CONFORMISM - what is it in simple words

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.

What is conformity and non-conformity

In psychology, conformity is considered in a narrow and broad sense. In a narrow sense, this means an uncritical attitude towards the opinion of another person, which the person considers wrong, and the simultaneous suppression of his own opinion, despite the person’s confidence in his own rightness.

In a broad sense, conformity in psychology is the subordination of one individual to the opinion and behavior of the majority. In this case, the individual may not have his own opinion at all or believe that the group is right.

Conformity in psychology is a personality trait, a tendency to conformism. This is the tendency to transform beliefs and views according to the opinion of the majority or the opinion of one (several) significant people. If conformity becomes the leading personality trait, then such a person is classified as a person of a conformist personality type. He obeys the majority always and in everything.

The severity of conformity depends on the size and cohesion of the group. The more people who stand for something, the more likely it is that an individual will conform to their worldview.

What else influences the development of conformity:

• the aggressiveness of the group (the more aggressive and dangerous it is for the “others”, the more willing the loners are to step on their own throats and submit to the majority);
• an individual's dependence on or attachment to a group;
• gender (women are more prone to conformism);
• age (children and adolescents are at risk);
• social status (people from the lower strata of the population are at risk);
• education (uneducated people or people with a low level of intelligence are at risk);
• anxiety and suggestibility (the more pronounced these characteristics are, the higher the risk);
• lack of understanding of the issues that are discussed by the majority, or indifference to them.

Conformity in sociology is a person’s increased ability to adapt and the desire to adapt. That is, a person submits to the majority in order to enter society.

Nonconformity is the opposite of conformity. This is a person's tendency to be non-conformist. Considering this as a personality trait, we can compare nonconformity with a rebellious spirit, the desire to be “different from everyone else.” Are rebels born or made? As is often the case, the truth is in the middle: some people are naturally inclined toward nonconformism or conformism, but this develops under the influence of the environment. Other people are not naturally inclined to conformism or nonconformism, but due to upbringing they can become one or the other. And there is a third category of people: they can be both rebels and conformists. It depends on the individual case and their assessment of reality.

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.

Conformism and nonconformism

Nonconformism is an active refusal to conform to the established rules of society (laws, traditions, etc.). It is considered the antonym of conformism, but this is not entirely true.

Conformists and nonconformists are similar in that they both decide independently . Society decides for a conformist. For the nonconformist - the same society, only he does everything against everyone (if everyone goes to the right, he will go to the left, if everyone goes to the left, he will do the opposite).

An example of nonconformism is a situation where a free-thinking hippie refuses to get a regular job.

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.

The concept of “social conformism”

Definition 1
Conformity is one of the moral and psychological categories. This concept implies the opportunistic position of a person or a wider group of people in society. In essence, the individual inactively accepts the opinions and foundations of the majority and does not seek to resist the current social situation or political regime.

In addition, authors and researchers in this field emphasize that conformity is expressed in the willingness to share prevailing beliefs and views, to fully agree with the general mood that is widespread in society.

Note 1

It is most difficult for a conformist person to express his own opinion. He is used to obeying other people's laws, because he himself is afraid or simply does not want to offer something new. Even with internal rejection, he tries to avoid condemnation from the outside, so he is forced to accept all the rules and conditions that the majority offers.

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Any society consists of groups. They represent an association of individual subjects who have common goals and moral and value guidelines. Social groups can be of several types:

• Average social groups;
• Small social groups;
• Large social groups.

Their sizes depend on the number of participants. Each group has its own rules and regulations, as well as norms that must be accepted by all members, regardless of gender, age or other personal and social characteristics. Modern researchers consider the phenomenon of conformism from several points of view: psychological, sociological, philosophical and political. They divide this phenomenon into the social environment and conformist behavior, which in turn is a truly psychological feature of the individual.

In essence, social conformism is an uncritical, to some extent slavish acceptance, and then thoughtless adherence to the worldview that dominates society. The individual does not try to go against the prevailing system, trends and attitudes, even if there is internal rejection of them. He also perceives reality uncritically and does not seek to express his opinion or desire to express his own views.

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Note 2

Complete submission to the majority is the meaning of social conformism, and, under current conditions, researchers predominantly assess it as a negative phenomenon of our time.

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.

