Obedience and Conformity, Essay Example

This is an essay about the comparison and contrast between obedience and conformity basing the arguments on the review of Solomon Asch’s (1958) study of conformity and on the experiment aired in the ABC New Primetime called the Milgram Experiment.

Obedience is the act of behaving under instructions or as instructed by a figure of authority so as to avoid being punished or face unfavorable consequences. Conformity is the act where one goes along with the group or crowd due to influenced of peer pressure or social groups so that they may fit in, get accepted or liked and to avoid being left out. Ways in which group and individual persuasion techniques differ are through the application of interpersonal pressure, which promote conformation. Another is when there is an organized peer group, and an individual is persuaded to look to others that are the majority, so that they may be right. It is totally natural for us as a social being to be prone to conformity and obedience because we are influenced by others. Since there is socialization, we get influenced by the interactions we have with others mostly being the majority in the group.

From the experiments carried out by Milgram, it is observed that perceptions of authority directly influence obedience. This is so because ordinary people will follow the orders from the authority as it is ingrained inside them. From the time, one is born, there are always authority figures like the parents, teachers hence one learns to obey and other time people obey so as to avoid punishment or consequences that are unpleasant to them. In high school, I was forced to join the music class by my parents, which, I did not like because my father is a musician. The consequences were that I used to be the last in my class, and it affected me psychologically.

References

Blass, T. (2000). Obedience to authority current perspectives on the Milgram paradigm. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.