Conformity and Submission

Systemic forces establish specific conditions to shape the perceptions and behavior of individuals. (Zimbardo, 2007) Through the process of socialization, each individual submits to cultural norms that perpetuate the order and continuity of an institution. (Williams, 2011) An individual conforms to the dominant culture through the adoption of perspectives and values that are consistent with systemic prescriptions. This socialization is promoted by the intrinsic needs of personal development as well as the constructed contingencies of an organization. (Guandong, Qinhai, Fangfei, & Lin, 2012) The cultural institution maintains control through the application of a general ideological essence in particular operating procedures. (Zimbardo, 2007)

An institution of authority functions through operating procedures that define the expectations for each subordinate. These rules secure the system against potential deviations. The organizational culture is defined by a collection of regulations that represent the abstract priorities of the hierarchical arrangement. (Zimbardo, 2007) Ideologies are normative concepts that shape the perceptions of an individual. (Skirbekk, 2010) These ideals often provide the justification for the definitive convictions and conventions of an organization. (Skirbekk, 2010) In the process of socialization, a particular value structure is imposed on individuals to generate behavior patterns that are consistent with the dominant priorities of a culture. (Skirbekk, 2010) In the context of this systemic culture, the measure of an action is relative to ideological values rather than authentic validity.

Conformity is the adoption of behaviors and attitudes that are of objective origin. (Guandong et al., 2012) Generally, people will develop perceptions that conform to those of the majority. (Zimbardo, 2007) Socialization processes often promote the internalization of cultural concepts rather than the construction of original ideas. The resulting value orientations are defined in terms of axiomatic assumptions rather than objective assessments. (Skirbekk, 2010) Within this organizational context, evaluations merely represent a comparison with cultural priorities. (Skirbekk, 2010) The systemic forces generate the convergence of individual perspectives in order to promote the continuity of specific principles and arrangements. The organization manipulates the intrinsic properties of learning to impose a particular conceptual perspective.

Natural methods of information acquisition construct meaning by interpreting experience in the context of previously derived knowledge. New sensations are understood by forming perceptual connections between present events and relevant propositions of significance. However, the subjective perceptions must be modified in response to contradictory evidence. Conformity may be motivated by rational considerations that maintain psychological consistency. (Guandong et al., 2012) This type of conformity is enables the integration of alternative knowledge and perspectives without resulting in the experience of dissonance. (Zimbardo, 2007) A learning individual alters the essence of their understanding when confronted with sufficient information that is contrary to their own ideas.

An individual may also be motivated to adopt the dominant perceptions and behavior patterns because of extrinsic or instrumental contingencies. (Guandong et al., 2012) The institution promotes submission by establishing a complex of operating consequences. (Williams, 2011) Systemic forces arrange situations that compel individuals to act in a manner consistent with organizational principles. Through sanctions and rewards, the institution controls the thoughts and behaviors of peoples to prevent deviation or revolution. (Williams, 2011)

Society is structured by norms that govern behavior within hierarchical institutions. (Williams, 2011) These norms are transmitted through the process of socialization in which each member of society is trained to appreciate and comply with expectations. (Williams, 2011) Socialization is achieved through the imposition of specific cultural values as well as the construction of compelling situational arrangements. (Guandong et al., 2012) By submitting to the values of the culture, an individual perpetuates the authority of the systemic hierarchy. (Williams, 2011) The organization maintains control by establishing ideological and physical constraints that prevent various forms of deviant individuality.

References

Guandong, S., Qinhai, M., Fangfei, W., & Lin, L. (2012). The psychological explanation of conformity. Social Behavior & Personality, 40(8), 1365-1372. doi: 10.2224/sbp.2012.40.8.1365

Skirbekk, S. N. (2010) Ideologies, myths, belief systems: Tools for analyzing cultures. Comparative Civilizations Review, 63, 7-18.

Williams, D. (2011) Why revolution ain’t easy: Violating norms, re-socializing society. Contemporary Justice Review. 14(2), 167-187. doi: 10.1080/10282580.2011.565975

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House: New York

Relational Attributions

While the self concept of an individual may lead them to believe that their behavior would conform to personal principles regardless of the situation, the Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates the control of context on behavioral responses. The state of affairs is often the result of a dynamic interaction between people and circumstances. (Zimbardo, 2007) Without direct experience in a set of conditions, it may be difficult to make accurate predictions regarding the actions of an individual person.

