Q Building on the Reading: "Opinions and Social Pressure" In this discussion activity, we will use the findings of the Asch experiment as a starting point for understanding what motivates conformity in real-world social environments. Before you make your first post, read this introductory information: In "Opinions and Social Pressure," Asch establishes the prevalence of conformity in response to group pressure. Based on his experimental findings, it seems that humans often deny readily available evidence in order to match the behavior and beliefs of their communities. As valuable as Asch's experiment is, it has little to say about why we conform. Asch does explain how some conforming subjects just assumed they were wrong and that the group was right; others thought that "their difference from the majority [was] a sign of some general deficiency within themselves, which at all costs they must hide." These are interesting starting points, but clearly there's more to explore about what motivates conformity. Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard University Herbert C. Kelman provides a framework for understanding what motivates conformity. He has described three different processes that motivate conformity. • "Compliance": In this process, the individual doesn't believe in what the group wants them to do or think, but they conform anyway to avoid punishments or gain rewards. This sort of conformity results not from any change in belief; instead the conformist is "faking it" out of practical self-interest. • "Identification": This is when someone conforms because doing so establishes a satisfying relationship with a person or group. (The implied trade-off in this situation is something like "We're friends with you because you're similar to us, and our friendship is dependent on you believing/doing the same things we do.") A relationship established via conformity can become so important to the identity of the conformist that the conformist comes to actually believe in what they're conforming to. Still, the relationship is central, and the actual substance of the belief/behavior being conformed to is secondary. • "Internalization": In this process, an individual conforms because the beliefs/behaviors of the group actually align with the individual's value system. That is, the individual authentically agrees with what the group demands, and therefore conforms based on the content of the group's beliefs and behaviors. (This information is drawn from the article "Compliance, Identification, and Internalization: Three Processes of Attitude Change" by Herbert C. Kelman.) Your Task *What you’re being asked to do here may overlap with what you wrote in last week’s discussion ("Beginning our Inquiry"), if you wrote about conformity. This is fine. Feel free to use what you wrote in that previous discussion as a starting point here. STEP ONE: Make your first post (15 points, at least 200 words). In your first post, respond to the following prompt: Describe a specific example of the sort of conformity we see in the Asch experiment taking place today, in the real world. Then use Kelman's framework (see above) to explain what you think motivated the individual's conformity in this situation. Which of the three types of conformity described by Kelman best explains this example of conformity? • Simply put, this should be an instance of someone altering their beliefs or behavior so that it aligns with beliefs or behaviors endorsed by a social group. • This example can be taken from your own personal experience, or it can be something that’s happening in our contemporary society/culture. • It should be a specific situation you're knowledgable about or directly familiar with, so you can make reasonable inferences about motives. • Please don’t judge or ridicule the conformity here; your job in this first post is to simply describe. • Finally, explain what you think motivated the conformity. Was the conformity here a process of "compliance," "identification," or "internalization"? Or was there a different motive, one not mentioned by Kelman? STEP TWO: Respond to someone else's post (10 points, at least 100 words). Identify a post from another student you find interesting and respond to it. You may have noticed that Asch only begins the conversation about the consequences and outcomes of conformity. He clearly believes that the sort of conformity he observes is not desirable, but he stops short of explaining why. In your response to a classmate's post, you're going to develop this line of thinking a bit. After reading about the situation your classmate described, explain what you imagine the effects of the choice to conform might be. Think about how, in this situation, the conformity might affect the individual and the community, for good or bad, short-term and long-term. *Optional follow-up activity* Create a section in your notes titled “Essay Notes/Synthesis Record” Choose one Essay One Download Essay One Focus Question that you have strong feelings about. Free-write responses to the following: 1. 1. How would you answer this question? 2. How do Asch's experiment our discussion about conformity influence your thoughts on this question? • You should return to your “Essay Notes/Synthesis Record” throughout the unit and add to it. • In it, record how each reading—and each discussion—influences, develops, contradicts, or changes your thinking and relates to other writers’ ideas. • This will be a very useful reference tool once you begin writing your essay. • You can, of course, change your topic and focus question, but this will provide a useful starting point.