We all grow up in a household where we are told go to school so that we can get good jobs and make good money. It’s installed in parents to say that. Some parents even go to the extent of telling children that if they study to be a doctor, lawyer, nurse, accountant and so forth, they will have a fulfilling life. Not to say those kind of parents are terrible parents but this is due to the fact that they have their own view of life and based on their perspectives what they believe is their truth.
At some point we grow up wondering if in some way society influenced our choice, especially if you end up giving into choosing what is expected of you instead of allowing yourself to discover what you are actually passionate about. There are different types of social influences or rather society’s influence can take up different forms. The first type of influence we can come across is social proof or informative social influence. We all have the urge to make decisions based on information that is accurate and knowledgeable. This can sometimes be because we lack the adequate amount of confidence so in return we turn to people or other sources of information, to fill that void. What many of us don’t realise is that there is a possibility that we might accept the information fully even if it is not accurate and that information can subject us to social influence. We have all come across groups that we have wanted to become part of. To some extent, in order to become part of these groups we tend to adjust our behaviours and behave in ways that are acceptable to the group. Both of these social influences are recognised as conformity.
Other than conformity we can also experience social influences such as compliance and obedience. Contrary to conformity, compliance forces a person to behave a certain way. A person who is asked to comply to behaving a certain way is otherwise asked by a friend for a favour or a boss at work. Compliance however, should not be mistaken for obedience. The difference with obedience is that the individual is asked to behave a certain way by a person who has authority so it is more likely that a person would give into these orders with obedience. Now, what does this have to do with how people turn out and how we end up choosing what we want to do for a living, how we want to dress, what we prefer to eat, what our favourite colours are and who we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
Psychologists have confirmed that every person is influenced by society one way or another and this can be the outcomes of social norms, trends, customs and rules. A person’s role in society can also have an influence in how they behave and the choice they make. In many African cultures and households, the male child can be seen as the saviour of the household, thus putting a lot of pressure on the life choices that a male child is expected to make. In other communities, especially in communities where women are uplifted female children are pressured to strive as academics with multiple qualifications and a job as a doctor, lawyer or CEO and additionally be a powerful Christian role model with a household and children who will follow in her footsteps. The matter of fact part of this information is that, depending on who you are, how you grow up, what you expose yourself to, you can either take in society’s influence as an anchor towards conformity or as a guideline that can drive you towards building your own identity.
It’s not a sure thing that a person will give into what society wants them to become and there is also no way to conclude that a person will rebel against the influence of society by one thing that has been proven over and over again is that people are shaped by where they come from. The values, norms and rules that we grow up with can and will influence the decisions we make in life. The way we greet people in the first place is something that is installed into us since childhood.
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