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…
All about Peer Pressure. Mailbox Club Books, 1994.
Garrison, Jim. “Individuality, Equality, and Creative Democracy - the Task before Us.” American Journal of Education, vol. 118, no. 3, May 2012, pp. 369-79. Teacher Reference Center, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=trh&AN=74207490&site=ehost-live. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.
Hill, Margaret. Coping with Family Expectations. Rosen Publishing Group, 1990. Coping.
Irwin, Kyle, and Brent Simpson. “Detailed Record Title: Do Descriptive Norms Solve Social Dilemmas? Conformity and Contributions in Collective Action Groups.” Social Forces, vol. 91, no. 3, Mar. 2013, pp. 1057-84. Business Source Main Edition, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bme&AN=85655898&site=ehost-live. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.
Juzwiak, Rich. Frequently Asked Questions about Peer Pressure. New York City, Rosen Publishing Group. FAQ Teen Life.
Roach, John C. “Do Concerns about Being Popular Keep Students from Making Scholastic Investments?” Monthly Labor Review, May 2015, p. 1. Business Source Main Edition, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bme&AN=103141169&site=ehost-live. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Wittekind, Erika. The Big Push: How Popular Culture Is Always Selling. Compass Point Books,
I can say that falling for the peer pressure put myself in many uncomfortable situations, and resulted into bad decisions that effected my academics and my mental. For example, many of times I would rather choose to go on random adventures with my friends, knowing that I had many assignments that needed to be done. I chose to prioritize fun over my academics and by my sophomore year I was on the verge of being kicked out due to academic
In other words, we tend to agree with the ideas presented to us by people who we feel similar
Meadow Scanio p.8 In society everyone wants to fit in to belong, but the more people try to conform on the outside the more they will question society as a whole on the inside. Bradbury uses this idea in his book Fahrenheit 451 which creates the main conflict in the story, Montage’s struggle against conformity. Montage questions why he is burning books while he tries to fit into the thoughtless society and keep up the appearance that nothing has changed, allowing conflict to form in his life because of his fight to realize right and wrong. Bradbury uses montages job as a firefighter to show how he fits into society because firefighters make up the image for the world they live in.
According to research, students in similar social circles have similar levels grades, leadership, and engagement. In my own experience, I have noticed high schoolers conform particularly to their friend’s desires. Even from simple things such as getting the same meal at lunch, students are constantly bending to the expectations of others. Yet, Robbins describes how we are set up to conform from childhood, and these studies of conformity prove it. In Asch’s study of conformity, he shockingly found that many people will give the wrong answer to an obvious question if everyone else gives that answer before them.
A novel, short story, and poem proves that conformity is the dull way to live life and keeping individuality may be hard, but is worth it. In M.T. Anderson’s novel Feed, it shows the readers that conforming takes away diversity and makes it easier for a government or powerful business to take over and dictate the world. In Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison
How did Orlando 's mock psychiatric study support Zimbardos findings. Conformity: Yielding to group pressure The influence a group has over an individual Reffered to a majority influence Compliance is a form of social influence Following the majority even if views arnt shared to fit in Conformity is a unambiguous task Informational social influence Identification in conformity Comformity to assigned roles Individuals alternate their general behaviour and opinions both privately and publicly. Being a member of a group is highly desirable.
Even at a young age, people are striving for acceptance through normality. Humans are scared of conflict and to avoid it will agree with topics that they truly oppose. Students are meant to be able to go against the crowd and disagree with the majority in their classes, but most tend to follow the crowd in fear of rejection. They need to be taught that they will not always agree with the popular selection and to speak for themselves, which is often seen in fictitious literature (such as in the popular novel 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher). “Teens are five times likelier to be in a car accident when in a group than when driving alone, and likelier to commit a crime or drink alcohol when with a group of peers” (Temple University).
The first measure taken to avoid deviance, is to establish authority – the ability of an individual to issue orders that regulate the behaviour of those below this individual in the chain of command (DeLemanter, 2015). Furthermore, authority can only be established if others accept the source’s ability to prescribe behaviour (DeLemanter, 2015). Only then can the source of authority establish norms in which the target audience should obey. Upon arrival at the chain gang prison, “Captain”, the warden, immediately establishes the social hierarchy/chain of command of the prison using a combination of subtle and blunt enforcers. Symbols such as uniform, canes, and guns, are an effort by
Peer pressure is a very disturbing thing in our culture today. In the book ScrewTape Letters, ScrewTape informs Wormwood about peer pressure. Of how this pressure can lead one astray for going into the wrong crowd. People change people. It is easier to pull someone off a chair than to pull someone up onto the chair.
Conforming and moving against one’s true nature is often harmful to their mental state of being. This can be demonstrated by how “conformity can be seen as America’s most common, but dangerous psychological disorder”(Fey 6). People often force themselves into
Peer and self-induced pressures are also mentioned in Zinsser’s essay. Because students always worry about accomplishing more than the student
In society, conformity is very common to see in many different situations. It is seen in groups of friends,cultures, and even through strangers. It can be shown in numerous ways, positive or negative. Conform means to comply to rules or standards. Throughout life, conformity and its ideas are good for society because it creates companionship,organization,and tradition.
For reasons of which have no excuses for them. We were all teens once and know that teens like to conform and give in to the efforts of peer pressure which often implement doing some sort of “ extra-curricular activity” such as using drugs like alcohol and marijuana. Our youth partakes in theses activities for the likes of friends and what they see. They want to be hip and cool. Be like and apart of the “IN CROWD” and what better way to be like the cool kids then to do what the popular kids do.
PEER PRESSURE Peer pressure, a term that may or may not have affected you when you were a teenager but as a teenager myself, peer pressure has definitely made an impact on my life, be it good and bad. In the age of 10 to 19, teenagers tend to have the most difficult times. Teenagers feel peer pressure everyday in their lives, whether it’s in school or outside. During the teenage period, teens try to find their identity and differentiate from their parents by joining peer groups and sometimes these peer groups may offer bad advices and negative choices to teens.
Indirect peer pressure is said to be more common than direct peer pressure as we may not even realise that we gave into peer