-
About
Our Story
back- Our Mission
- Our Leadership
- Accessibility
- Careers
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
- Learning Science
- Sustainability
Our Solutions
back
-
Community
Community
back
- Macmillan Community
- :
- Psychology Community
- :
- Psychology Blog
- :
- To conform or not to conform. That is the question...
To conform or not to conform. That is the question.
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark as New
- Mark as Read
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Printer Friendly Page
- Report Inappropriate Content
Mask-wearing (or not) continues to be a social psychological goldmine. In this case, let’s take a look at conformity.
The social pressure to wear or not wear a mask is pervasive. If you are not wearing a mask but are surrounded by people who are, you can feel the pressure to conform to the group’s behavior and put your mask on. If you are wearing a mask but are surrounded by people who are not, you can feel the pressure to conform to the group’s behavior and take your mask off.
Even medical doctors who know the value of wearing masks as a coronavirus transmission preventative can feel the social pressure at a party where no one else is wearing a mask, as described in the New York Times article below. And imagine being at the White House reception for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a reception where no one was wearing a mask.
After covering conformity, provide the following discussion prompt.
********
Part A. Read this New York Times article: “If You See Someone Not Wearing a Mask, Do You Say Something?” (It’s better to link to this September 13, 2020 article in your library database as students may have exceeded their number of free New York Times articles for the month.) From our textbook reading, identify the factors that increase the likelihood of conforming. For each, note whether the factor was present in Dr. Robert Klitzman’s party experience. Provide evidence from the article.
Part B. Review these photos taken on September 26, 2020. For each factor that increases the likelihood of conforming, note whether the factor was present. Provide evidence from the photos and article.
Part C. Have you had a similar experience where you felt social pressure to wear a mask or not? Describe the experience. Which factors that increase the likelihood of conforming were present for you? Which were absent? Finally, what did you do: conform or not conform?
Part D. Lastly, when put in the same position again, would thinking about the factors that increase the likelihood of conforming affect your ability to resist the social pressure? Why or why not?
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.
-
Abnormal Psychology
19 -
Achievement
3 -
Affiliation
1 -
Behavior Genetics
2 -
Cognition
40 -
Consciousness
32 -
Current Events
26 -
Development Psychology
15 -
Developmental Psychology
34 -
Drugs
5 -
Emotion
48 -
Evolution
3 -
Evolutionary Psychology
5 -
Gender
19 -
Gender and Sexuality
5 -
Genetics
12 -
History and System of Psychology
4 -
History and Systems of Psychology
7 -
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
50 -
Intelligence
8 -
Learning
63 -
Memory
37 -
Motivation
14 -
Motivation: Hunger
1 -
Nature-Nurture
7 -
Neuroscience
42 -
Personality
27 -
Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment
19 -
Research Methods and Statistics
87 -
Sensation and Perception
43 -
Social Psychology
122 -
Stress and Health
55 -
Teaching and Learning Best Practices
50 -
Thinking and Language
16 -
Virtual Learning
26
- « Previous
- Next »