Remember to respond to two peers while being respectful of and sensitive to their viewpoints. Consider advancing the discussion in the following ways:
- Post an article, video, or visual related to cognitive dissonance, conformity, obedience, or persuasion to reinforce a peer’s idea or challenge them to see their point from a different perspective.
- Paraphrase something from the original post. Then consider asking a question or sharing your personal experience.
To complete this assignment, review the Psychology Undergraduate Discussion Rubric. You will also need:
PEER1-LW
Hello class! Happy Monday!
In my opinion, the videos suggest that generally we are not aware of our tendency to conform. I think that another very good example for this is language. My first language is German, but because we start learning English in school (starting at age 8), I speak it fluently. For most of my life, I spoke British English, because that is how we learn. I stayed for a while in the UK, and the British in my language got even stronger. However, since we have moved to the U.S., I have lost this “accent” as my husband calls it, almost entirely and have started to conform to my surroundings, which is Americans and American English. I did not really notice this change until I met a friend of mine, who is English, and she asked me what had happened to my language lol. As for something that relates more to our topic this week, the video about the bystander effect reminded me of something I heard on a podcast before. It is the case of Kitty Genovese, a woman who was murdered even though more than 30 people heard her scream for help. They reported that they all thought that someone else must have called the police already. For this woman this proved to be a terrible misconception, as she was sexually assaulted and murdered. Of course, none of the witnesses wanted this to happen or had any fault in it, but it is still very tragic. Another example I can think of that relates to implied roles and how they guide our choices, would be being a woman. When you are a woman, generally you are not expected to be loud and very dominant. I can imagine that some women hold back with ideas or suggestions at work, because they do not want to be “too much”, which I think is sad. Of course, eventually we have a free will, and we live in a country where we can say almost anything without being punished thankfully, but I think that our culture and surroundings and other people highly influence our behavior.
Social Influence may be subtle, but it is still strong. It is stronger in some groups than others, I think. When I was in high school, I confirmed to everything every day. Sticking out would have been one of my worst-case scenarios, so I always tried to blend in in the group. This would be through the “right” clothes that I put on every morning without thinking about it, the right things to say and the right way to act in class. Now as an adult I still do that somewhat. When I leave the house, I make sure that we are all dressed well and with clean clothes for example. It is not illegal to walk around in flashy clothes or wear only black or wear dirty clothes. It is just something we always try to avoid because we want to blend in.
The first example for cognitive dissonance that came to mind was cheating on my diet. Unfortunately, I know exactly how bad certain foods are, but I keep telling myself that “only one piece of pizza” (always ends up being a whole pizza), or one Snickers bar will not be so bad and that I can just make it up by working out more (has never happened yet) or by having a salad for lunch instead tomorrow or for dinner later (because balance). So, even though I know it is bad and I should watch my health more, I rationalize it and give in.
I think that the influence of social norms on an individual’s behavior differ greatly among cultures. For example, we live in an individualistic culture, I think. Achieving something for yourself and being unique is somewhat encouraged. Straying from the norm a little bit, with outfits or hair colors or certain behaviors is not considered to be a reason to exclude one from society. In contrast to that, there are cultures that are more group oriented and have stronger views on conformity. In some places, straying from the norm is even illegal. If we think of certain middle eastern countries, women must cover their hair and sometimes even their faces and wear loose clothes. That is a societal and cultural norm to which a woman MUST conform, otherwise she will be shunned and punished harshly. That of course is a very extreme example, but there is also similar situations like this in our cultures. For example, if you are part of a particularly observant and strict religious community, it is expected of you to adhere to its norms. Otherwise, you might not be able to participate and be a respected member.
I think this applies to the programmatic theme of social justice as well as career connections. Social justice, because we sometimes attribute negative characteristics to a certain group of people without considering that this group consist of individuals too, same as our “in-groups”, and are sometimes more like us than we think. To career connections it applies, because sometimes we might not be able to get certain jobs or are being hired by people if we do not conform to the expectations of society.
All the best,
Laura
PEER2-BB
- Do the videos suggest that we are aware of our tendency to conform? Do you think that our choices are based on free will, or do expectations about our implied roles guide our choices?
I believe the video suggest that we are unaware of our tendency to conform, and free will we make our choices. Some are intrigued by the whatever new thing is out there. There are set behaviors we learn as we grow up, we either stick with those learned behaviors or go our own way.
- Social influence can be so subtle that we often conform to group norms without realizing it. Describe a scenario that demonstrates how a person can conform to norms or obey authority without being aware.
Typically when you are in a library, museum, or place of learning like that it is the social norm to be respectful of others and keep your tone of voice down so others can learn also.
- Despite our desire to be ourselves, our behaviors do not always reflect our authentic attitudes. Describe an instance in your life in which you experienced cognitive dissonance.
I am currently a cigarette smoker I understand it is bad for health but I still light that cigarette, still smoke knowing I lost grandfather because he was smoker. I am trying to quit, but I haven’t given all I need to as I am changing my career goals to RN, regardless of that I have a son who I want to set healthily standards for and be around for.
- Given the varying influences of social and cultural norms on attitude and behavior, in what ways might our tendency to conform to norms differ across cultures?
To me in the US connecting with other people is through social media, or texting. A lot of other countries do not that, they have the face to face. I am guilt of texting my son when dinner is done and to come inside, I have noticed when I go out to restaurants people are glued to their phones instead of trying to enjoy the ones they are with and have a conversation.
- How do the concepts of dispositional and situational attribution, fundamental attribution error, conformity, cognitive dissonance, obedience, and central and peripheral persuasion routes apply to any of the following programmatic course themes:
I believe it relates to emotional intelligence because, I believe us as a society has become to reliant on social media that we no longer feel the need to communicate face to face as we use to. People have also become comfortable with attacking others online, and acting in ways they would never act if that person was physically in front of them.
