group of 100 japanese - prank / social psychology

This video illutrates what how people are forced to conform in critical situations when careful deliberation of choices is impossible.

As we figure out the unique norms that make up our groups in the following weeks, I will like us to also reflect on how conformity can hurt the goal(s) we have set for ourselves. Under what situation(s) is conformity a bad thing? What are some of the principles that we hold dear and are willing to stand up for? How might those principles affect the dynamic within groups?

I am a person who has difficulty saying "no" to someone else, especially if the person asks politely. In a group setting, this surfaces in a bad way in terms of the types of project that I took on. For example, there was one time in one of my gender class where i had to partner someone to work on a project. She was very interested in working on research that looks into how culture affects the reception of pre-natal care treatment in the U.S. Specifically, she wanted to examine how pre-natal care treatments were perceived by hispanic groups. My research interest was getting women to understand investment - nothing to do with pre-natal care (except the payment part perhaps). But I agreed to work on the pre-natal care project anyways. Why? Because I didn't want to seem like a member of the group that is difficult to work with.

The effects of conformity manifested in negative ways for me. I was not interested in the project, dragged my deadline (because I was not interested) and really just hated the whole process. I wished I was more honest and not try to take on something that I didn't like doing. In the end, it didn't turn out to be a good paper. We got it done, but that was it. I felt like it was a waste of time. The paper never went anywhere, not even to a conference - that was how bad it was.

Conformity is needed to keep identity within a group intact. But always ask yourself: how much are you willing to conform without hurting the overall goal? If it is detrimental in anyway, voice out your differences - it's better to be heard than to suffer in silence.