Conformity Impacts as a Social Worker-Free-Sample for Students

Question: Describe what conformity is referring to how it is defined and the main theories that are involved and Critically analyse the idea of conformity, examining it from negative and positive perspective. Is there a relationship between them? Answer: Introduction Conformity is the kind of an act which is related to changing of the behavior just to match with the responses of others. A few hundred years ago, Deutsch Gerard, differentiated in between the two: informational and normal conformity. The first was based on the wish to form the exact interpretation of the reality and the behavior. And the second one was based on the goals to obtain approval socially from others(Cialdini Goldstein, 2004). Conformity is generally taken as a criticized feature of the human belief formation. It is also considered as the negative influence over reliability(James, 2008). This report focuses on the definition of the conformity and its theories that are related to it. Also the analysis of the idea of conformity is done. Conformity Definition and what it refers to Conformity is the act in which people will come up with the same behavior as others by changing attitudes and behaviors. It usually occurs in the small groups or in the society on the whole. It can either occur in front of others or individually too. The best example of this is people following social norms while watching TV or even when they are alone. It is generally associated with the young age people but it may occur in any ages of people(Bernheim Exley, 2015). The final explanation for it is social influence. People might conform according to others choices if they fear the society. Theories involved in Conformity Social Comparison Theory Social comparison is the habit for evaluating oneself and comparing to others. This is a significant source of behavior which is competitive. This theory states that the people who are driven by the basic drive upward, they improve their performance and at the same time they reduce discrepancies between them and other peoples level of performance. This act of reaching upward and to do better than the best generates the competitive behavior. This competitive behavior is one of the types of social comparison(Garcia et al., 2013). This is the theory was stated by Festinger in 1950. His theory said that the communication actually at first serves to reach the agreement in the groups and the pressure for uniformity of the conversation is just based on the two reasons: the locomotion of the group makes it important and necessary that all the members should hold the same opinion and all individuals feel the need to agree on the social reality as the world will always validate the righteousne ss of every individuals opinion. Hence, in this theory of social communication, Festinger focused on the significance of other people in formation of ones opinion. There is always reason for people to engage in social comparisons. It is basically based on the motivational comparisons. People mostly rely on the objective standards for such kind of evaluations. Objective standards are not available and they are always very hard to achieve as well. Sometimes, people do not seek feedback from other people but they always try and maintain positive image within society. Now, just if this needs to end, people will need to purposefully engage themselves in the comparisons with others(Corcoran, 2011). Social Influence Theory Social theory is the umbrella concept which consists of the work of multiple theories. These theories are used in the structuring the thoughts and knowledge of consumer behavior. The theory of social influence can be stated as the act of balancing in between the interest of self and others. The other definition could be that a person takes his decisions by himself or by going on what other say about taking the decision(Cascio et al., 2015). The motives were also found out in the theory as to why people feel this need. It was found out that there were multiple motives for agreeing and disagreeing with people. There have been studies done on the changing attitudes of people when they come in contact with other people. Common reasons due to which attitude changes could be motivated by the normative concerns are: Coherence ensuring and evaluation of the self. To ensure that satisfactory relations are the results To understand the issue in terms of influence. The researchers of social influence assumed that normative and informational motives are linked with different mechanisms which generate the attitude change. The wish for desiring the normative expectations results in informational analysis and transitory judgment change. The recent studies have shown that the analysis of persuasion by providing the evidence of normative motives which affect the influence with the common set of information mechanisms. Finally, the participants when motivated to defend their position, they selected the arguments which they could read to support their view; they generated thoughts which were supportive of the position and denoted polarized attitudes. Challenge for investigating in future will always be to continue developing models of social and cognitive processes which are inclusive for capturing the attitude change in variety to informational settings with in which it occurs(Wood, 2000). Positive and Negative conformity Conformity is an adaptive behavior of a certain way to conform to social pressure. It can be viewed in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way too. The positive side always allows people to feel as a part of a group when the people appear in a particular fashion or look and also the way they speak. This is known as normative influence. This influence occurs when people want to be liked by other people and hence, they conform. It can also be taken as a negative perspective when people bash what they would have accepted on their own ideas. Hence, conformity is based on the desire to be liked as well as it is also subjective. Another type of conformity is social influence which happens when people desire to always be correct. People who are in minority situations can make large use of conformity(Yu Sun, 2013). When the behavior or belief stands unanimous, most people who are in the minority are treated as if they have a huge amount of pressure on them to conform and accept the p articular type of lifestyle. Racial tensions are the same as this and this type of tension is also seen in the past. The unanimity is not that solid as it appears to be(Zafar, 2009). Hence, break in conformity is a good thing which proposes changes that are needed and it can be considered as a good thing to allow conformity. Though the positive and negative aspects are same in a way that conformity is occurring because of people want to be a part of the group yet other than this relation, there is no link between both positive and negative conformity. Conformity Impacts as a Social Worker People who work as a social care workers comes in contact with the people who are in pain or have lost courage in life to love it even further. They look for support to be up and running again. Sometimes, in order to receive support from people whom a social worker is helping, he will always feel the need to conform. People who are vulnerable would want a social worker to listen to their miseries and just support them in a positive manner. This way a social worker is being able to help other people. It takes a lot of time and planning before providing the help a social worker is preparing for(Allott Robb, 1998). Basically two things are required: ability for providing support to people and ability to identify the requirements that exists. Things will have to plan accordingly. Still, with no conformity sometimes, there is a lack of passion seen in a social worker by the people who are at the side of receiving the support. Hence, it can be taken as a positive approach. To build a foundation of a social working ground, a social worker needs people who are aptly knowledgeable about the area of work and have the skills to make the NGO grow and help more people. People, who want to become a part of the NGO, will sometimes agree to other people because they will think that those people are more knowledgeable and skilled. This might be a misconception or a misunderstanding(Blythe, 2010). This can become a negative approach too. Hence, informational conformity can be negative sometimes. Conclusion This report focuses on the definition of the conformity and its theories. Normative conformity can be proven to be positive and at the same time informational conformity can be proven negative sometimes. While both have a similarity in conformity, both these conformities have different motives behind agreeing in front of the other people. To conform to people in a general sense, just to feel a part of the group is considered to be positive but to conform in any other case will become a lifestyle and this can damage the true image of a personality. The personality which is different from other but the psychology to be liked by others forces people to conform to others(Suhay, 2016). The theories on both positive and negative conformity are discussed yet it is difficult to tell completely if conformity is completely good or bad References Allott, M. Robb, M., 1998. Understanding Health and Social Care: An Introductory Reader. SAGE. Bernheim, D.B. Exley, C.L., 2015. [Online] Available at: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/16-070_1d8d5b51-93dd-4906-b811-4436813d55db.pdf [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Blythe, C., 2010. [Online] Available at: https://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/16186/1/__ddat01_staffhome_bjones_Downloads_46-130-1-PB.pdf [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Cascio, C.N., Scholz, C. Falk, E.B., 2015. [Online] Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1137context=neuroethics_pubs [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Cialdini, R.B. Goldstein, N.J., 2004. psych.ubc. [Online] Available at: https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/Psyc591Readings/CialdiniGoldstein2004.pdf [Accessed 12 February 2018]. Corcoran, K., 2011. soco.uni-koeln. [Online] Available at: https://soco.uni-koeln.de/docs/Corcoran_Crusius_Mussweiler_2011_Social_Comparison.pdf [Accessed 13 February 2018]. Garcia, S.M., Tor, A. Schiff, T.M., 2013. The Psychology of Competition. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 20(10), pp.1 -17. James, K., 2008. kevinzollman. [Online] Available at: https://www.kevinzollman.com/uploads/5/0/3/6/50361245/zollman_-_social_structure_and_the_effects_of_conformity.pdf [Accessed 12 February 2018]. Suhay, E., 2016. [Online] Available at: https://www.democracy.uci.edu/newsevents/events/conference_files/suhay_2016_politicalconformity.pdf [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Wood, W., 2000. [Online] Available at: https://www3.psych.purdue.edu/~willia55/392F-'06/Wood-Influence.pdf [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Yu, R. Sun, S., 2013. suitable rewards to motivate the different generations. [Online] Available at: suitable rewards to motivate the different generations/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0064530 [Accessed 19 February 2018]. Zafar, B., 2009. newyorkfed.org. [Online] Available at: https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr365.pdf [Accessed 19 February 2018].

