human behavior supported by logical reasoning. It is expressed in consent, obedience, compliance with established norms and rules. Irrational conformity is the behavior of a crowd in a critical situation, which is based on instincts and intuitive reactions (herd conformism).

The concept usually distinguishes between passive and active components. The passive form is the subordination of a person to the rules of the group as a result of direct pressure. An active view is a person’s change in his positions and beliefs as a result of his own rethinking of the situation. This phenomenon can also be classified into conscious and unconscious. Conscious conformism is characterized by a person’s understanding of the need to agree with the opinion of the majority, while the unconscious version of this phenomenon is characterized by the individual’s lack of understanding of the motives for his agreeing behavior.

Social conformity of the individual stands out as a special type. It is based on the desire to follow fashion and give preference to popular music. This type of conformity in a group equalizes individuals. Social conformism is a degeneration of the leveling standardization of society. The advantage of this type of conformism can be considered an increase in the level of group unity of the team. Members of such a group do not have a feeling of loneliness (this is good), but they also do not have individuality (this is bad). For a social conformist, the desire to think in patterns and to be accepted by a group is a kind of self-expression.

Levels

The essence of conformity is submission to the group. But what is group conformity? How does conformity manifest itself in people's lives? This process occurs at 3 levels:

1. Formal submission is a short-term phenomenon that can be observed in a specific situation. A person understands that the opposite of conformity in the current conditions is sanctions for disobedience. As soon as the threat of punishment disappears, conformity will disappear after it.
2. Rational conformity. At this level, merging with the team occurs under the influence of external factors. It is beneficial for a person to be in this group. He accepts the norms and rules of life in the team, obeys these rules and expects the same behavior from other team members.
3. Merging with the group. A person’s value system is completely restructured in accordance with the requirements of the group and does not depend on external factors.

The types of conformism and the pattern of its manifestation are determined by the reasons for the occurrence of the phenomenon. It is not difficult to compile a list of reasons for this phenomenon.

Social conformism in psychology

There is also social conformism in psychology. Social conformism is the refusal of an individual to take full responsibility for decision-making, any actions and their consequences. Psychologists associate the emergence of this type with a set of personal attitudes, accepted customs and traditions, religion, mentality, and social norms. The main factor of social conformity is the almost global subordination of advantaged groups, influential people, to the majority. In modern society, it is social conformism that is considered the most unfavorable phenomenon. This is explained by the fact that a person, even in conditions of complete non-acceptance of established attitudes, still mindlessly follows them, suppresses his own values ​​and does not try to express his own opinion.

Conformism as a universal phenomenon in Russia

Leonid Prokhorov

Psychologist, Gestalt therapist

Ask a Question

Many scientists, both sociologists and political scientists, note that in Russia every year the population is becoming more and more conformist. But where are the origins of such opportunistic behavior? Historically, the population of Russia was constantly in a depressed state, which was expressed in pressure from the state. This state reached its apogee during the period of the Soviet Union, when the communist system actually turned the population of the USSR into a faceless society. The emergence of many dystopian novels is connected with this: “We” by Zamyatin, “1984” by J. Orwell.

The reasons for the conformism that developed during the Soviet period are directly related to the political and state system of equal distribution of income, the principle “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.” It was precisely this suppression of society that became the reason for the long existence of the totalitarian Soviet regime.

Causes

What factors influence the emergence of conformity? The definition of conformism allowed scientists to establish that this phenomenon is due to the following reasons:

• poor awareness (if a person does not have sufficient information on the topic discussed in the group, he is inclined to listen to the opinions of experts and trust them);
• poor development of a person’s communication skills (for such people, defending their opinion is stressful, therefore, in order to maintain a healthy state of health, it is more profitable for them to silently accept the position of the majority);
• indifference to the problem under consideration (if a person is not interested in discussing the topic, he agrees with the opinion of the majority in order to quickly end this conversation);
• aggressive attitude of group members towards the newcomer (obeying the instinct of self-preservation, the newcomer quickly accepts the rules of this group);
• the individual’s interest in membership in a given community (if a person, when joining a group, pursues his personal interests, he will agree with the rules of the community at least outwardly);
• the desire to occupy a certain position in the enterprise (the reason for conformity in production may be a person’s desire to occupy a leadership position - in this case he will agree with the boss in everything);
• social position in society (representatives of the lower strata of the population are more inclined to share the opinion of the majority);
• errors in upbringing (if the parents chose an authoritarian parenting style or there was overprotection in the parent-child family, then psychologists are confident that the child in such conditions will grow up to be a conformist);
• level of education (the lower a person’s level of education or his IQ, the more often he behaves like a conformist);
• gender (for women, merging with the reference group has become a typical model of behavior);
• insufficient level of psychological maturity (as a result of the immaturity of some personal constructs, adolescents more often demonstrate conformity);
• low level of self-esteem (self-doubt makes a person rely on the leader’s opinion and obey him);
• increased personal anxiety combined with a person’s suggestibility (in situations of uncertainty, people with such personality characteristics find it difficult to defend their own point of view and resist group pressure);
• fear of loneliness (fearing being rejected, a person becomes a conformist);
• belonging to a certain culture. The reasons for conformity can be determined by a person’s nationality: in the West, this personality trait is regarded as negative (associated with compliance and submissiveness), and in the East, conformity and conformity are approved (perceived as tact).

