What is the meaning of Conformism? Concept, Definition of Conformism

Definition of conformism ‒ compendium of concepts and meanings

1. Definition of conformism

Change in condition or opinions as a result of a real or imagined pressure by a person or group.
Somehow in our culture, Nonconformists are considered "inadequate" or "deviant" and are not very appreciated by the group that refuses to fold, although everything depends on situations. There are situations in which it is desirable to be conformist, for example, which cars circulate all from the right, and other situations that can be disastrous, for example, the circle established around a dictator like Hitler, in which the deviation was prohibited. In this last example it's cohesive groups and isolated from other dissenting views and falling in what is known as "capillismo", i.e. the search for matching is done so dominant, in a clique, cohesive, which tends to rule out realistic alternative considerations. The individuals of the group, faced with pressures of conformism, come to doubt their own reserves and abstain from expressing dissenting views. Perceive themselves as invulnerable and are blinded by optimism. The search for consensus is so important that certain members of the group are sometimes transformed into "knowledge-watchers", decrying the disturbing info entry.
An example of conformism: Asch experiment on perceptual judgment
In the experiment many experimental subjects fold to the incorrect judgment of the majority. It is a particularly striking situation there is no any kind of sanction in case of resp contrary to the majority, or reward to conformism, made explicit, so there are two possibilities:
-before the unanimous judgment, were convinced that their judgments were wrong, or
-continued to mass thus avoiding "dislikes" derived from the disagreement.
In the experiment, there are two goals in conflict: give the correct answer and respond to the expectations of others.
The effect of social pressure could check when allowed the subjects give their resp in private, situation in that the pressure to conform to the foreign judgments ceases to have effect. As a curious detail, adding that most of the people tend to think that we are motivating the aspiration to correction and others are motivated by the desire to be well considered by others, i.e., infravaloramos the degree that we are influenced by the group.

Variables that increment or decrement the conformism

I unanimity in the majority opinion; one of the factors that determine the propensity to conformism is unanimity or lack thereof in the majority opinion. It is enough that the subject has a single ally that gives the correct answer so that their tendency to fold in the wrong judgement decrease strongly. However, if there is unanimity, the volume of most need not be very large to cause maximum conformism,
II. previous commitment with the initial trial: conformism is reduced when the subject is induced to adopt a kind of commitment to their initial judgment, thus when an answer is given before listening to the judgment of others, conformism is reduced to the response of others.
III. type of person: subjects who generally have a poor opinion of themselves, are much more likely to bowing to the pressure of the group than those who have a high self-esteem. Moreover, in specific tasks, self-esteem might be influenced by a given situation and those who are permitted to have previous success in a task, thus, have much less conformism that if come cold into the situation. If a subject believes that it has little or no ability to perform a task, it will tend more to conformism.
IV. type of culture: looks greater conformism in collectivist societies, for example China, than in individualistic, e.g. EE.UU.
V. gender: there seems to be a small gender difference whereby women tend more to conformism than men, which becomes greater when the researcher is male or the task occurs with masculine bias.
VI. membership of the pressure group: a group is most effective to induce the conformisms if it is formed by experts in the field, if members are important to the subject, e.g. friends, if they are comparable to the subject, e.g., classmates. An exception is observed in children, in that if the unanimous majority consists of white children, induces a greater conformism in white children and black children, (the power that gives white people our culture is sufficient to overcome the tendency to be more influential by comparable subjects).
VII. feeling of insecurity: If you are not sure to be appreciated and accepted by the group, there will be a less tendency to express disagreement, even if they are friends, when you evaluate belonged it to the group.
When the source of influence is situated on an individual rather than a group: factors related to the conformism are similar. It is more likely that we show conformity with the condition or the views of an individual important or similar for us or that apparent being an expert or an authority in a given situation. For example, it is easier that we address a request made by someone who wear uniforms that by someone who dresses in civilian. Likewise, the appearance of a high status influences us most.

The spectator not committed as a conformist

There are different standards for aid in large cities and smaller cities; It is more likely to receive help in non-urban settings. In cases like Kitty Genovese, seen as a victim usually get less help when there are a large number of people watching. Accordingly, no intervention can be understood as an act of conformism. Given to this phenomena "effect of the spectator" name; (in such a situation the case of Kitty, it may happen that if people realize that the event is being witnessed by others, fade the responsibility felt by each individual, each Viewer may think that someone was calling the police or ambulance, or that it was the duty of others to do so).

