What is conformal behavior

What is conforming behavior?

Man by nature is a social being. And in the modern world, I am often forced on a daily basis to come into contact with completely different categories of people with different goals, opinions and visions of the world.

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From time to time, situations arise when you need to either agree with the opinion of the majority, or continue to defend your own position, going against the bulk. So, conformal behavior is a human action, characterized as compliance with the true or imagined pressure of society (a group of people) and a change in one’s own attitudes and principles to please society.

There is also such a thing as conformity. I would like to immediately note that these two concepts, although related to each other, are not the same thing.

Conformism (or conformity) is a social phenomenon in the general sense of the word.
And conformal behavior is a psychological feature of a particular individual.

Some psychologists are convinced that in fact there are even more differences between the terms, but experts have not yet come to a consensus. Some of them find these expressions synonymous.

Conformity - implies susceptibility to conformity. That is, in this case, the individual changes his personal views in favor of the prevailing people in a certain group. At the same time, a person tries to satisfy the expectations of others, completely neglecting his own goals, interests and opinions.

In psychology, if an individual is classified as a conformist personality type, they mean that he has this tendency. Conformity is considered a negative phenomenon, but if it occurs within reason and not constantly, but only occasionally, it does not cause significant harm.

Erich Fromm, a German social psychologist, philosopher and psychoanalyst, understood conformity as a generally accepted protective form of behavior. People, succumbing to outside influence, begin to behave the way others want them to see, but in this process they lose their individuality.

According to Fromm, the subconscious benefit of conforming behavior is the ability to avoid anxiety and loneliness. But the price is very high - the loss of one’s own “I”.

Introverts

D. Introverts are special children. They are not born that often. In early childhood they are not particularly different from “harmonious” ones, although they often prefer to play alone, they are rarely bored with themselves. Their main motive: cognitive activity. They have a penchant for complex sciences, but only those that they have chosen themselves. They can baffle parents because it is almost impossible to influence them much. They may be obedient, but they follow their own interests without arguing or explaining their choices. Often have high intelligence, but do not tend to demonstrate it. One “introverted” adult talked about his childhood: “My favorite game was construction sets. I could spend hours, days building something, disassembling it, putting it back together again... I also had friends, I also played on the street... But the construction set was magic!”

Case Study

The mother of an eleven-year-old boy tells a psychologist:

“He's kind of strange. He somehow lives on his own. He barely gets a C grade in his studies. Maybe he's dumb or stupid? And then suddenly he’ll write a test with a grade of five, and he’ll do it himself. And he's very slow. With my youngest daughter, everything is clear. She tells me everything: she complains and asks for advice. And my son... He seems to have friends and is studying... But I don’t understand him... How can I get him to study?”

“Normal birth. And I slept fine. He started talking early, he liked to disassemble and assemble pyramids alone in the corner.”

Parenting strategy:

trust and look closely at what the child is interested in; give the opportunity to specialize in the subject that he chooses;
give space and time, be respectful of the child’s personal territory, since such children have a tendency to withdraw and withdraw into the inner world;
do not insist on their inclusion in collective forms of activity; it is often easier for them to do something individually.

Why does conforming behavior occur?

There are certain risk factors that contribute to the development of pathological susceptibility to the opinions of others, namely:

The influence of cultural characteristics . For example, representatives of Western culture (English, Italians) find conformity as a very negative personality trait. They need to defend their own opinion - this is a sign of critical thinking and high education. In contrast, the Chinese and Japanese, on the contrary, excessively cultivate pliability to outside opinions, perceiving it as a favorable and positive phenomenon.
Person's age and gender.
Features of the microsocial characteristics of the individual - this means how important the group is for the individual, what place he occupies in it.
Peculiarities of personal psychological attitudes - it talks about how easily a person is suggestible, whether he needs the constant approval of others, what intellectual data he has, how highly he respects himself and whether he has sufficiently stable self-esteem.
Indicators of situational characteristics - that is, the level of competence of the individual himself, as well as members of his social group, how important the topics discussed are to him personally, whether he makes a decision publicly or in private.