In order to interpret events, people create causal attributions that establish perceptions of significance and meaning. (Eberly, Holley, Johnson, & Mitchell, 2011) The perceptions regarding causal origins influence subsequent behaviors and cognitions. (Eberly et al., 2011) This explanation typically includes an internal or external locus of control. (Eberly et al., 2011) Dispositional attributions emphasize the significance of personal qualities in the cause of a behavior. (Zimbardo, 2007) In contrast, situational descriptions recognize the contribution of circumstance in the generation of individual actions. (Zimbardo, 2007)

However, the distinction between personal and circumstantial controls is not always clear when behaviors are embedded within an organizational structure. (Eberly et al., 2011) Systems of power translate an ideology into specific operating procedures. (Zimbardo, 2007) Organizational authorities construct a hierarchy of dominance by establishing systemic conditions. (Zimbardo, 2007) In this context, relational attributions explain an event as resulting from the dynamics of interactions. (Eberly et al., 2011) The foundation of this type of causal origin is not reducible to either individual alone. (Eberly et al., 2011) Rather, the relationship between individuals determines the nature of results. (Eberly et al., 2011) An organization designs relational properties to produce specific patterns of behavior in order to construct and maintain systems of power.

Valid generalizations may predict behavioral responses when the conditions are sufficiently similar in different scenarios. Given the nearly unanimous conformity of all individuals to the various categories in the Stanford Prison Experiment, one may assume with some degree of certainty that most people would behave similarly when placed in this context. Although there may be a variety of expressions, the results of this analysis indicate that the majority of individuals internalize the normative expectations of their role within an organization. This internalization represents the assumption of a defined identity. (Zimbardo, 2007) The categories of prisoner, guard, administrator and researcher include specific behavior prescriptions that are imposed on people in order to maintain the functionality of an organization. While a person may intend on protesting against the features and dynamics of a system, the hierarchical power structure includes methods of normalization that promote conformity and compliance.

References

Eberly, M. B., Holley, E. C., Johnson, M. D., & Mitchell, T. R. (2011) Beyond internal and external: A dyadic theory of relational attributions. Academy of Management Review, 36(4), 731-753. doi: 10.5465/amr.2009.0371

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House: New York

Acquisition of Behavior Patterns

The behavior of an individual represents the interaction between dispositional characteristics and situational conditions. (Zimbardo, 2007) However, the response patterns that predispose an individual to certain actions are formed during a history of personal experiences. (Mitchell, Houwer, & Lovibond, 2009) This history represents the collection of situations to which a person has been exposed throughout their lifetime. Situational forces shape the perspective from which stimuli are interpreted and responses are generated. (Skirbekk, 2010) These conditions are often controlled by systems that establish methods and expectations in order to maintain continuity. (Zimbardo, 2007) The systemic principles are often acquired by individuals under the control of the power structure. (Zimbardo, 2007) The Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates the rapid socialization that results from immersion within a situational context.

Associative learning involves the subjective pairing of previously unrelated stimuli. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Perceptual relationships connect various sensations with unconditioned stimuli that are often biologically relevant. (Mitchell et al., 2009) This association of events is the foundation for mental representations that enable meaningful interpretations of experience. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Through this conditioning process, the behavior patterns of an individual are developed. (Mitchell et al., 2009) The constructed perceptual perspective predisposes a person to certain responses when presented with specific stimuli.

Dispositional characteristics are the distinct behavior patterns exhibited by an individual. (Zimbardo, 2007) If the relationship between stimulus and response is a manifestation of a subjective perspective, then the composition of perceptual constructions is the essential foundation of this type of individuality. Since these phenomenological conceptions are formed in the relation between biologically significant features and the psychological experience of various situations, dispositional characteristics consist primarily in genetic values that control the development of physiological mechanisms. While this inherited identity contributes to the behavior patterns of a person, the majority of individual response differentiations result from a unique personal history of exposure to various environmental characters.

Situational elements interact with the existing properties of an individual to generate a specific action. (Zimbardo, 2007) The nature of a behavioral response is founded on the perceptual interpretation of the sensory experience. Present circumstances are interpreted from the perspective of previously constructed relational propositions. (Mitchell et al., 2009) These propositions are continuously developed in the context of new environmental information. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Through the control of subjective associations, situational forces shape the perceptions that control behavior patterns.

The situational conditions are often established by systems of power that translate an ideology into operating procedures. (Zimbardo, 2007) A cultural ideology is continuous collection of perceptions that composes a normative concept of reality. (Skirbekk, 2010) These cultural concepts are the foundations of central convictions and conventions. (Skirbekk, 2010) The social expectations and polices are internalized by individuals who acquire the values of the organization. (Zimbardo, 2007) People are socialized to behave in a manner that is consistent with the systemic prescriptions. (Skirbekk, 2010) Though cultural learning learning, the conditions of the power structure become the foundation for the interpretive perspective of an individual. Zimbardo’s experiment illustrates to what extent this internalization can occur very quickly. Each participant rapidly acquired the characteristics that were consistent with the expectations of the operating system.

References

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House: New York

Mitchell, C. J., Houwer, J. D., & Lovibond, P. F. (2009). The propositional nature of human associative learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32, 183-246. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X09000855.

Skirbekk, S. N. (2010) Ideologies, myths, belief systems: Tools for analyzing cultures. Comparative Civilizations Review, 63, 7-18.