Write 7 page essay on the topic Why people often yield to societal pressure: reference to social psychological research on conformity.Download file to see previous pages... However, there are times in

Write 7 page essay on the topic Why people often yield to societal pressure: reference to social psychological research on conformity.

However, there are times in which people act not out of their own principles or judgment of situations but as a result of social influences. Instances of prejudices, mindless violence and other unattractive public reactions are evidences that group pressure shapes the judgments, beliefs and practices of its members. Evidently, people become passive recipients and conformers to the knowledge of others whenever they are placed in a group setting. This paper seeks to explain the reasons as to why people conform to societal pressure. Reasons In the presence of other people, people, regardless of their age, social class, situation or background tend to conform to perceived pressure from others (Bond and Smith 1996). According to Brown (1999), there is no specific or universal way in which individual people respond to group pressure whenever there is a difference between their personal perceptions and perceptions of other group members. This means that although they are always willing and prepared to change their beliefs to conform to that of the majority, people always do so out of some motivations known to them. There are several reasons for which people yield to societal pressure. ...

A good example of this is how women and girls influence each other’s eating habits. Evidently, many women want to attain and maintain size 10, the body size considered by many women and men to be the ideal body size. A good picture of this can be obtained by observing college students. When reporting for their first year, first semester, many of them are less concerned or critical of their body size, whether too big or too small. However, their perceptions of themselves begin to take a new turn as they make friends, associate and talk about their physical appearances. By the next semester, these ladies, specifically those who are huge, will be indulging in all manner of activities like excessive dieting, taking laxatives, vomiting and exercise in order to get slim and attain the ‘ideal’ size 10 body. This clearly indicates that the perception of size 10 as the ideal body size in campus makes those ladies who remain huge to feel incomplete, ugly, unattractive and so not fitting in the company of campus ladies and campus male friends. They will, therefore, yield unwillingly to the need to slim themselves. The same applies to ladies outside campus, especially the working class. Another factor that makes people yield to social pressure is the need to be informational, a situation known as informational conformity. Crutchfield (1955) explains that this type of conformity results when a person is caught up in an uncomfortable situation making them look up to others, mainly members of their society for guidance. This comes about because the person wants to do the right things or react appropriately, but they lack adequate or appropriate information.