Classification

There are different views on the types of conformity, but the traditional one is still considered the most conciliatory:

Internal conformity . A person really reconsiders his views, opinions, positions and behavior and understands that until now it was wrong.
External conformity. Inside himself, a person does not accept the position and behavior of society, but outwardly he behaves as if he accepted the rules of the game.

Human characteristics that influence conformity:

cultural characteristics - in Western culture, for example, Italy and England, conformity is an extremely negative trait of a person, because defending one’s opinion is considered in these countries a sign of a critically thinking and educated person. In eastern China and Japan, for example, conformity is highly valued and is a desirable and positive phenomenon.
gender and age characteristics of a person
microsocial characteristics of a person - the significance of the group for a person, his role and status in it
individual psychological characteristics of a person - degree of suggestibility, need for approval, level of intelligence, level of self-esteem, stability of self-esteem
situational characteristics of a person - the level of competence of the person and members of his society, the personal significance of the issues under discussion for this person, whether the decision is made publicly

Advantages and disadvantages of conformity

Absolutely any phenomenon always has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, if a person does not depend too much on other people’s opinions and shows moderate conformity, then this quality will help her quickly and easily find a common language in new social groups. But you will still need to demonstrate your character from time to time so as not to get lost among those around you.

Also, when crisis situations arise, defending one’s own beliefs allows the entire group to be saved from destruction. The main thing is that when the crisis passes, a person does not forget about his personality.

Unfortunately, the shortcomings in this case predominate. Being conformist, a person literally becomes an opportunist and destroys his individuality, which subsequently prevents him from making independent decisions.

He not only faces the loss of independent thinking, but also experiences an atrophy of creative thinking. He is no longer able to create, to create various objects of art. He also stops asking global, universal questions, although they continue to partially depend on him.

And, of course, narrow thinking invariably provokes various prejudices, biases and other stereotypical thinking. As a result, we can observe a person who has no personality.

Features of communication

The conformal type of behavior is characterized by 3 levels, according to the classification of Harvard University professor Herbert Kelman:

It is important to understand here that a conformist does not always mindlessly follow the opinions of others. Sometimes he can adapt to them, benefiting himself. For example, if the boss cannot stand impudent and too proactive people, the submissive and always assenting personality type will always be held in high esteem by him.

A conformist person usually does not cause problems in communication, although he can greatly irritate those around him with his eternal compliance and excessive pliability. How they behave:

gain a favorable attitude from everyone;
ingratiate themselves;
constantly trying to find out someone else’s opinion on this or that matter;
they avoid all responsibility, initiative, decision-making - they wait for someone else to do it for them;
but they themselves perfectly carry out any assignment or request;
get lost in a conflict situation until they have a panic attack.

Psychologists give some advice on how to behave correctly with them:

Do not use their services: denunciations, sneaking, fulfilling whims, small handouts.
Don't humiliate them, don't use them for personal gain, don't manipulate them.
Subtly encourage independence in decision making.
Do not provoke conflict, do not raise your voice.
Focus on efficiency and friendliness.

In love they are driven and submissive. Men are the so-called henpecked men. Wives are quiet mice who look into their husband’s mouth and catch his every word, bring slippers and fear his righteous anger. If they get a good person as a partner who will not use their softness and pliability for his own selfish purposes, the marriage will turn out quite successfully. At the very least, it is incredibly difficult to provoke him into conflict.

Conformal behavior and nonconformism

The opposite of conformity is nonconformism. Nonconformism is the active rejection of generally established norms, values, laws or traditions.

Nonconformism implies not just a desire to protect one’s rights and freedom, but a desire to move “by the opposite,” demonstrating to others that they are completely wrong. It is unrealistic to prove something to a nonconformist, since he is firmly convinced of one thing: everything that others say is wrong, deceitful and absurd.

