I think my favorite topic of the semester was one of the most recent topics about conformity just because I think it has to do with the real world every day. Conformity was very interesting to me because everybody thinks they are different when they see people doing "stupid things". The media is filled with news of groups of people committing crimes or just doing things that are not smart at all. We all think that there is something wrong with them but the truth is most of the time they are perfectly normal people. They probably got caught up at one point or another in conforming to a group or a single person. There were multiple studies that caught my attention but one thing that I loved the most was the Candid Camera elevator scene when everyone in the elevator turned one way and the person just automatically turned as well. I wrote my last post on "stupid diets" that people do and I also think this has a lot to do with conformity as well. People see others taking part in these ridiculous diets so they do as well regardless of how stupid it may seem. This just shows that conformity is and always will be a major part of our lives!
Conformity Most Interesting
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As stated above, I was surprised how many said the wrong line when they were incorrect. The elevator experiment was funny. I found myself thinking about this video last week. I was in an elevator in TCF Bank Stadium that i've never been in before. There were two doors. Not knowing what door opened and I would have to exit I stood sideways because it seemed to be the safest bet! The other three students that were with me in the elevator stood sideways as well. I don't know if it's because we all came to the same conclusion independently or one of us started the trend, but we all conformed to fit in.
I also found this to be one of the funnier topics we talked about in our discussion section. Watching the study where participants were asked to choose the longest of three lines, I was so suprised how many people went with the group when they were clearly wrong. I feel like if I was in that position I would follow my head and say the correct answer because everyone else is clearly wrong. It is amazing what people will agree with to be part of a group and not be the odd person out.