Specifics of social conformity

As we noted earlier, social conformity is the refusal to take personal responsibility and actions that a person could perform if he followed his own beliefs, interests and will. At the same time, the individual is completely subject to public opinion, demands from the party, religious community or state, as well as his own family. Such subordination is usually explained by both the person’s personal attitudes and mentality, as well as the traditions that dominate the society in which he was born and raised.

Conformity is a phenomenon, as evidenced by the developments and research of both domestic and foreign authors (for example, E. Aronson and S. Milgram). Moreover, conformity can appear in the presence (or absence) of certain conditions, which we list below:

1. Conformity may increase when the task to be completed is complex, or the individual does not understand the intricacies of the task;
2. The degree of conformity directly depends on the size of the group. for example, it expands if it encounters the interests of three or more subjects who do not want to obey the rules and norms outlined in the group;
3. Persons who have low self-esteem, are not confident in themselves and their abilities, are subject to influence from the social group much more strongly than people who have high self-esteem and are overly self-confident;
4. If there are specialists in the team, then they have more power, since other members consider them more competent and professional in relation to specific issues;
5. The more united the team is, the closer its members are to each other, the more power conformity has over its members.

In addition, a few more points should be noted. For example, if a subject who has come up with his own position has at least one ally and like-minded person, then conformity decreases, that is, the tendency to submit to pressure from the group decreases. Other members, following the example, may also allow themselves to express their point of view, since they will see that this is not always followed by severe punishment. The subject is also more likely to conform if he has to express an opinion in front of all members of the organization. Research has shown that it is much easier for a person to express his opinion on paper in writing, since in this way he can even remain anonymous. If he speaks in front of everyone, then he becomes afraid to express his point of view, and therefore he resorts to agreement with the opinion of the majority.

There are several types of behavioral response in which conformism is expressed: external conformism, internal conformism, negativism and nonconformism. Thus, a person can react differently to environmental conditions, he can completely agree with the opinion of the majority, he can only agree outwardly, while realizing that the opinion contradicts his internal attitudes. Nonconformism is a behavioral type that is inherent in self-sufficient individuals. They are confident that their opinion is correct, and they are not afraid to express it not only anonymously, but also in front of all group members. Of course, often nonconformists can also express very contradictory points of view, but by their example they will show other participants that everyone’s opinion has weight, and that being afraid to express it is a crime against oneself.

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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.

Notable studies on conformity

Among the first to study conformity were such scientists as M. Sherif, S. Asha, S. Milgram. They conducted classic practical experiments that showed that the behavior of subjects placed in specially created conditions of a culture, norms and rules alien to them, gradually changes and adapts to the norms and rules established in the group. In addition, subjects often changed their initial assessments and judgments.

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The conformity model was first demonstrated by scientist S. Asch in 1951. His experiments remain famous and popular to this day and are recognized as classics, despite periodic criticism.

The essence of the experiment is that a group of students is offered three segments for evaluation, which are depicted on cards. In the case when students completed the task individually, the comparison of segments occurred correctly, without making mistakes or doubts. In the case when students solved a task in a group with “dummy students” who “misled” the correct reasoning and gave incorrect answers, then solving the problem became difficult, the students began to doubt the correctness of their decision. In such studies, it was found that more than 40% of students gave erroneous answers, thereby demonstrating conformist behavior.

Currently, there are a large number of different modifications of S. Asch’s technique. However, regardless of the modification, the essence of the experiment remains the same.

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.

Levels of depth of conformity

There are many levels of depth of conformity.
This:

1. Submission
   , which only occurs when the pressure group is physically present. When it disappears, the person returns to his beliefs or behavior. The motive for action is most often the fear of punishment or rejection from the group.
2. Identification
   is a deeper form of conformity. He appears even when the group is not physically present. This is said when an individual identifies with a group, resulting in his behavior adapting to the ideas of the individual.
3. Introjection
   (or internalization) is the deepest form of conformity, which involves recognizing certain norms and values ​​as one’s own. This is one of the tasks of socialization.

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.

What is conformism: concept, examples, reasons, types

Greetings, friends!

Conformity usually refers to a person’s tendency to behave in a way that best suits their current environment. However, many people do not quite correctly understand the meaning of this term and often make mistakes when using it.

For example, it is often used to designate completely rational forms of behavior.

Today we will try to eliminate this gap and analyze in detail what conformism is, what it is, how it manifests itself and how it affects the lives of people prone to it.