Why do people become nonconformists? The main reason that pushes them to do this is the thirst for self-affirmation, the desire to convince everyone around them that they are right and prove their right to make socially significant decisions.

Of course, it is important for each of us to maintain our individuality, our unique personality traits; accordingly, we are all, to some extent, considered nonconformists. However, certain individuals are so afraid of getting lost in society and becoming a “gray mass” that they strive to take an extreme position. At the same time, they often declare a real war on generally established norms and traditions.

Both conformity and non-conformism - both of these concepts represent states of borderline extremes. And neither one nor the second phenomenon can be attributed to the norm.

Moral personality types

Man, Psychology of Success » Moral personalities...
© V. Oreshkin

Each of us wants to live and communicate with good people, and we try to stay away from bad people. What is a “good person”? What are the moral criteria for the assessments that we give to other people - “a good student”, “a good guy”?.. Each new generation seeks its own answers to these questions, painfully building a value system in which the individual develops and feels harmonious with society and the world .

This approach is based on the classification of personality types proposed by I. L. Zelenkova and E. V. Belyaeva. Like any other typology, it has its advantages and disadvantages, while not claiming absolute truth. This is one of the options that reveals the nature and motivation of people’s actions. In addition, there are not so many pure types in society, and each person has traits of several types, which is important to keep in mind both for those who conduct this workshop and for the participants. However, the latter is more of a supposed discovery, which serves as a guideline for the work, rather than the original thesis.

The five types proposed by the authors are rather coordinates, guidelines for moral existence. It is important to emphasize that there are very few pure, clearly defined types in society. Each person carries within himself a piece of the Hero, the Consumer, the Conformist, in certain situations showing the traits of an Aristocrat, revealing Religious motives... With lawyers we talk about the fact that offenses and crimes are committed from different motives, and since the motives of an action are based on a worldview, it is interesting to classify offenses from the point of view of moral types. The same act can have different ethical motives: theft for profit (“consumer”), participation in a “for” group), robbery for reasons of ideal (“hero” Robin Hood, for example) or to satisfy ambition (cunning combinations of movie characters “ All-in”)... Accordingly, crime prevention should be based on ethical argumentation appropriate for a particular audience.

In any case, the diversity of human manifestations, acquiring a certain structure, opens up the opportunity for personal growth in the direction of conscious acceptance of these manifestations, that is, for the development of tolerance, and in other cases - for conscious non-acceptance, inadmissibility. Awareness and meaningfulness of one's own and other people's actions becomes a skill that helps a person to be flexible in a rapidly changing world, turn irreconcilable conflicts into dialogue, and find harmony with the world and oneself.

"Consumer" type

Let's start with the simplest and “low-moral” personality type. It is widespread, its logic is understandable even to a child. Morality in his view is an establishment in society that allows an individual to achieve happiness. She is useful and pleasant in many ways. As in the primitive education scheme: behave well - you will get candy. Unselfishness of the moral type is still an overwhelmingly complex idea for such thinking. A person of this type hopes to find in morality a means of obtaining one or another “candy” in life. That is why it is called the “consumer” type. Such a person believes that benefit is the main, and most importantly, the only motive for behavior. This means that moral actions are one of the types of useful ones. They must lead to the goal, to success, the acquisition of all benefits and, ultimately, to happiness. The pursuit of happiness is the main value for this type of moral personality.

The orientation of the “consumer” is naturally individualistic. Everyone strives for happiness individually, and only then, since I am uncomfortable being blissfully alone, do I begin to think and care about the happiness of other people. If I have achieved success in life, I want to share my recipe with other people - let them feel good too (a typical example of this is the work of D. Carnegie and other manuals like “How to make a million”, “How to get married.”) General principle of morality is this: strive for your own happiness to the extent that this does not prevent your neighbor from striving for his happiness. If the last restriction is absent, then uncontrolled personal prosperity turns into immoral grabbership and aggression towards people.