When clients come to me who want to get rid of a position of subordination, I first need to determine the reasons for the development of conformity in them, so I tell them: “Briefly describe your thoughts that arise in those moments when you agree with the opinion of the majority and give your definition of the concept of conformity."

The reasons for conformity are closely related to the factors of manifestation of conformity.

Solomon Asch's experiment

The problem of conformity was raised in the 50s of the 20th century by the American psychologist Solomon Asch, conducting one of the most high-profile experiments in social psychology.

*Asch's experiment: find two identical segments.

A group of volunteers gathered, among whom all but one person were in cahoots with Asch. Participants were shown two cards: one showed a standard segment, and the other showed three segments of different lengths. It was necessary to determine which of the three segments corresponds to the standard.

The answer is obvious when you are alone in front of the monitor. Miracles begin when everyone around unanimously gives the wrong answer.

We will not delve into the algorithm of the experiment, but its results are amazing: 75% of unsuspecting subjects at least once, not believing their eyes, repeated the incorrect answer of the majority.

And 32% betrayed themselves again and again, each time giving the wrong segments. Moreover, throwing began when there were more than three participants in the group.

Solomon Asch's experiments revealed two causes of conformity :

1. A person does not want to go against public opinion;
2. A person believes that the majority is better informed than he is.

Three factors influence conformal behavior

1. Social support - if at least one more person from the group disagrees with the opinion of the majority, the indicators of conformity fall.
2. Emotional connection with the group - the more attractive the group is to a person, the more willingly he adapts to it, sincerely sharing the ideas of the majority.
3. Group size - the larger the crowd, the higher the likelihood that a person will show himself to be a conformist.

Factors of influence

The conformity of a person’s behavior in a group does not depend on the direction of the community’s activities. What is the degree of conformity associated with? Why do some people conform and others do not? In simple words, conformity is a socially determined phenomenon that is provoked by factors such as:

• person's age;
• individual typological characteristics of a person;
• type of nervous system;
• personality mood;
• social status of the individual;
• human decision-making situations;
• features of interpersonal relationships in a team;
• personality traits of the group leader.

Factors influencing conformity of behavior are the same for representatives of different nationalities.

Famous nonconformists

Among the people who were not understood at first, but then the results of their work were appreciated at the world level, we can name the well-known Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and others. They can also be called nonconformists to some extent. For example, they said about John Lennon: “He was known as a nonconformist, a rebel and a hooligan who lived as he saw fit and who was not at all embarrassed by the public opinion of the prim West.”

John Lennon is one of the most famous nonconformists

Stages of development

A brief definition of conformity in psychology is adaptation to life among people. The phenomenon of conformity is formed as follows:

1. Submission stage. It begins from the moment a person enters a particular community. He is immediately influenced by the members of this group. As a result, a person's opinions and position change.
2. Awareness stage. Analyzing the values ​​of the group, a person comes to the conclusion that his previous value system is erroneous, so in most issues he agrees with the opinion of the group. In this case, conformity refers to an imaginary scientific approach.
3. Activity stage. A high social status in the reference group becomes a priority for a person. This means that deep down he may not agree with the opinion of the group, but outwardly he will demonstrate conformity because it benefits him.

Thus, the basis of internal and external conformity is the desire to avoid penalties, indifference and fear of loneliness.

Who is a conformist: personality characteristics

Who are conformists? Those who consciously obey society agree with the accepted rules of behavior and laws. A conformist is also considered a person who has changed his behavior or way of thinking under someone else’s influence. Most often the term is used in a political context.

▪️In fact, most people are conformists, to varying degrees. Even when speaking out against the political regime, they continue to enjoy the rights and freedoms it provides. A conscious conformist is a person who relies on certain moral and material values. Most often it is the preservation of life, survival. Conformist behavior is characteristic of persons with low intelligence and not particularly talented, unremarkable individuals. They note that good material support quickly turns even those who initially strived for a different way of thinking into conformists.

