Teenage conformity essay

Introduction Conformity shapes our everyday decisions, whether it is acknowledged or not. How individuals are perceived by society and our peers puts an immense pressure on a person both in groups and privately, actively changing behavior that they may not normally take part in.

Conformity for some teens helps satisfy the belonging need. Noted psychologist Abraham Maslow suggests a hierarchy of human needs, and one of the needs on the hierarchy is the urge to belong and be accepted by friends, family and peers. Teens want to belong to a family, but most teenagers also want to establish trust relationships with peers.

Like stereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitive balance. There are several kinds of conformity. Many studies Group conformity is defined as the way people change their behavior or character when influenced by other people or by a certain social environment.

Many studies Group conformity is defined as the way people change their behavior or character when influenced by other people or by a certain social environment. A basic example of it will be a teenager whom friends are all smirking a cigarette, fear of not being part of the group our teenager will at his turn light a cigarette.