Conformism
Even in ancient times, philosophers agreed that a person cannot live in society and not be dependent on it. Throughout his life, the individual has direct or indirect connections with other people, acting on them or undergoing social influences. Often a person changes behavior or opinion under the influence of society, agreeing with someone else's point of view. This behavior is due to the ability to conform.
The phenomenon of conformism
The term conformism comes from the Latin word conformis (similar, conformable), it is a moral and political concept denoting opportunism, passive agreement with the existing order of things, prevailing opinions, etc. Under it falls the absence of one's own position, unconditional adherence to any model that has the greatest force of pressure (tradition, recognized authority, majority opinion, etc.).
The phenomenon of conformism was first described by the American psychologist S. Ash in 1951. Modern research makes it the object of study of 3 sciences: personality psychology, social psychology and sociology, therefore it is advisable to separate conformism, as a social phenomenon, and conformal behavior, as a psychological feature of a person.
In psychology, personality conformism is understood as its compliance with real or imagined group pressure, while a person changes behavior and personal attitudes in accordance with the position of the majority, which he did not share earlier. A person refuses his own opinion and unconditionally agrees with the position of others, regardless of how much it corresponds to his own ideas and feelings, accepted norms, moral and ethical rules and logic.
There is also social conformism, which is understood as uncritical perception and adherence to prevailing opinions, mass standards and stereotypes, traditions, authoritative principles and attitudes. A person does not oppose the prevailing tendencies, despite their inner rejection, perceives any aspect of socio-political and economic reality without criticism, does not want to express his own opinion. Under conformism, the individual refuses to take personal responsibility for the actions he does, blindly obeys and follows the requirements and instructions emanating from society, state, party, religious organization, leader, family, etc. Such submission may be due to mentality or tradition.
All forms of collectivist consciousness that imply the subordination of the individual's behavior to social norms and the requirements of the majority fall under social conformism.
Conformity in the group
Conformism in a group manifests itself in the form of social influence on a person, while the individual must follow group norms and rules, obey the interests of the group. She, with the help of her introduced norms of behavior, forces everyone to follow them in order to maintain the integration of all its members.
A person can resist this pressure, such a phenomenon is called nonconformism, but if he gives in, obeys the group, he becomes a conformist. In this case, he, even realizing that his actions are wrong, will carry them out, as the group does.
It is impossible to say unequivocally which type of relationship between a person and a group is correct and which is not. A cohesive team cannot be created without social conformism. When an individual takes a strict non-conformist position, he cannot become a full-fledged member of the group and will eventually be forced to leave it.
Conditions for the emergence of conformal behavior
It was found that the characteristics of the group and the individual characteristics of a person have an impact on the development of personality conformism in relation to the requirements of the group. The following conditions contribute to the occurrence of this phenomenon:
- Low self-esteem of the individual;
- A sense of one's own incompetence in a person facing a difficult task;
- Cohesion of the group - if at least one of its members has an opinion that differs from the general one, the effect of pressure decreases, and it becomes easier for a person to object and disagree;
- The size of the group - the maximum influence is observed in a group of 5 people, a further increase in the number of its members does not lead to an increase in the effect of conformism;
- The high status and authority of the group, the presence of experts or significant people for a person;
- Publicity - people show a higher level of conformal behavior if they need to openly express their opinion to others.
In addition, the behavior of an individual depends on the relationship, likes and dislikes between group members: the better they are, the higher the degree of conformity. It has also been found that the propensity to conformism depends on age (decreases with age) and gender (women are slightly more susceptible to it than men).
Pros and cons of conformity
Among the positive traits of personality conformism are:
- Increasing cohesion in crisis situations, which helps the team to cope with them;
- Simplification of the organization of joint activities;
- Reducing the time of adaptation of a person in a team.
But the phenomenon of conformism is accompanied by negative features, including:
- Loss of the ability to independently make decisions and navigate in unfamiliar conditions;
- Creation of conditions and prerequisites for the development of totalitarian sects and states, the implementation of massacres and genocides;
- Development of various prejudices and prejudices against minorities;
- Reducing the ability of the individual to make a significant contribution to culture or science, since conformism eradicates original and creative thought.
In group interaction, the phenomenon of conformism plays an important role, as it is one of the mechanisms for making a group decision. At the same time, each social group has a certain degree of tolerance regarding the behavior of its members, and each of them can afford a certain degree of deviation from the accepted norms, without undermining their position as a member of the group, and without compromising a sense of common unity.
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