What is conformism?

Conformity is the passive acceptance of someone else's opinion or the correction of one's own behavior in order to comply with the norms accepted in society or a small group. It does not matter whether these norms are explicitly stated or not. The main thing is that the person demonstrating conformist behavior believes that such rules exist in a given society.

The term "conformism" is derived from the Latin word conformis, which translates as "similar" or "conforming."

The first researcher to seriously study this phenomenon was the American psychologist Solomon Asch. The so-called “Asch Experiment” has become widely known, which many researchers still like to conduct today. The essence of the experiment is as follows:

1. Only 1 participant in the experiment is real. In addition to him, there are several “decoy ducks” in the room (usually 7-10), whom he considers to be the same real participants.
2. An object is brought into the room, for example a black ball, and asked to name its color.
3. All the decoys say that the ball is white.
4. The subject answers last and with a probability of approximately 75% calls the black ball white, adapting to the group.

Asch's experiment is carried out with different objects: with drawings, with rods of different lengths, with figures of different shapes and colors. The point is always that the subject in most cases chooses the same answer that the majority chose, and not the one whose correctness is obvious.

The tendency to conform can occur in societies and groups of different sizes. A person adapts to his family or work team, and identifies with a social group. Conformity can be completely voluntary, or it can arise as a result of outright pressure or a feeling of danger.

Usually this psychological phenomenon is considered as a negative phenomenon. And yet, it has a certain positive impact on people’s social behavior: it increases team cohesion, improves work discipline, reduces the crime rate, and helps increase overall social stability.

Reasons for conformity

There are quite a lot of factors that force a person to behave conformally. Psychologists divide them into two groups: personal (internal) and social (external). Let's look at each group in more detail.

Personal reasons for conformity:

• Innate tendency.
  A person may be genetically predisposed to agree with the majority and unquestioningly accept imposed rules.
• Upbringing.
  If parents fully control the child, he can maintain this behavior pattern into adulthood. Also, the development of conformity in children is influenced by such factors as the same school uniform, rituals before classes (lining up in the school yard, singing the anthem), attending religious events, etc.
• Fear of attention.
  Many people take criticism too sensitively, and even praise makes them tense. In order not to attract undue attention to themselves, they try to “be like everyone else.”
• Laziness.
  Conformity can arise for a completely prosaic reason: a person is simply too lazy to think, analyze and make decisions for himself. So instead of swimming against the tide, he lets others decide for him.
• Low self-esteem. If a person is not confident in himself, then he doubts that he can independently weigh all the facts and make the right decision. Read this article about how to increase self-esteem.

Social reasons for conformity:

• Leader influence.
  The automatic construction of a hierarchy and the selection of a leader in a team is inherent in our nature. If there is a person with strong leadership qualities in the company, the rest begin to behave conformally towards him.
• Team pressure.
  Societies and social groups often behave quite aggressively towards dissidents. People in such groups begin to behave conformally in order to avoid trouble.
• Material dependence.
  While agreeing with your superiors can lead to a promotion or other financial reward, it also leads to conformist behavior among subordinates.

Types of conformism

In an effort to better understand what conformism is, researchers examined this phenomenon from different points of view and developed several independent classifications using different characteristics. Let's look at the most obvious methods of classification.

Depending on rationality, conformal behavior is divided into two types:

1. Rational conformism.
   This is conformal behavior dictated by rational motives (for the purpose of self-preservation, increasing status, obtaining material gain or social advantages).
2. Irrational.
   This is conformal behavior that has no basis. A person simply acts the same way as everyone else. Irrational conformity is commonly referred to colloquially as the “herd instinct.”

A clear example of rational conformism is “Pascal’s Wager,” a famous principle expressed by mathematician Blaise Pascal. In one interpretation, it sounds like this: “From the point of view of a rational person, it is better to believe in God than not to believe. If it is not there, you have nothing to lose. If it exists, you will receive all the benefits promised to believers.”

According to the direction of manifestation, conformity is divided into two types:

1. External.
   A person does not internally accept the beliefs imposed on him, but outwardly demonstrates agreement with them.
2. Interior.
   A person accepts the imposed views, agrees with them and sincerely considers them correct.