The desired happiness is understood by the “consumer” as an achievement: money, fame, family well-being, etc. And all of these are social values. Yes, the “consumer” type wants to acquire as much as possible for themselves, but only in society and thanks to its assistance can these dreams come true. That is why such a person can be socially useful, pleasant to talk to, and a wonderful family man. In addition, since all this still needs to be achieved, this type is active, active. This means that bright ideas and progressive transformations can come from him. For an active person, it is not motives that come to the fore in morality, but actions. Complex moral motivation, as indicated above, is not needed here. His determination is based on the conviction that he is right.

What source of moral rules does such a person trust? First of all - to yourself. The application of the general rules depends on the situation in which I find myself. And this is the second source of morality. And since situations are infinitely varied, the rules of morality are not eternal, but rather relative. In practice, such relativism can lead to complete immorality. When all standards of decency are forgotten, the situation and personal gain allow me to easily trample on the rights of others.

Of course, to people with a different type of moral organization, the consumer pattern may seem “philistine”, “dealing”, and “predatory”. In response to these accusations, the “consumer” can present his own moral merits. The ideals may not be so lofty, but they are brought to life; Even though we are not very unselfish, our lives are well established and we do not fall into asocial extremes; We may be somewhat selfish, but we take care of a person’s needs and do not torment him with impossible demands.

Behind these value orientations one can see the image of an active person, an entrepreneur by occupation, a bourgeois by social affiliation, a pragmatist by style of thought, a lover of life by attitude. It can be found at all times. The main value of people of the “consumer” type is happiness, the motive is benefit, and the orientations are individualism, relativism, sociality and activity.

"Conformist" type

People with an elevated mindset consider conformism a vice, an ally of all evil, agreement with the injustices of the world. But look around: the virtue of the vast majority rests on good agreement with the environment. Leave such people without the support of public opinion - they will go astray from the “true path”, since they are unable to support moral guidelines on their own. A typical example of this is a young man who came from the village to the city and, without supervision, “went into all kinds of troubles.” For a long time, mothers have been afraid of the “corrupting influence of the world,” “the capital,” “bad society,” “the street,” etc., etc. These fears are both funny and justified. One whose morality depends on the approval and condemnation of others is easily influenced. The autonomy of the moral spirit, inner conviction, and a sense of personal responsibility for the actions committed are poorly cultivated in him. It would seem that the most important signs of moral behavior are missing here. However, let’s look at a personality of this type in its usual conditions.

The main value of the “conformist” type is a sense of community with the environment. Whether it is a native village, a nation, a class, or just a circle of acquaintances, it is the social group that is for such an individual a source of moral norms and ideas. If high demands on behavior are ingrained in the environment, a person grows up well-mannered. Maybe even with excessive severity. Sublime ideals, concern for reputation, loyalty to Christian virtues - this is how a boarding school for noble maidens, “decent society” of all times and peoples, emerges. It rests on widespread public opinion, when every offense leads to publicity. The sanction follows immediately: “refuse the house,” “don’t shake hands,” “I’m not playing with you.” The fear of “what Princess Marya Alekseevna will say” is not at all accidental. This fear is absurd for a developed personality, but trying to achieve such self-sufficiency from everyone and everything is a fruitless undertaking.

Not only is the personality here socially oriented, but its aspirations are collectivist in nature, and not individualistic, like those of the “consumer.” General consent is preferred to personal happiness, adaptation to prevailing values is considered the best path to moral improvement, and the main motive of behavior is to be like everyone else. Therefore, since subsequent generations act like previous ones, powerful traditions are formed that give stability to morals.

