The pressure to conform has always been an issue that has confronted a majority of individuals at one point in their lives (Hays and Goldstein, 2013). In my case, when my family moved into a new neighborhood, I did not have any friends as I had left my old friends behind. School sessions were especially daunting as I did not have a social life. However, I eventually met some friends and the first time we met as a group we decided to watch a movie. They all loved the movie and could not stop talking about it. On the other hand, the movie did not appeal to me as it was of a different genre. However, I also moved along and lied that I also enjoyed the movie.
The conformity involved in the above instance was that of normative conformity. Epley and Gilovich, 2013) define this as the pressure to alter behavior in order to fit in with the rest of the group. The underlying reason for my change in perception was motivated by the fact that I needed to make friends as I had none at the time and also I did not want to appear odd, having a different and unique taste in the type of film I enjoy watching.
Cialdini and Trost (2012) describe the above instance, as the effect of the presence of other group members on an individual. This situation is caused by normative pressures that are driven by the need to establish a common ground that prevents an individual from standing out. In addition, social groups, which are defined as the interaction between two or more individuals who have a similar goal, increase the pressure for members to conform to group norms (Fabrigar and Norris, 2015). This concept, thereby explains the above personal experience with social conformity.
References
Cialdini, R. & Trost, M (2012). Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and compliance. The handbook of social psychology. Vol. 2, No. 1.
Epley, N. & Gilovich, T. (2013). Just going along: Nonconscious priming and conformity to social pressure. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 35, No. 1.
Fabrigar, L. & Norris, M. (2015). Conformity, compliance, and obedience. Oxford Journals. Vol. 67, No. 2.
Hays, N. & Goldstein, N. (2013). Power and legitimacy influence conformity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 60, No. 1.
