Is Conformity to Group Norms a Good or Bad Thing Essay

BUSI 3310 – Individual Assignment Topic 8 – Question 1 Is conformity to group norms a good or bad thing? Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. Conformity is inherent in our everyday lives and can occur when we are with others or when we are alone. For example, many of us follow social standards for eating when we are with a group and when we are alone. Conformity occurs when individuals yield to group pressures or expectations, also called norms. The text defines norms as the informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the behavior of their members (McShane and Steen, p.194). Norms develop as soon as teams form because people†¦show more content†¦One of the most important reasons for group conformity is for decision making purposes. As noted earlier, norms form as team members discover behaviors that help them function more effectively, which leads to more effective decision making. Once teams have figured out a process that works well for them, team members will conform t o the way the group comes to a decision. This saves a lot of time, effort and energy. This type of conformity is positive and gives structure to the group. Groupthink, on the other hand, is a more negative outcome of group conformity. Groupthink is defined as the tendency of highly cohesive groups to value consensus at the price of decision quality (2009). There has been considerable experimentation on this topic which proves that people will time and time again give incorrect answers simply to fit in with a group. The Asch Experiment was a series of studies conducted in the 1950’s that has shown how perfectly normal human beings can be pressured into unusual behavior by authority figures, or by the consensus of opinion around them. The overall findings of the experiment were as follows: one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the majority. Over the 18 trials about 75% of participants conformed at least once and 25% of participant never conformed. After the interview the participants were interviewed, most said that they did not really believeShow MoreRelatedConformity And Its Effect On Society Essay1436 Words   |  6 Pagesbalancing academics, self care and missing home, students face immense pressures from their peers. Conformity is the alteration of a behavior due to the influence of others, regardless of if their presence is real or imagined. Conformity often occurs in groups, and because groups are a very common and important in college, it becomes a time in one’s life when pressure is extremely high. My group of girls are tightly knit. 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