(no subject)
i'm still working on this essay. :| i think i used up all my brain cells the first month of school.
(rough draft obvs)
“Opinions and Social Pressure” Summary and Response
In the article “Opinions and Social Pressure,” Solomon Asch concludes in his experiments that social influences can affect our opinions and attitudes. His conclusions are still applicable today because we are still heavily influenced by others and our environment. He raises concern about conformity interfering with consensus and our individuality.
Solomon Asch’s experiments involved lines of various lengths, and was conducted on students of higher learning. There was a controlled group that was asked to give correct or incorrect answers during specific times, and one student was unaware of the majority’s instructions. The uninformed student was the focus of the experiment and faced having his answers challenged by the majority’s whole view. In many cases, the student changed his answer to follow his peers. However, if the student had a fellow student agree with him, his chances of going along with the majority decreased.
Asch’s results still apply in today’s society because of all the visible conformity on television and cliques in schools. The media has become a powerful agent in defining what is acceptable in our social environment and what we should buy, look like, and act like. It has affected my life because I have wanted to conform during many times in my life. I went through many periods trying to fit different molds and to please others. Alas, I realized that the outside never mattered as much as the inside did and that allowing me to be and become who I am was the best way to live life. Although, fitting in a crowd can be comforting, there is much more freedom and pleasure in going with what you believe in. Ergo, the concept of being true to oneself is more rewarding than being right in the eyes of others.
According to Asch, each person needs to contribute independent views in order to make consensus function. Although, as social humans, we will always want to connect with others, we need not change our views or behaviors to fit in with others. Therefore, conformity interferes with social progress, our individuality, and compromises our differences.
(rough draft obvs)
“Opinions and Social Pressure” Summary and Response
In the article “Opinions and Social Pressure,” Solomon Asch concludes in his experiments that social influences can affect our opinions and attitudes. His conclusions are still applicable today because we are still heavily influenced by others and our environment. He raises concern about conformity interfering with consensus and our individuality.
Solomon Asch’s experiments involved lines of various lengths, and was conducted on students of higher learning. There was a controlled group that was asked to give correct or incorrect answers during specific times, and one student was unaware of the majority’s instructions. The uninformed student was the focus of the experiment and faced having his answers challenged by the majority’s whole view. In many cases, the student changed his answer to follow his peers. However, if the student had a fellow student agree with him, his chances of going along with the majority decreased.
Asch’s results still apply in today’s society because of all the visible conformity on television and cliques in schools. The media has become a powerful agent in defining what is acceptable in our social environment and what we should buy, look like, and act like. It has affected my life because I have wanted to conform during many times in my life. I went through many periods trying to fit different molds and to please others. Alas, I realized that the outside never mattered as much as the inside did and that allowing me to be and become who I am was the best way to live life. Although, fitting in a crowd can be comforting, there is much more freedom and pleasure in going with what you believe in. Ergo, the concept of being true to oneself is more rewarding than being right in the eyes of others.
According to Asch, each person needs to contribute independent views in order to make consensus function. Although, as social humans, we will always want to connect with others, we need not change our views or behaviors to fit in with others. Therefore, conformity interferes with social progress, our individuality, and compromises our differences.