2 Concept of conformism

Conformism is a term used to designate a type of attitude or way of life that encloses certain passivity and lack of struggle for what is considered direct rights. Conformism is usually described as an attitude whereby a person is satisfied with what you have without questioning it, without attempting to improve its reality nor that of the world and not acting in a way active to do this. It is common to relate the current lifestyle that is carried out through the consumption of products and objetosmateriales, conformism consumption that in turn implies a loss of the spirit of struggle and action of each individual.
Conformism tends to be seen as a very modern phenomenon since the modern capitalist society induces individuals to set aside interests deeper, more far-reaching concerns and metaphysics to focus around the consumption of products and adapt to common social behavior parameters that do not involve the struggle or the questioning of the system. Thus, conformism expands at the social level in the sense that makes each individual leave to seek continuously to improve its reality to a deeper than superficial level.
Conformism is, in addition to social, also a problem or an individual attitude. In this sense, it is much more common to find people who demonstrate a more passive character than those that constantly are faced with what is not considered to be just or convenient conformist attitude. Thus, people who succumb to the conformism often conform or be content with reality as they live it thinking that it is so because that was their fate or played them that style of life regardless of the destination or the history of a person is changed from the facts or decisions that one takes along his daily activities. Conformism can become a problem when the same does not allows a person to succeed in their activities and become a person suffering, unhappy or constantly distraught.

3 Meaning of conformism

Conformism is an abstract term which is used to make reference to the attitude which a human being can have on life and different situations that touch you live day to day. The idea of conformism comes from the adjective "according". Conform with something means to accept it and even though when using this adjective is usually give positive meaning to the person, in the case of conformism that acceptance becomes negative insofar and as soon as the person is characterized by accepting everything that happens to him regardless of whether it is positive or negative and not do anything to fight against what you don't like or meets.
Conformism is in many ways one of the most common attitudes of our times and this has to do with the type of society in which we live. Today's society makes that its members will be immersed in a complex system of routines, demands, duties and occupations from which it is very difficult to get rid if one wants to survive in the best possible way. Thus, before the permanent need to follow the routines and social mandates people they tend to show attitudes rather conformist with your present and your destination because they simply don't have time nor enough power to fight that which does not satisfy them.
Many times the conformism also has to do with fear or insecurity to lose the social place that one occupies, not wanting to change because they were in a safe place, not looking for more victories or achievements because that one already has reaching you for a more or less normal life.
At different times the human being has been able to revolt not only against everyday situations if not also to social, political and cultural structures generating changes so profound that society never returned to be equal. A clear example of this may be Revolucionfrancesa, one of the historical most crucial moments for the West since it meant a change of paradigm not only political but also social and cultural. At a time like that, conformism play a very little or almost no place as persons not granted to accept that reality and are dissatisfied in various ways.

4. What is conformism

Conformism no logical or complacent, inevitably leads to stagnation and mediocrity.
We must understand as not logical or complacent conformism that conformism that is a synonym for adaptation to circumstances with resignation.
Will never exist worst insult for a person than the of be branded conformist, since, at that time, that individual will be being catalogued as a being without ambition, without character or personality, in short, a mediocre be sentenced to pertenencer during the rest of its existence to the lowest category of persons, of the large uniform masses.
A man's life should be full of goals, and its existence, dedicated to reach them. These goals can be big or small, real or illusory; None of this actually matters to the individual, what really matters is that the mind is never idle, you are always working on something new. It is this desire to create, to always do something more, something better, to what we call ambition, and the person who practice this way of life, ambitious.
It is important not to confuse ambition with greed, in any moment because, while the ambition it's individual and common welfare, greed it what you looking for is individual welfare at the expense of the common.
Individual well-being, in ambition, is achieved by working for the goals, and this work enriches so amazing person, converts to be in humans, and makes it grow until unimaginable limits, but, of course, full or ideal well-being will be achieved where the stated goal is achieved or not.
In greed, this welfare is achieved through a destructive work, whose only rule is that maximum of Machiavellian thinking that tells us "end (the personal satisfaction) justifies the means (destruction or damage to one's neighbor)". This work destructive, lacerating, degrades to be, and degrades it to convert it into a perverted creature who does not deserve to exist alongside real humans. Greedy people are what make shaking our societies.
Thus, these societies will advance, will stagnate, retreat or enter into conflict, depending on the proportion of conformists, ambitious or greedy they conform them, or which of these qualities manifest predominantly in their leaders.
In any case, we must remember that the common welfare is achieved through the ambition of individuals and groups, and the few contributions that can give us greed, are generally at the expense of high costs of destruction and suffering.