Conformity, Social Influence, And Normative Social Impact Theory

John F. Kennedy once said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” Once one suppresses freedom, the person’s true identity begins to disappear. Conformity causes lack of individuality, as shown through cults; the Stanford Prison Experiment; and normative social influence, informational social influence, and the social impact theory. The word “cult” refers to a group of people with religious tendencies, beliefs, or just practices in general that some may describe as “sinister”. The recruiters of cults tend to manipulate information, so people will join their groups. At first, the basics of the group may not seem too dangerous, but then sometimes things take a serious turn. The cult may have people cut off connections from their loved ones as a part of the initiation process. The group may also become involved in illegal activities for profit, In addition, cult leaders may also force their members to do certain activities for hours on end. This may include reading, chanting, or begging for money for long periods …show more content…
They do so based on normative social influence, informational social influence, and the social impact theory. The normative social influence involves one going along with a group’s views even if they do not believe them themselves. This influence occurs as a result of one’s need for acceptance and friendship. The informational social influence encompasses one accepting the majority’s views and incorporating them into their own beliefs. This influence occurs most often during a crisis. The social impact theory refers to a group’s numbers, strength, and immediacy. This means that the group’s size, status, quality impacts how likely one will conform to that group’s beliefs. As shown above, conforming due to any of these influences and theories deindividualized people as they become known by the group and not