This assignment focuses upon conformity and what it means to us

The first 200 words of this essay...

Michelle Jones, November 2002.

Conformity.

This assignment focuses upon conformity and what it means to us.

Conformity is defined by Zimbardo (1992) as "A tendency for people to adopt behaviour, values and attitudes of other members of a reference group".

Why people conform is a topic of much debate.

People don't always conform for the same reason's, in 1958 Kelman identified three main forms of conformity, each of which could produce conforming behaviour but in different ways.

The first of these and the most superficial is Compliance: Going along with the majority in order to avoid rejection or in order to gain rewards such as social acceptance or approval. The distinguishing feature of compliance is that the conforming behaviour lasts only as long as the situation. Once the influencing "agents" are no longer present, the person stops conforming.

Kelman's second for of conformity is that of Identification: The person conforms to others at particular times and in particular ways because these times are part of a general pattern of relationships which he or she is trying to maintain. In this type of conformity, the conforming behaviour is not an important thing in