A “conformist” type of moral personality can equally develop among the nobility, among the peasantry, and among any other environment. In terms of consciousness, this personality is passive, because all the norms were developed a long time ago. But with internal passivity, the criterion of morality is actions. Behavior is prescribed by custom, and the line between moral and customary can almost become blurred. Decent behavior becomes synonymous with goodness, and moral difference is banished. If the “consumer” type naively believes that all people are the same, then the “conformist” type wants everyone to be the same - like him. Hence - intolerance towards other moral systems, but sufficient leniency towards the violator within one’s own environment. If only he breaks the rules, but does not reject the norms themselves. The sinner can repent and be welcomed back into the fold. There is nothing more terrible than the dissent of the beast. The ideas on which morality rests are considered non-negotiable. This is why motives are not particularly explored: it is assumed that there is one correct motive. This is a concept for simple-minded souls who are unaware of the struggle and moral motives, of the “depths” and “abysses” of the soul, of its endless self-deception.

So, the main moral value of the “conformist” type is collective happiness. Such a social orientation presupposes a love of traditions, adaptation to them, a desire to act “like everyone else,” an orientation to business, combined with an unshakable faith in the foundations of morality.

"Aristocratic" type

The name speaks for itself. Aristocratism was originally considered a virtue that could be inherited. And since you from birth belong to a class that is higher than others, then its honor cannot be compromised. The nobility may become poor, fall into disgrace, or be overthrown by revolution, but the sense of their “specialness,” which does not depend on the fickleness of earthly fate, remains.

Self-esteem, which cannot be taken away, is the hallmark of moral aristocracy. As is known, it was found in the Venetian gondolier or robber no less often than in a powdered courtier or knight. People of the artistic world can also turn out to be such “aristocrats”. Belonging to art, they always feel elevated above mere mortals. They can be scientists or philosophers, mountaineers and even beggars. In these circles, everyone should be a personality, and quite bright. Such a person is responsible for his actions not to public opinion, but only to himself.

The morality of special social groups is opposed to the ordinary mores of their era. And a moral personality of the “aristocratic” type opposes any social conventions and rules if they are not in agreement with her conscience. Such an individual is inevitably asocial. No, he will not necessarily be a robber or even just a troublemaker. But his morality will be strange, different. His morals. Naturally, this orientation is fundamentally individualistic. Of all the specific features of morality, the “aristocratic” type embodies (and emphasizes) everything that is associated with the autonomy of the moral personality, self-legislation of the will, and freedom of choice.

Freedom is the main moral value of this type. Therefore, the lack of happiness or usual social status cannot break a person with an aristocratic spirit. It would be possible to remain yourself. Freedom in relation to external conditions makes the “aristocrat” somewhat indifferent to the morals of the environment. If the social environment does not seem moral enough to this type, he does not strive to overcome its rigidity, but leaves it to itself until it encroaches on his personal freedom. This is a behaviorally passive type. He loves his inner moral world and acts in accordance with his convictions, without interest in practical consequences.

The “aristocrat” is self-absorbed, and therefore quite tolerant of other people’s views and weaknesses. What he does not allow himself, he condescendingly allows in others. They are “inferior”, what can you ask of them? No one's baseness can shake ideals. Nor can ideological attacks shake them, which is what the “conformist” type is so afraid of.

What is the source of morality for the “aristocratic” type of moral personality? Oddly enough, this is also a tradition, but not a social, external, ritual one, but a spiritual tradition. In his actions, the “moral aristocrat” guards his dignity, trying not to lose the ideal that only people of spirit can see. His motives do not represent the rules of the environment, but a certain “morality in general” that has become mine. The motive here looks like the “inner voice” of either God, or a genius, or the innermost “I”, which must be obeyed if you do not want to lose yourself.

The inner voice of conscience is a reliable source of moral rules. But we should not forget that it can be misleading. "Aristocrat" is full of spiritual experiences and aspirations, but their source seems irrational to him. Thus, morality becomes akin to art; for it, too, one must be a particularly gifted, creative person.

