Conformity In Society

“Everyone is buying this, so it must be good, I also want one”, this is what is called Conformity and this is what the marketers rely on. As social species, our basic need is to have a sense of belonging-to be a part of the group, a group that shares ideas or habits similar to that of our own. Once we are a part of such a group, we try to do what others are doing, becoming copycats, and in the process acquiring even the irrational desires of the group. We change our behavior to be like others. We are ready to ignore even the most obvious truths if that increases our likeability. Our answers are not based on a rational consideration of what is asked but how we should be perceived by others while answering. We do everything possible to try to

Hence, we may completely change ourselves and our behavior just to remain in the group. Even if we do not actually know about the product or genuinely do not require it, we tend to be attracted by the product because everyone else has it. This conformity makes our lives easier by providing us a cognitive shortcut. We need not think before doing something if others are doing it as well. We assume that other people who are doing something know more about the situation more than us and their actions may be rational, and hence following those people won’t be a mistake, even if those actions actually do not make any sense. Daniel Richardson once said “When people interact, they don’t share information, they share biases. This theory of Social Proof provides marketers a great opportunity to use group effect and make their products more appealing to consumers. Using social media and social behavior for promoting their products, mentioning loyal customer’s reviews, messages and testimonials showcases approval of their brand making it more lucrative to the

And if we make this commitment publicly, then we would definitely complete it within a particular timeframe, as not doing so may invite humiliation from our peer group and society, negatively affect our public image and may severely hurt our self-esteem. If the promise is made publicly and we do not succeed, everyone will know about it. None of us would like to be called a failure in front of our fellow members, or mocked by them on being unable to abide by our own statement. At no cost we would allow a negative opinion to be formed about us by the society. Hence the probability of following through the promise made would be greater to avoid public and personal letdown and to ensure that everyone perceives us in the manner which is favorable to us, or say everyone perceives us the way we would like to be perceived. We can go to any length to appear consistent in our words and actions in front of public, even if that requires doing things that are actually irrational and make no sense at all. We love the idea of being called consistent and rational, and would do anything to prove it to someone else. We try to remain true to our word. We try to achieve conformity and consistence between our actions, statements and beliefs, and that is a driving factor for most of us. In fact if we commit to do something, we are likely to follow the commitment even if the initial terms of agreement have