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Rational Conformity In Society

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To understand social obedience, we first must look into the concept of conformity. “Conformity is the change of actions or attitudes caused by the pressure from some real or notional groups” (Song, Ma, Wu, & Li, 2012, p. 1365). In most instances of conformity, it comes from rational refection, but there’s always a possibility for irrational conformity. Rational conformity is when a person’s behavior is guided by reasonable thinking or judgment. “It occurs as a result of the influences exerted by the object’s behavior or attitude and includes abidance, compliance, and obedience” (Song, Ma, Wu, & Li, 2012, p. 1366). The object can be an individual, group, or organization, or it can be policies, rules and regulations, or the experience or natural …show more content…

Obedience is a natural part of society, without it there’d be complete disorder. Society would be unstable and unproductive. If no one followed commands, it’d be impossible for society to run smoothly. “The subject is subordinate to the object for the purpose of seeking rewards or avoiding punishment” (Song, Ma, Wu, & Li, 2012, p. 1369). So, if people were not subordinate, there’d be no need to seek rewards or avoid punishment. This would allow people to break the law, not follow simple instructions, and break any rules set upon them. Further, this would stop them from doing their job or behaving correctly if there were no rewards or punishments. However, complete obedience may not be beneficial for society either. If every person in society did everything they were told to do by a superior, the results would most likely turn out not as expected. One might believe that this would be very good for society. They would say that it would make society more efficient and productive. This may be the case, but in addition to that society would lose something. If everyone did exactly as they were told they’d all be mindless drones. If people are blindly following orders even when it’s wrong, it’s safe to say they’ve become senseless with no individual thought. So when another person is wrong or a law in society is wrong, complete obedience is not necessarily a good thing. Overall though, I think social obedience generally is a good thing. Having a balance between obedience and insubordination is what society needs to function properly. It is important that social obedience exists, it allows for an ordered and efficient

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