▪️Conformists are adherents of traditional social values, which include: family, children, religion, patriotism. Americans with their world-famous “national dream” are a striking example of conformism in action. This is neither good nor bad. Probably, to a greater extent, this is good for the survival of humanity as a species. The laws and rules established in society are aimed precisely at these goals. Disobedience threatens the loss of freedom, and sometimes even life (traffic regulations, enterprise safety rules, criminal law).

▪️A clearly expressed conformal personality type is characterized by adaptation to the environment, dissolution of one’s own individuality in it. Such people adapt by mimicking and trying to adopt the way of thinking and acting accepted in a given environment. They do not like sudden changes or the abolition of stereotypes. Perception is limited by what is expected, hobbies are dictated by society.

▪️Conformal type of behavior is characterized by belonging to a community. The main quality of such people is their thoughts, actions, moral and material values ​​“like everyone else,” from personal belongings to judgments on a universal scale. “Everyone” is the immediate environment. For example, residents of the province can serve as a striking example of a conformist type of thinking. What is condemned today may become desirable tomorrow only because “it is so accepted.”

Pros and cons of conformity

What are the advantages and disadvantages of conformity? The pros and cons of conformity are determined by the characteristics of the specific situation of its manifestation.

pros

1. Internal conformity is a psychological defense mechanism. Thanks to this typological character trait, a person avoids loneliness.
2. Conformity in following traffic rules can reduce the number of road accidents and save a person’s life.
3. The positive effect of conformity was described by S. Asch when he studied the features of the organization of intragroup activities.
4. In psychology, experiments were carried out with the help of which it was possible to prove that such a phenomenon as conformism increases the level of team cohesion.
5. In production, workers show conformity, which allows them to receive a salary and quickly move up the career ladder.
6. The effect of conformity in managerial psychology allows managers to successfully solve assigned tasks.
7. Thanks to conformists, social values ​​such as religious education, patriotism, marriage and family, and a woman’s desire to have children are preserved.

Minuses

Why is conformism dangerous?

1. The negative consequences of conformity are loss of individuality, loss of one’s “I,” and violation of personal harmony.
2. Correction of conformity in enterprises is necessary, as it slows down the introduction of innovative technologies and contributes to the development of conservatism.
3. A person’s inability to make decisions independently and take responsibility for their life.
4. Decreased self-esteem, the emergence of personal complexes.
5. In the realm of politics, conformists are informers.

Thus, it becomes obvious that such a socio-psychological phenomenon as conformity is beneficial for the individual if it does not turn into a person’s life motto. The advantages, disadvantages and consequences of conformity can be clearly shown in real-life examples.

Examples of conformity in life

When I conduct trainings with teenagers, after finishing the theoretical block I ask the group: “Give me an example of conformity.” This task baffles teenagers.

The following examples of conformity from life can be given:

• The most obvious example of conformity from everyday life is a pedestrian crossing, where most people begin to move only when the traffic light turns green. However, as soon as one person crosses the road at a red traffic light, several more impatient people (conformists) will almost always run after him. This is an example of external conformity without internal conflict.
• Another example of conformism can be cited from the vegetable market: seeing that there is a queue at one of the counters, a person decides that this seller has a better price-quality ratio than the other. Although in reality this is not the case. It’s just that a person is guided by the opinion of the majority.
• The presence of a tie and glasses is regarded by people as belonging to a business or scientific field of activity. Here conformity manifests itself in the form of a social stereotype.
• Conformity is manifested in the desire of adolescents to wear clothes of a certain style and listen to songs of a popular group. Perhaps some teenagers don’t suit this type of sweatshirt or trousers at all, but they wear them because it’s a kind of pass to their reference group. This is an example of how the phenomenon of conformism manifests itself in a group of children and youth.
• A negative example of how external conformism manifests itself is the drinking of alcoholic beverages by minors. Maybe one of the children does not want to drink beer, but, fearing ridicule from his comrades, drinks along with the rest.
• External conformism manifests itself in a situation when one student from the group proposes to run away from the last class, he is supported by the rest, not wanting to be branded as “nerds” and in order to maintain friendly relations with classmates.
• When a professor with an academic degree gives a lecture at an institute, most students listen to him carefully, take notes on his words, without questioning their truth. Thus, the manifestation of conformity is influenced not by the content of the educational material, but by the personality of the speaker.
• External conformity is expressed in the fact that a new employee in the office meekly accepts the team’s tradition of going to the same cafe for lunch. He may not be satisfied with the prices or the dishes on the menu, but he will continue to go to this cafe every day along with the rest of the employees, since it is important for him to join the new production team. This is a clear example of forced conformity.
• Examples of external conformity with internal conflict can be found in the psychological literature, where various researchers describe the results of experiments. Thus, in one of the experiments, people were asked to compare the lengths of two segments (the difference in length was obvious). Based on the opinion of the majority (experimenter's assistants), 70% of subjects gave the wrong answer.
• Members of a literary club gathered to discuss a book they had read. One of them did not like the author’s style, but everyone else spoke about the talented presentation and skillfully constructed storyline. As a result, the young man briefly said that he also liked the work. This is external conformity.

