psychology of conformity and obedience thesis

Stanford Prison Experiment, Positive Psychology, Norms, Deviance

Excerpt from Thesis:

In highly-publicized criminal crimes and violations of international law, American servicemen in control of the Abu Ghraib service abused Iraqi prisoners by simply terrorizing them with military services dogs as well as the threat of electrical shock. They also purposely humiliated all of them by hauling them about naked, driving them to simulate homosexuality, and by various other deteriorating acts particularly intended to shame their spiritual beliefs and cultural beliefs. In some cases, violent conduct and other violations were precipitated by simply orders including in connection with interrogating prisoners to recoup usable armed service intelligence. However , in many other cases (such as all those depicted in the photographs that appeared over the global media), the misuse represented decrease of personal responsibility and moral judgment by virtue of the tendency of conformity and groupthink.

In a a lot more benign approach, social conformity is obvious throughout American society in clothing variations, the perpetual wave of social trends, and (of course) the tremendous reliance on business advertisement to get profit. In principle, business advertising and paid movie star endorsements develop a form of cultural conformity that is financially beneficial to product producers.

More specifically, advertising is most often deigned to stimulate conformity through educational influence (“If the product worked wonderfully for others and then for a popular authority about them, it will be employed by me”); or it is designed to exploit normative impacts (the wish for00 things that others respect and appreciate or to emulate a popular individual linked to the product).

Specific and Societal Influences Ultimately causing Deviance by Group Rules:

Individuals who adapt many societal expectations when violating other folks on a case-by-case basis because of specific variations in their personal beliefs or values happen to be passive nonconformists. They experience no compulsion to violate social anticipations as a declaration or demo of their freedom; they look for no attention (whether positive or negative) for showing purposeful disobedient of interpersonal norms.

For the passive non-conformist, conflict more than their being rejected of sociable norms is a price of independence, not a pretense to get expressing anger or bitterness toward world. Examples of passive disconformity might include a well known college professor who likes smoking cannabis in the level of privacy of his home in spite of its unlawful nature that violates proven societal best practice rules. Generally, the passive non-conformist makes simply no attempt to advertise or pull attention to his nonconformity (Gerrig Zimbardo, 2008).

Individuals who intentionally violate sociable norms and expectations as a method of generating focus (including negative attention) or as a manifestation of hatred, anger, or perhaps resentment even more generally, will be active nonconformists. They may don’t have any genuine basis to warrant their defiance of certain social best practice rules or principles, but do this mainly to inspire a chemical reaction in others for various purposes of which they may or may not be consciously aware. Instances of active disconformity would incorporate outlaw motor bike gangs (OMGs) that have on their team colors and insignia while purposely dialling attention to all their non-conformity, including by unnecessary formation traveling in traffic and exhaust systems designed to make as much noise as possible. On the larger scale, personal dictatorships and extremist cults exhibit the extent that many individuals will be susceptible to group influence and capable of suspending the standard moral beliefs in groupthink situations.

References:

Gerrig, Ur. J. And Zimbardo, P. G. (2008). Psychology and Life. Nj: Prentice Area.

Zimbardo, P. “Power Turns Good Military into