Conformity In Children

826 Words4 Pages

Emma Greathouse
Mr. Krack
Academic English II, pd 11
16 Feb. 2018
Dragooning Adolescents to Acquiesce Oxford dictionary defines conformity as “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions”. For the majority of the time, conformity is not something willingly chosen. School-age children are very impressionable and therefore easily coerced to conform. The biggest perpetrators of this coercion are salient authoritarian figures, ubiquitous societal conventions, and influential coequals in aforementioned children’s schools. Prominent authorities in the lives of teenagers have a large effect on the teens ' decisions to conform. Rewards are often given to encourage minors to conform to the ideals of their superiors (Cialdini 595). Conformity …show more content…

In one experiment, participants were asked to estimate the length of a line. Individually, subjects had varied responses. Together, their responses were very similar (Irwin 1059). When similarities are noticed between individuals in a group, a feeling of closeness becomes present (Irwin 1061). Thus, most people attempt to perpetuate that closeness by creating said similarities. A sense of "we-ness" coerces people to care more for their peers ' wellbeing (Irwin 1077). Feelings of belonging stem from that caring nature. While this isn’t inherently destructive, those feelings can be fake. Frequently, other kids recognize that a certain member of the group wants to fit in and therefore are easily able to coerce that individual into doing something he or she normally would not do, which is the definition of peer pressure (Juzwiak 4). While it may seem obscure, 75% of teens report that they are affected by peer pressure (Eager 25). It’s a very widespread issue. Many people argue that teenagers aren’t influenced by the decisions of others; that they are too independent for that. This is, at its simplest, conjecture. Adolescents are extremely impressionable as their brains are still forming. Most young people are not very sure of who they are, let alone what they believe. The majority of opinions that they hear come from those who they spend the most time with: their peers. These affect how they see the …show more content…

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