Conformity Research Paper

Conformity is defined as the compliance with social standards and laws of a particular culture, environment, society and time. Conformity occurs when individuals change their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more closely with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a consequence of real or perceived group pressure. There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. Normative conformity is conformity results from the desire to be accepted, most widely known as peer pressure. Informational conformity, however, results from the desire to be correct. This often occurs when individuals are not confident in their own judgments, and believe the judgments of others. Throughout my Personal Interest Project, I hope to successfully investigate the social and cultural agents, which have contributed to this trend, such as how Gender, Culture, and Time has affected this, in addition to how this varies between perception and reality. It is my hypothesis that the patterns of conformity an individual exhibits is related to their own personal experiences and interactions with their surrounding culture, society and environment. In this way, it is my belief that culture, gender, perception and time will influence an individual’s response to social pressures, and thus …show more content…
My PIP incorporates the micro, meso, and micro levels of society, providing me with a deep understanding of people’s micro worlds through qualitative research and a broad view of the macro world through quantitative research. It enables me to deepen my understanding of the Society and Culture course, by explicitly relating to the depth study of conformity and non-conformity. It will also enhance my abilities as a social researcher, and develop my socio-cultural literacy by providing me with practical