So, the main moral value of the “aristocratic” type is the freedom to be oneself; for this, he is individualistically focused on the inner world, motives of behavior, purity of ideals, and follows spiritual traditions. Therefore, with a general asocial orientation, he is passive in relation to the social environment, tolerant, and sometimes indifferent.

"Heroic" type

A hero, by definition, always struggles with circumstances. These can be historical events, people, ideas. The fact is that in the eyes of the hero they are not moral enough and he wants to transform these circumstances. Like the “aristocrat,” the “hero” stands out from the background of the social environment. But he resists him not passively, but actively and offensively. He does not want to come to terms with the world as it is. And not because his personal interests are affected. The “consumer” can also be an excellent fighter for justice if he himself is offended and hopes to receive some benefit from this justice for himself. The “hero” opposes everything that cannot stand comparison with the ideal, with the idea of absolute good. And since almost nothing in the world is perfect, having started to fight some particular injustice, you then have to fight with the whole world. But this does not bother the “hero”. The more enemies, the stronger the enthusiasm. If there are many opponents, it means that I am fighting something significant, doing an important job. If I oppose the evil ones, then I am good. At this point, the personality of the “heroic” type faces the first danger—to fall in love with struggle for the sake of struggle. There is so much evil that there is no need to stand on ceremony. Therefore, for the “hero” the problem of ends and means is the most acute. As if in the heat of the struggle the main thing was lost - the idea for the sake of which everything was started.

The idea plays a leading role in the moral consciousness of the “heroic type” of personality. This is generally an ideological person. Unlike all previous ones, where theories were used as if in retrospect to justify an intuitively taken life position. Here, rational argumentation is the leading motive of behavior. And these motives are given extreme importance. Of course, the “hero” is a man of action, but for him the moral meaning is carried not so much by events as by their explanation. And the enemy of morality will be anyone who does the same thing as the “hero” himself, but for different reasons. Tolerance is not a heroic virtue.

What kind of ideas fascinate the moral consciousness of the “hero”? First of all, it is a search for justice. Justice is the main moral value of this type of moral personality. Happiness and the meaning of life are comprehended in the struggle for it, and personal freedom consists in putting oneself (voluntarily!) in the service of this idea. No matter how each individual person understands what justice consists of, it is clear that this concept relates not so much to the inner world of the individual as to social relationships. Therefore, individuals of the “heroic” type are socially oriented people. The idea of serving society is a must here. But, unlike the “conformist,” the “hero” is interested not in current, but in future tasks. He strives for a society that should be in accordance with the ideal of justice.

The “hero” feels the difference between what is and what should be very acutely, which is why people of this type have an extremely developed sense of duty. And if we understand that intense obligation is an essential feature of morality, then it is clear that this type embodies the specifics of morality with the greatest force. This is the “most moral” type. (Sometimes even hypermoral, when a person forgets that besides moral values there are other, not at all immoral values.) To a man of duty, all the others seem insufficiently perfect.

If moral development is possible, then it occurs thanks to these people. What would the “conformists” and “aristocrats” guard if the “heroes” did not look for new paths? Moral consciousness would have long ago sunk into the abyss of complacency. The heroic moral personality opens up not only new paths, but also new ideas. Thinking about moral problems stimulates heroic orientations of moral consciousness. It is not for nothing that in youth almost everyone is a hero while they are searching for and forming their “I.” Not only is the “hero” always “inconvenient,” he brings discomfort into the existence of those around him and anxiety into their minds. He is not always right, even in moral terms. A lot depends on the idea to which such a person indulges. The idea of a “hero” is always sublime and noble, but there are many specific theories of justice, and woe if one turns out to be primitive, not taking into account the complexity and diversity of the world. Then the “hero” will turn out to be a moral fanatic and will in fact destroy the foundations of morality that he intended to support.

