What is conformism: concept, examples, reasons, types

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

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.

Types of conformism

The term conformism in psychology is considered in several aspects.
Experts distinguish such types of this concept as:

1. Internal
   . Up to a certain point, a person had the same views on life, and then, under the influence of some factors, he actually reconsidered his positions, values ​​and adopted as a basis a position different from the one he had before.
2. External
   . It manifests itself in the visual, but not internal, acceptance of certain positions.

In this aspect we can consider:

• social conformism;
• group conformity;
• political conformism.

Let's look at each of these types in more detail to get a clear understanding of this phenomenon.
Speaking about the social meaning of this term, let us remember that society consists of large, medium and small social groups. These groups are influenced by individuals who are afraid, unable or do not know how to take responsibility for the implementation or implementation of their natural views into the real life of a particular group.

The main signs of this phenomenon are:

• Low self-esteem of ordinary group members who do not claim leadership in the team.
• When faced with a difficult task, team members do not always know how to complete it, which intensifies the phenomenon.
• The manifestation of conformism intensifies if there are 3 or more individuals in the group who do not agree with the general opinion. In this case, conflict in the team is possible.
• Competent team members have power over individuals who have little understanding of the intricacies.

IMPORTANT!

The conformity of the group often looks like the integrity and cohesion of the team.
On the one hand, it can be regarded as a positive phenomenon, because the group of people is united and visually works in the same direction in a coordinated manner. On the other hand, the ossification of the personality occurs, that is, there is no possibility or prospect of any growth, development of the group as a whole and of individual individuals specifically.

A negative manifestation of lack of initiative in a team can also be considered the fear of publicly expressing ideas, the implementation of which will give a positive impetus to the development of the group and will make changes in the tired process of functioning of the team. A potential reformer in such an environment will prefer writing proposals addressed to the head of the enterprise to personal oral presentation at a general meeting of all employees.

Conformism as a political ideology is characterized by the following features:

• Absolute acceptance by society or part of it of the current order.
• A person’s lack of desire to take an active part in the political life of the country in general or the administrative-territorial unit where he lives in particular.
• Full agreement with any actions of government officials: the President, the Supreme Council, the Government, regional, regional and city authorities.
• The desire to be like everyone else, that is, to adapt and keep a low profile, so as not to be in danger of repression.
• Lack of ability for logical, creative thinking in an individual on a global scale.

This type of political culture is typical for totalitarian and post-totalitarian states.
It also occurs in countries of traditional democracy, but less frequently, because here society tries to actively protest against phenomena or innovations that may negatively affect social or material well-being. Herbert Kelman reviewed and proposed the following classification of types of conformity:

• Submission
  . This phenomenon is temporary and has exclusively external manifestations.
• Identification
  . In the classic version, it involves becoming like another person or group due to personal sympathies, and in the role-playing version, it involves trying to justify the aspirations of the other party.
• Internalization
  is the acceptance of someone else’s (other) opinion and gradual agreement with it. The following classification is often found:
• The rational approach
  involves justifying conformity with some justified arguments.
• Herd conformism
  . People act according to the principle “As everyone else, so do I.” In this case, self-identification and personal opinion fade into the background.

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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).

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.

Motives for conformism

There are three main motives for conformist behavior. These are the fear of rejection
, the desire
to be right,
and the presence of sanctions for
following or not following group norms
. In this context, normative conformism and information conformism appear.

Normative conformism

is a type of conformity that is motivated by the fear of being rejected by a group or the desire to be accepted by a group. Because we fear rejection or ridicule, we conform to the behavior of others in the group.

Information conformism

motivated by the desire to be right and to take appropriate, correct and appropriate actions. Because we often don't know what appropriate behavior is, we imitate others, understanding that if someone behaves this way, this is the right thing to do.

We are also mobilized to conformist behavior due to the presence of sanctions for both compliance with group norms (positive sanctions) and non-compliance (negative sanctions).

Are you a nihilist, or do you simply not care about everyone and everything?

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 can 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."

Conditions for the emergence of conformism

S. Milgram and E. Aronson believe that conformity is a phenomenon that, to a greater or lesser extent, occurs in the presence or absence of the following conditions:

• it increases if the task to be completed is quite complex, or the subject is incompetent in this matter;

• group size: the degree of conformity becomes greatest when a person is faced with the same opinion of three or more people;

• personality type: a person with low self-esteem is more susceptible to the influence of the group, in contrast to a person with high self-esteem;

• composition of the group: if there are experts, its members are significant people, and if it contains people belonging to the same social environment, then conformity increases;

• cohesion: the more cohesive a group is, the more power it has over its members;

• the presence of an ally: if a person who defends his opinion or doubts the opinions of others has at least one ally, then the tendency to submit to group pressure decreases;

• authority, status: the person who has the greatest status also has the greatest influence, it is easier for him to influence others, they obey him more;

• public answer: a person is more susceptible to conformity when he has to speak in front of others, and not when he writes down his answers in a notebook; If an opinion is expressed publicly, then, as a rule, they try to stick to it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Social conformism

Social conformism is the uncritical perception and adherence to the opinions that dominate society, mass standards, stereotypes, authoritative principles, traditions and attitudes. A person does not try to resist prevailing trends, even though internally he does not accept them. The individual perceives economic and socio-political reality without any criticism and does not express any desire to express his own opinion. Social conformism is the refusal to take personal responsibility for actions taken, blind submission and adherence to the instructions and demands that come from society, party, state, religious organization, family, leader, etc. Such submission can be explained by traditions or mentality.

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.

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

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.