MAKING YOUR OWN DECISIONS

Often we find ourselves in a position where we have to make a choice. Though it is logical that decision-making is unique to everyone, I would be mischievous if I omitted the fact that others can influence it. At times, we find ourselves deviating from our very own choice in order to please or blend in with others; this is what is referred to as conformity. 

To give an introduction, conformity is a type of social influence that involves a change in belief (or decision) to blend in with others; its essence is the fear of being left out or viewed as abnormal. An experiment that shows the great potential influence of conformity is the Asch line experiment, conducted in 1951. To summarize the experiment, Solomon Asch presented a graph with linear lines and another with a target line. He then asked eight participants which line most closely resembled the target eighteen times. Easy enough, right?

Below is a sample of the graphs presented:

However, Asch deployed seven actors to partake in the experiment while the eighth was the guinea pig. During the first six trials the actors (and participant) answered correctly. Inversely, the seven “participants” agreed on an incorrect choice for the remaining trials. Asch was interested in how the test subject would react to the atmospheric change, whether they would pursue their own conscience and pick the blatantly correct choice or foolishly side with the group. Surprisingly, almost one third of the participants conformed at least once. When asked why afterwards, most participants responded that they answered incorrectly due to not wanting to be seen as peculiar or ridiculed, some even mentioned that they did not feel that their answer was incorrect and were confident going with the flow. The same logic can be applied to conforming in order to please others; at a handful of times, we find ourselves going against our instinct to be on someone’s good side and retain their amiability. A good example I can provide is smoking. Imagine you, a non-smoker, were out with a pal and they request that you smoke with them. Although you are most likely aware that smoking quite literally kills, you are still prone to accepting your friend’s proposal to maintain a healthy friendship. Humans have been blessed with the ability to make independent decisions. When in doubt one must recall their morals, what is right and what is wrong, and make the felicitous choice regardless of the aftermath. Sources: https://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html