Thread: Sociology

Originally posted by jjm121
How deeply does the group influence the individual? To what level? *
From experience, i know that if someone tells you something that is midly believable,
and compounds you with it, you will begin to believe.

Ingraining opinions into someone else's subconscious?

We would all be surprised how influential a group can be over all of us.
Watch the movie 12 angry men. The older version is much better IMO.
It gives some good insight on our sociological behavior.

There are small and large scales of this.
It takes a very strong will and belief in your self to keep your will among a group of people when you are a minority.
Mob rules. You often see what would be normal law abiding citizens acting with a group violently in a protests, looting or riots. They can't even give you a good reason for doing so when questioned afterwards. "I got caught up"

Hitler and his nation is another good example of masses of people following what became to be accepted but otherwise appalling.
Actually any representation of a government acting over the people is an act of this. Look at President Bushes approval at one point. When it begins to plummet more & more people jump on the band wagon.
Gays are more widely accepted now than they ever were. Right or wrong, depicted through our social acceptance, peoples views begin to waver.

In some cases people have to go along with a majority for the sake of their own survival. Unfortunately even when they know it is wrong.

It is human instinct to want to fit in. to be part of the crowd, normal it would seem.
If everyone else is doing it I must be wrong?!?!

As you described about ingraining ideas into our subconscious. Our parents, friends family and peers all have been inscribing ideas into your psyche since you were born.
I often wonder if people become lost in life because of this. When they form their own opinion, conflicting that of all they know, They feel stripped,. Naked. It was part of them their entire lives.

Well, we can look at History and see that Civilizations have had Civilizing Effects -- that Civilizations are attractive and tend to appeal to the Barbarians along their edges and parapheral territories. Without much effort these Barbarians go to great lengths almost to Civilize themselves, to go out of their way to participate in Civilization.

But, then, Historians point out that it often takes 3 generations for territories to go from Barbarian to Civilized. We also see a trend whereby Old Regimes will have one last rebellion at about the 120 Year Mark from having lost influence. After 120 years everyone is usually fully on board with the Political and Social Jurisdiction, as it is.

So, yes, people want to get along and will conform to the Social Mean.

The problem arises only if the Social Mean is inherently dysfunctional. But then the Civilization that had given rise to that Social Mean will collapse into a new Dark Ages, and giving chance for another Civilization to arise, with a modified Social Mean that might do better next time.

Well, i think that all individuals, are entirely, made up by the group in wich they live, yet there is something that seperates them from the group, something that makes them individuals, and allows diversity in a society, that is concience, and from that concience, derivates, personality, identity, self esteem, and all that , that makes them human *BEINGS* If society didnt have an influence upon indviduals, civilization could not possibly exist, example of this take a newly born, and seperate him from society, he would be a primitive man like those that lived 10 thousand years ago
but in not an expert, and only 16 years old so, elighten me.

Just look at America's current state. Watch the media and you will see the power that the group has over the individual.

Look at our march to war. Look at the way that the public was manipulated and is still being manipulated. I am not speaking in pro-war or anti-war terms, I am simply saying to really try to stand back and watch. The public is being played by all sides. It definately seems to be that whoever can control the public opinion wins. By any means necessary.

Yes i agree on that, but even when the group plays a role part, in the forming of an individuals being, there is somethin that makes him an individual, and no a collective being, that is his concience, but there are times when an individuals concience is so strong that IT can change the colectivity:

To get this i must highlight, the properties of the individual behaving once in a group.

1. The individual changes, to become homogenous with the group. (this is the one you mentioned9

2. The individual doesnt change, but is weak, and is rejected by the group.

3. The individual changes the group.

4.The individual, sub exists in the group, but does not form part of it.

Personally i like the 3 option. But what causes individual to behave in these different ways? Concience. How? you tell me...

OH!, and if you put a man on fire, hell get burned.