Sun 24 Feb 2008
Conformity
Posted by themanoffewwords under Social Criticism
This was really interesting … It would be cool if someone would make their own experiments on Muslims. Da’wah anyone?
Elevator Candid, Must See… - video powered by Metacafe
February 25th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I enjoy doing things to stand out. Does that make me anti-conformist or just attention-seeking? Hmmmmm…
February 25th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I don’t know, you would have to give more details. I don’t know what kinds of “things” you’re talking about.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Things like… not facing the same way everybody else is in an elevator
February 25th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Hmm … that brings up an interesting point. You see if you do something while consciously trying to be different from other people then while you aren’t conforming to them you’re behavior is molded around how others behave. So you are in essence still taking your cue from others and thus you aren’t really being unique.
However, if you do things your own way without any regard to what others are doing, whether or not that entails doing something similar to them, then you aren’t really conforming.
So if everyone is in an elevator facing the back and this coincidentally matches what you want to do then doing it is not necessarily conformist though you happen to be engaging in the same activity. However, if you see that everyone is facing the back and you consciously face the front so that you are not like them then you are still dependent upon the group to guide your actions. And isn’t that the definition of conformity in the first place?
February 25th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
So the best solution would be to be the first person in the elevator, shut my eyes and randomly turn around and around so that I’m never doing what everyone else is doing, but not basing it on what they’re doing because I won’t even know what everyone else is doing.
Alternatively, I could just take the stairs.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Or you could see a psychiatrist.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
You should check out Asch’s experiments on conformity. Very interesting and a bit scary! Milgram’s study on obedience is very scary! Humans are so weak.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:43 am
yeah I stumbled upon this, it’s pretty funny. The Milgram experiment is classic! Derren Brown did an exact replica of the study, it’s scary the extent that people blindly follow others. We learned about the Milgram Experiment in my Persuasion class. it goes back to the concept of Authority and how much that has an affect on persuading people.
Here’s Derren Brown’s video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=y6GxIuljT3w
February 26th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I love the Milgram experiment, it was fascinating to watch, way better than any movie I have ever seen.
Also it is a good example of how generally decent people can be turned into tyrants when given a authority in the context of an oppressive system.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:06 am
I just watched a documentary that attempts to explain the behavior of Enron employees through the Milgram experiment. It’s definitely worth seeing. (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM)