Conformity In Lord Of The Flies

As stated in our textbook, “Conformity is a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure.” One can believe that most people will torture an innocent person just because they are ordered to because of the conditioning received since childhood. Obedience is a type of social influence where someone acts in response to a direct order from an authoritative figure doing the influencing. The epitome experiment by Stanley Milgram concluded that most people followed orders from the authoritative figure regardless how immoral the act was. People continued to send electric shock to people knowing that it was causing pain and can possibly lead to death. The 1954 novel by William Golding, Lord of the Flies, is also a good example of obedience regardless of morality. Stranded on an island, a group of choirboys split into two factions led by Jack, the immoral nature of humans, and

Being part of a group can create what one calls “mob mentality”. When in a group setting, there is a loss of individuality and self-awareness. (example is a group of teens on a train is more likely to vandalize and be rowdy than an individual teen.) for example Hindus not eating beef or Muslims not eating pork is a confirming behavior. Conforming behaviors can be termed as norms as they are considered the expected or accepted behaviors.

Though obedience and conformity sounds like a similar thing, there are some differences between them. Conformity has a subtle approach but is still nonetheless considered a voluntary act. Obedience requires direct authority and influence from leaders (usually they are adults or people with power). Pressure and influence are evident in both conformity and obedience. Conformity comes from peer pressure or the need to fit into that certain group while obedience comes from the fear of being punished or abandoned and sometimes out of