Conformity

It is hard to wake up each day trying to conform to the norms of everyday

society. Society's behavior is guided by a set of rules that tell us what we

should and should not do. With some jobs its hard to be an individual However, that is not to say you can't. Differences in character and

appearance in your uniform can make the biggest difference. When these

differences are erased by society's attempt to create similar individuals or

groups like the military, you lose your sense of individualism. The clothes

we wear, the work or job we do in the military, and even the manner in which

we speak are all factors of conformity. Conformity is the adjustment of

one's behavior or judgment to match with a group standard, these standard

are not only in the military, but also in basically everything you do in life. I'm

not trying to explain what conformity is, just the fact that we are

conforming everyday in some way.

One of the pairs of cards used in the experiment. ...

A segment of a social network

Asch conformity experiment

So how do you deal with something that you

are faced with everyday? Believe it or not conformity is something that all

of us do, whether we would like to admit to it or not.

I feel that the need to express my individuality is greater than that of me

trying to conform to a set of standards and yet I am still conforming. In the

military, I make an effort to better myself in professional knowledge,

military bearing, and the quality of work I do, but still I fall under some

type of norm. It may be considered an above standard norm, but it is still a

norm and you are expected to do it, which again equates conformity.