By level (Herbert Kelman classification):

1. Subordination.
   A person is afraid of being rejected, therefore he demonstrates adherence to the norms accepted in a certain society. At the same time, he may internally disagree with them.
2. Identification.
   A person strives to be like his idol or an acquaintance whom he likes (for example, a guy, courting a vegetarian girl, begins to share vegetarian values, even if he previously criticized them). This type of conformism is almost always internal, that is, a person sincerely changes his views, adapting to the object of sympathy.
3. Internalization.
   This is accepting the beliefs of an authoritative person. This form of conformism is the most stable, in which a person accepts beliefs internally and does not hesitate to demonstrate them to others.

Examples of conformity

Each of us has the opportunity to observe manifestations of conformity at different levels. The media effectively manage people's opinions by forming certain stereotypes. Every time another scandalous story is covered in the media, most people take one side - the one that they have already been told is correct.

Conformity is also clearly visible in adolescents. Yes, they argue with parents and school teachers and refuse to comply with their demands.

At the same time, they demonstrate conformity towards their team, as well as towards idols and authority figures. This is manifested in their clothes, habits, behavior and favorite music.

But the most obvious example of conformity among teenagers is, perhaps, smoking (read about how to quit smoking in this article).

Conformity also naturally arises in political parties. A person immediately comes to such an organization with the confidence that he will work with like-minded people.

Therefore, he readily accepts and shares the beliefs of fellow party members. And there is nothing surprising in situations when the entire faction in parliament votes the same way.

It is likely that this is not a “directive from above”, but simply a natural manifestation of intra-party conformism.

Pros and cons of conformity

Conformity is a cohesion mechanism formed in humans during the process of evolutionary selection. This means that he once helped primitive people survive. And even today it can provide a person with significant advantages, but it also has disadvantages. Let's look at both in more detail.

The main advantages of conformity:

• It provides a person with psychological protection, eliminating doubts and long thoughts. Agreeing with the generally accepted point of view, the conformist believes that he made the right choice.
• Conducting various social experiments, psychologists have become convinced that conformity enhances team cohesion.
• The conformity of subordinates helps management to better solve business problems. It provides employees with the opportunity to move up the career ladder faster.
• Conformity in matters of faith, patriotism and family values ​​contributes to social stability, improved relations in society and an increase in the birth rate.
• Obeying traffic rules is also a useful manifestation of conformity.

The main disadvantages of conformity:

• loss of individuality, internal conflicts;
• loss of ability to make decisions independently;
• decreased self-esteem, formation of complexes;
• from the point of view of the development of society, the state, commercial and non-profit organizations, conformity is an inhibitory factor that interferes with the development and implementation of new approaches, methods and technologies.

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.

Conclusion

The tendency to conformism was formed in human nature evolutionarily, so it cannot be given an unambiguously positive or unambiguously negative assessment.

This is a natural mechanism that increases team cohesion and helps a person be more successful socially.

At the same time, conformism deprives individuality and reduces a person’s creative potential, thereby reducing the rate of development of the state, society or an individual company.

Therefore, each person in any situation must act meaningfully and deliberately choose whether to accept the general position and develop his own.

Both conformism and fundamental nonconformism are signs of an immature personality.

It is important to have developed critical thinking, which allows you to adequately assess circumstances, and not rush to extremes, agreeing with others or sharply rejecting their opinions.

Source: https://dnevnik-znaniy.ru/znaj-i-umej/chto-takoe-konformizm.html

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.

Psychology of conformity

A fan, along with hundreds of others, jumps out of his seat during a goal, and this is the same “herd feeling”, called “conformism” in psychology.

Conformity can carry:

• negative (for example, when a person starts smoking);
• positive (for example, when people follow the rules of society, such as dressing and not attacking each other);
• and sometimes it is neutral (for example, wearing white to a game of tennis).

But if a person is called a conformist, he will not like it, because... there is usually disapproval of this.

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.

Examples of conformity

An example from real life is a situation where a new employee joins a work team, and most of the people there smoke. He may not have this bad habit, but there it is considered the norm, he starts smoking along with everyone else because he wants to make acquaintances.

As an example from literature, one can cite the work of A. S. Griboedov “Woe from Wit.” In it, the writer talks about how all people lived in Moscow according to the principle of passive opportunism and groveling (conformist behavior).

The author talks about the events that began to happen when the only positive hero A. A. Chatsky began to speak the truth to his face. Society didn’t like this, they called him crazy and he was forced to leave.