Obedience And Conformity Essay

Group size is another factor to be considered in conformity as Meyers (2010) suggests this also would increase compliance. Studies show that a group of three to five people is the ideal number of individuals in a group that will elicit more conformity than just one or two (Meyers, 2010) Conversely, Solomon Asch (1956) found in his studies that there was little change in conformity once the group got to four to five therefore, since conformity does not seem to increase in groups larger than four, this is considered the optimal group size. Although compliance and obedience differ in so many ways there are also many similarities when conformity is going against our desires. Any emotional feelings will have a negative tendency for the individual

Here we discussed the similarities of two types of conformity; obedience and compliance. When compliant an individual will act in accordance with a request whilst secretly disagreeing. An individual under the influence of obedient behaviour would be acting in accordance with a direct instruction or command. As discussed both have their similarities and differences, for instance, conformity in its purest form as a herd mentality will conform irrationally just as social contagion theory suggests. Alternatively, a group or individual displaying cognitive dissonance finds an individual has conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviours therefore, rationalises the situation to bring about cognitive balance to their situation in an effort to be more comfortable with their choice. In other studies such as Milgrims distance study, this study revealed that group participants acted with the greatest obedience when their instructor was of a close proximity to the teacher as opposed to being in another room suggesting an emotional factor is involved. There is an inherent drive for conformity in every individual whether they are required to comply or be obedient; it is just a matter of what the situation at hand requires