Submitted by: Alyssa Feudo
When we think of obedience, we generally imagine images of animals obeying their masters, or children complying with the requests of their parents, but we rarely wish to picture ourselves, as adults, obeying the commands of someone who makes us feel inferior. However, as human beings, we are inclined to conform to certain social groups and obey the rules of those who possess the most power in that group. We see this not only in everyday experiences, but also through the use of shocking scholarly experiments.
Take, for example, the first video above. A clip from the popular movie, "Mean Girls," portrays many different high school students all doting over the very popular, very attractive, very rich, Regina George. Each one of them seems as though they would love to be associated with this girl because she possesses a certain status of adoration and acceptance within the school. In the second clip, we can see that this girl even has power over the people who are already in her social group. Her "friends" must consult her when they want to invite someone new to lunch and they also must follow her rules of fashion, such as only wearing pink on Wednesdays. While this is only a movie, and is somewhat over-dramatized, we have all had a Regina George at our own high school who has made us feel inferior, whether it be because of looks, money, etc. Whether or not we admit it, at some point we all probably wanted to be a part of that popular clique, because all humans want to be acknowledged, accepted and part of the "in-group," even if that means doing things we wouldn't necessarily do on our own.
Experiments like the Asch Experiment demonstrate just how far people will go in order to be accepted by their peers. It is here that we can actually see normative conformity taking place, that is, a man is publicly agreeing with a group while facing internal disagreement of his actions. In the Standford Prison Experiment we see how the Lucifer Effect makes the "guards" demean any rebellious "prisoners" and treat them very harshly. As a result, the "prisoners" comply with all the demands of these power hungry "guards." It is human nature to fear embarrassment, so we agree to follow even some of the most ridiculous rules in order to avoid humiliation and refrain from being treated like an outcast.
When seeing this happen as an outsider, many of us, including myself, tend to make judgments regarding the intelligence of those who continue to follow some of the ridiculous rules of certain social groups. Comments like, "Why do they care what others think?" or "Who would want to be like her?" are common thoughts that come to mind. However, once we are placed in the situation ourselves, we tend to think entirely different than how we did as outsiders. Think about it, if the opportunity presented itself, how many of us would like to be a part of that popular group? How many of us would follow the unspoken status quos?
How many of us would wear pink on Wednesdays?
When we think of obedience, we generally imagine images of animals obeying their masters, or children complying with the requests of their parents, but we rarely wish to picture ourselves, as adults, obeying the commands of someone who makes us feel inferior. However, as human beings, we are inclined to conform to certain social groups and obey the rules of those who possess the most power in that group. We see this not only in everyday experiences, but also through the use of shocking scholarly experiments.
Take, for example, the first video above. A clip from the popular movie, "Mean Girls," portrays many different high school students all doting over the very popular, very attractive, very rich, Regina George. Each one of them seems as though they would love to be associated with this girl because she possesses a certain status of adoration and acceptance within the school. In the second clip, we can see that this girl even has power over the people who are already in her social group. Her "friends" must consult her when they want to invite someone new to lunch and they also must follow her rules of fashion, such as only wearing pink on Wednesdays. While this is only a movie, and is somewhat over-dramatized, we have all had a Regina George at our own high school who has made us feel inferior, whether it be because of looks, money, etc. Whether or not we admit it, at some point we all probably wanted to be a part of that popular clique, because all humans want to be acknowledged, accepted and part of the "in-group," even if that means doing things we wouldn't necessarily do on our own.
Experiments like the Asch Experiment demonstrate just how far people will go in order to be accepted by their peers. It is here that we can actually see normative conformity taking place, that is, a man is publicly agreeing with a group while facing internal disagreement of his actions. In the Standford Prison Experiment we see how the Lucifer Effect makes the "guards" demean any rebellious "prisoners" and treat them very harshly. As a result, the "prisoners" comply with all the demands of these power hungry "guards." It is human nature to fear embarrassment, so we agree to follow even some of the most ridiculous rules in order to avoid humiliation and refrain from being treated like an outcast.
When seeing this happen as an outsider, many of us, including myself, tend to make judgments regarding the intelligence of those who continue to follow some of the ridiculous rules of certain social groups. Comments like, "Why do they care what others think?" or "Who would want to be like her?" are common thoughts that come to mind. However, once we are placed in the situation ourselves, we tend to think entirely different than how we did as outsiders. Think about it, if the opportunity presented itself, how many of us would like to be a part of that popular group? How many of us would follow the unspoken status quos?
How many of us would wear pink on Wednesdays?
No comments:
Post a Comment