Whether people are in uniform for a job or simply brushing their teeth they are all conforming to some common idea. To answer the controversial question that is conformists versus nonconformists we must first understand what each of those words mean. According to Merriam-Webster.com, someone who is a nonconformist is “a person who does not conform to a generally accepted pattern of thought or action”; while when it comes to Google, a conformist is someone “who conforms to accepted behavior or established practices”. Due to these particular definitions, one may argue that if someone is the person starting the “pattern of thought or action” wouldn’t that person be a nonconformist? The answer is no. This is because a true nonconformist
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In any present case, there are no nonconformists, because no human is stupid AND brave enough to not conform to everything. Often, conformity isn’t a matter of stupidity or bravery, as it is instead for seeking comfort. Nonconformists are nonexistent because everyone at some point either develops the desire to fit in, feels the pressure to change, or are not even aware they are conforming but do it anyway because it’s automatic; and even if one refuses to admit they conform, they do, to the people that say the same …show more content…
Those who look to be ‘in’ are said to do this because “conformity soothes” (Shpancer, par. 1). It’s almost as if blending in in a certain situation is comforting. These individuals also tend to look for social cues like the ones in Noam Shpancer’s article on conformists, “First, we look to others for information about what’s going on (informational cues). Second, we look for others to see what to do about it (normative cues)” (par. 5). In using these cues, citizens rely on other individuals; ones they might not know, to adapt to a certain situation with the appropriate behavior. In doing this a person no longer feels left out and can almost fit into this mold of a conformist filled room. However, being in a situation out of one’s comfort zone can cause pressure to the individual, causing them to seek conformity, mainly through the cues. Because this pressure exists and is very real, it sometimes leads people to do horrendous things no one could ever see that person, or most people for that matter doing. This is said of the individuals in the Holocaust that shedded their individuality almost entirely in exchange for their lives that became centered on Hitler’s views whom the philosopher, Hannah Arendt, said to be “ordinary people placed under extraordinary pressure to conform” (Shpancer, par.
In any present case, there are no nonconformists, because no human is stupid AND brave enough to not conform to everything. Often, conformity isn’t a matter of stupidity or bravery, as it is instead for seeking comfort. Nonconformists are nonexistent because everyone at some point either develops the desire to fit in, feels the pressure to change, or are not even aware they are conforming but do it anyway because it’s automatic; and even if one refuses to admit they conform, they do, to the people that say the same …show more content…
Those who look to be ‘in’ are said to do this because “conformity soothes” (Shpancer, par. 1). It’s almost as if blending in in a certain situation is comforting. These individuals also tend to look for social cues like the ones in Noam Shpancer’s article on conformists, “First, we look to others for information about what’s going on (informational cues). Second, we look for others to see what to do about it (normative cues)” (par. 5). In using these cues, citizens rely on other individuals; ones they might not know, to adapt to a certain situation with the appropriate behavior. In doing this a person no longer feels left out and can almost fit into this mold of a conformist filled room. However, being in a situation out of one’s comfort zone can cause pressure to the individual, causing them to seek conformity, mainly through the cues. Because this pressure exists and is very real, it sometimes leads people to do horrendous things no one could ever see that person, or most people for that matter doing. This is said of the individuals in the Holocaust that shedded their individuality almost entirely in exchange for their lives that became centered on Hitler’s views whom the philosopher, Hannah Arendt, said to be “ordinary people placed under extraordinary pressure to conform” (Shpancer, par.