Thus, many more examples of conformity from everyday life can be given. Examples from life convince us that the effect of conformity is present in all areas of people’s social activity. Conformity or non-conformity is everyone’s personal choice. Many are inclined to the first option, because it greatly simplifies life.

Nonconformism

It is not always the case that a person responds to the pressure put on him with tacit consent and acceptance. Sometimes pressure causes the opposite reaction - nonconformism. A person refuses to share the opinion of the group and quite often takes a diametrically opposed position, even if his views were initially neutral.

Nonconformism is positioned as the opposite of conformism. But in reality, everything is more complicated, and it often leads to conformist behavior in another environment. As an example, we can cite the same smoking teenagers. Nonconformity makes them resist the rules imposed by their parents. But when they come to their company, they behave extremely conformally, trying to become “in” in the team. And teenage smoking is part of this conformism.

Nonconformity manifests itself in one of the following forms:

1. Independence (true non-conformism).
   This is a reluctance to bend under external pressure. A person simply maintains his principles.
2. Anti-conformity.
   Rebellion against externally imposed norms. A person deliberately goes to extremes to demonstrate his protest. It is about this kind of behavior that they jokingly say, “To spite my mother, I’ll freeze my ears off.”

The same people in different situations can demonstrate completely different forms of conformism and nonconformism. This is especially pronounced, as noted above, in adolescents.

Interestingly, most people consider themselves nonconformists. This happens because they poorly understand what conformism is, considering it something purely negative and undesirable. But the irony is that a demonstrative attempt to look like a nonconformist is the most natural conformism. A true nonconformist is not trying to prove anything to anyone.

How to get rid of conformity and conformity

As can be seen from the material presented above, the types and reasons for conformity are different. Sometimes, after comparing the advantages and disadvantages of conformity, a person comes to the conclusion that this character trait interferes with his life. In this case, he thinks about how to get rid of conformity?

The degree of conformity can be reduced by following these recommendations:

1. You need to set yourself clear goals for the near future. Goal setting helps you gain self-confidence and independence from other people's opinions.
2. It is necessary to perform daily exercises aimed at developing adequate self-esteem and reducing situational anxiety. If it is difficult to choose such exercises on your own, you can seek help from a psychologist.
3. You need to develop communication skills. This will help you express your point of view with reason and learn how to behave with dignity in conflict situations.
4. It is important to learn to refuse a request to do something that does not fit into the plans. If you don’t want to do something for a loved one, you need to politely explain to him the reason for the refusal. This will save energy and personal resources, freeing up a lot of time for self-development and self-expression.
5. It is important to develop the ability to take criticism constructively. Comments from others should be perceived as a promising direction of development.

Psychologists have discovered 22 psychological characteristics (traits) of conformity. Each of them, taken separately, looks neutral. However, taken together, they can lead to such negative consequences as mental disorders and psychosomatic abnormalities. In this case, it will no longer be possible to independently eliminate the tendency to obey authority figures and change your views as a result of social pressure. In especially severe cases, conformists require the help of clinical psychologists.

How to develop a confident personality?

Conformity is a psychological phenomenon common to many people; their main difference lies in the degree to which they are susceptible to public opinion.

To reduce your dependence on the opinion of the group, you need to have internal support and self-confidence, and follow the following recommendations:

• it is necessary to decide on goals and a plan for their implementation. To do this, it is advisable to understand which activity brings more pleasure and can become a way to earn money;
• to overcome self-doubt and fear of expressing your opinion, you need to consult a psychologist or psychotherapist; this is the fastest and most effective way to deal with internal restrictions;
• To get rid of the fear of judgment, you need to develop communication skills and not be afraid of rejection. This skill can only be acquired through experience, therefore, to develop the ability to communicate and not be afraid of conflicts of interests, it is advisable to communicate with people in different situations as often as possible;
• divergence of views is a normal phenomenon, to which it is very difficult for insecure people to respond adequately. There is a line between healthy criticism and rudeness, so it is important to be able to see critical remarks in people’s words, allowing you to look at your opinion from a different angle, as well as not tolerate disrespectful behavior and be able to repel ill-wishers.

In psychology, conformity is described as passive agreement with the opinion of the majority of people in the social group in which the individual is located. This phenomenon negatively affects a person’s internal belief system and his individuality, and the leaders of social groups receive a positive effect from a person’s compliance.

Conformity is opposed to the movement of nonconformists who consider themselves supporters of progressive views and social changes to build a just society.

Author: Anna Fleyman