However, the personal nobility of people of this type is beyond doubt. If they are mistaken, they are sincerely mistaken. That’s why such people invariably inspire admiration. Every era is proud of its heroes. Those around them may not always agree with them regarding specific actions and decisions. However, even enemies recognize the high moral dignity of such a person, which cannot be taken away. In this, the “hero” is similar to the “aristocrat”. He is him: you can kill a person, but it is impossible to destroy his morality. Because its source lies beyond the reach of earthly authorities.

The “heroic” personality type is found not only among social reformers, otherwise there would be few such people. As they say, “there is always room for heroism in life.” The simplest actions of an ordinary person can be carried out on the basis of complex motives and high values.

So, the “heroic” type of moral personality considers justice to be the main value, takes an active and socially interested life position, pays attention to rational motives of behavior and their ideological support, and generally has a highly moral orientation.

"Religious" type

This name, like the previous ones, is very arbitrary. Even atheists can belong to the “religious” type. In turn, believers can live a moral life of a “heroic”, “conformist” and even “consumer” type. People fulfill the same Christian commandments based on very different motives. But most often the “religious” personality type is found among people who sincerely believe. The feeling that I walk under God and confess morality in the face of God forms the basis of my worldview here. In the depths of my soul, I can communicate with the Creator of Everything, the innermost “I” can directly come into contact with the highest values and meanings. Therefore, people do not come to morality as a collective, it is an individual matter. Its source cannot be society; the moral law is higher than the social law. Social speaks about the convenient structure of the earthly community, moral - about the meaning of life of this community and individuals. The law of the meaning of life has a supernatural origin in the sense that it is higher than any specific life. For a person of the “religious” type, God does not necessarily dictate specific commandments, because commandments are norms that people can invent. And in general, in morality, a free person solves a problem independently every time and does not need detailed instructions. God maintains the moral world order as a whole and keeps its secret. It gives the individual the opportunity to participate in the mystery of the meaning of life, thanks to which one can not only know the meaning, but also experience it.

The main moral value of the “religious” type of moral personality is the meaning of life. All norms, principles, ideals are secondary. This is particular in comparison with the feeling of one’s non-randomness in the world, in being in general. The feeling of the harmony of God's creation, where each blade of grass has its own purpose, here passes into the teaching about the purpose of man. Teachings can be very different: Christian and Buddhist, orthodox or personally invented. They all find the source of morality outside of man and society. It turns out to be rooted in patterns more fundamental than earthly ones. Whether they are called God, the law of karma, the law of the Cosmos or otherwise is not of significant importance. Going beyond the limits of only the human in thought and feeling, personalities of this type also go beyond the limits of only the moral. Ordinary morality here goes without saying, but “morality for people” is considered limited and generally imperfect. If the “hero” considers the world imperfect, he strives to transform it. The “believer” considers the world incorrigible and strives to go beyond its limits. By being detached from the earthly rules of life, people of the “religious” type irritate everyone else, since their actions have no apparent reason. The motive for behavior is a strong moral feeling, akin to love. It is not for nothing that Christianity offers love as a universal way of relating to the world. This is a rare and complex motif. Needless to say, rational justification for actions does not play a special role here. Arguments are selected in the light of a general line, which may look like dogma from the outside. However, the vitality and viability of the supreme ideal speaks against the dogmatism of the supreme ideal. As if the earthly personality receives specific advice from the supreme ideal every time. The "believer" will say that moral decisions are made by revelation or insight. Like the “aristocrat,” he hears an inner voice, the voice of conscience. But he knows the source of this voice.

Despite the preoccupation with the spiritual, motives, and inner life, the morality of a person of the “religious” type is by no means contemplative. It is not new ways of thinking, but new ways of living that morality must establish. People of this type lead a very simple life. Not ascetic, but unpretentious on a personal level. They are active and active in relation to others, but they understand that any activity is not an end in itself, and that the global laws of the universe cannot be changed by it. Therefore, their practicality, unlike the “consumer”, is not aimed at personal benefit. Or maybe it doesn’t serve any particular benefit at all. By my actions I only support the highest values in the hierarchy of the world.

Naturally, the one who is able to see the “likeness of God” in the very last little man has truly unlimited tolerance for human weaknesses both in the field of thought and in the field of actions. This is not the contemptuous tolerance of an “aristocrat” and certainly not indifference. This is an understanding of the relativity of all human truth, and therefore the relativity of error; understanding that evil actions arise mainly from weakness, and evil thoughts from stupidity, and not from natural evil. For a “believer” there are no enemies, there are no “inferiors”, there are no “strangers”. He has a heightened sense of a moral view of the world.

So, the “religious” type of personality professes morality, where the leading value is the meaning of life, the motive is love for a person and a feeling of supreme unity with people and the world. This is a non-social, but active person, whose worldview goes beyond the purely moral and is guided by the experience of values of the highest order.

How to prevent the development of conformity

I suggest you familiarize yourself with useful recommendations that will help prevent conformity:

The most important thing is to know your true goals . After all, a person who has his own motivations shows confidence in any situation, he knows what he wants to achieve.
also need to increase your self-confidence . Conformal behavior is characteristic of people who do not believe in themselves, who believe that those around them are smarter, more developed, more enlightened than they are, and accordingly, their opinion is more important than their own.
Develop creative and critical thinking . Thanks to the first, you will find several solutions in every situation at once, which will allow you to differ from others. And with the help of the second, you will identify hidden manipulation, plus you will be able to understand any information in its true form, learn sober analysis. All this will make it easier to defend your opinion.
Increase your awareness . This skill improves awareness of true incidents in the group and teaches you to sense the emotional state of other people.
Read a lot . Reading allows you to receive a lot of new, useful information, plus it facilitates the understanding of human relationships, teaches you to increase the value of your own “I” and never follow the lead of others to the detriment of yourself (referring to psychological publications).
Make new acquaintances and communicate with those with whom you feel comfortable . It is important for every person to find like-minded people, but, of course, it is impossible for you to copy each other in everything, because we are all individuals. Analyze the opinions of several people, drawing the right conclusions for yourself.

How to Avoid Conformity

First of all, you need to know your goals. A person who has his own goals behaves confidently in all situations and knows what he wants. The opposite is true: people who are unsure of themselves show conformity in their actions. So develop self-confidence and set big goals.

Learn creative and critical thinking. The first will allow you to find several ways out in any situation, to really, and not virtually, differ from other people. The second will help you identify signs of manipulation in time, correctly interpret any information, and analyze it. You can learn to defend your opinion and not be ashamed to publicly express your opinion.

Practice mindfulness. This will allow you to pay attention to what is happening in the team, to feel people’s moods and your own. Meditation is perfect.

Read books. This phenomenon is as old as man. There are wonderful fiction books on this topic, psychological and scientific ones. Of course, it is a subtle art not to fall into the extremes of conformism and nonconformism, so only life experience will help you recognize them and see all the beautiful shades between these two phenomena.

Meet people and keep in touch with those you like. People should be both close to you in spirit and have significant differences. You shouldn’t focus only on people who are comfortable (with or without the letter “T”) for you. You should be surrounded by a variety of people from whom we can learn something without losing our essence.

In any case, each situation is individual. Perhaps there will be situations in life when you will need to at least agree with someone’s opinion, a person you value, or a group of people (friends). Sometimes you have to take a radical stand against it. And no one will tell you in advance what exactly you need to do in a particular situation, that’s what makes life interesting.

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We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
The influence of social roles on personality development
Individual typological questionnaire (ITS) L. N. Sobchik
Conformism
Character and temperament
Social groups: signs, types, functions
L. Kohlberg's theory of moral development
Social skills: what they are, what they are and how to develop them
Social setting
Forms of social behavior of people
Mechanisms of escape from freedom: theses of Erich Fromm

Key words:1Self-knowledge