What Causes Aggression free essay sample

What Causes Aggression? Is It an Instinct or a Learned Behaviour? BY Monkey73 What causes aggression? Is it an Instinct or a learned behaviour? (a) Compare and contrast the views of any two psychological domains on the causes of aggression. (b) Evaluate the validity of their claims in the order to reach an informed decision about the causes of aggression. In order to explore the causes of aggressive behaviour, we have to be clear about what we mean by aggressive behaviour. The psychological definitions of aggression are determined by theoretical perspectives and there is no consensus within or cross the sciences about its components. For example some researchers support that aggression is an inborn, instinctive process based on which we intend to harm others. Such approaches adopt a definition that places emphasis on the intention to harm others. So it views aggression as the intention to harm others and this is not dependent of whether actual harm is inflicted. Other theorists attribute aggression to being a learned behaviour and lay emphasis on observable behaviours that result in eliciting harm to another person. It highlights that the harm needs to be evident so it an be observed and does not view thoughts or unobservable emotions as being components of aggressive behaviour. Bandura in 1973 defined aggression as behaviour that results in personal injury or destruction of property (Hogg, M, Vaughan, G. 1998, p. 40) Anderson and Bushman 2002 postulate aggression is behaviour which causes intentional harm to another person (Glassman 2004, p. 337). Thus it seems current explanations of aggression fall into two board classes which focus on biological or social environment influences. The following essay is going to explore and contrast the distinct views of the biological and behaviourist domains on etermining aggression. It will walk through the core ideas which form the basis for each theory and illustrate the main differences on whether they view aggression as an instinct or as a learned behaviour. I will conclude by assessing the validity of each theory based on existing research. The biological domain views aggressive behaviour as being an innate part of human nature and we are programmed at birth to act in that way. It looks at the genetic, inborn characteristics of the person and not the situation as being the key determinants. Among the biological approaches, important contribution came from he field of ethology, which is concerned with the comparative study of animal and human behaviour. As one of the fields pioneers, Konrad Lorenz (1974) offered a model of aggression that dealt specifically with the issue of how aggressive energy is developed and set free in both humans and animals. His core assumption is that the organism continuously builds up aggressive energy and he likens this process to the operation of a reservoir filling up with water. Occasionally the reservoir needs to be emptied in a controlled fashion, otherwise it will overflow. Whether or not this energy ill lead to the manifestation of aggressive behaviour depends on two factors: (a) the (b) the strength of the external stimuli (e. g. the sight or smell of predator) capable of triggering an aggressive response. So this suggests the potential or instinct for aggression may be innate and the actual aggressive behaviour is elicited by specific stimuli in the environment know sign stimuli. Sign stimuli are environmental cues which regulate the expression of behaviours related to innate drives (Glassman 2004, p. 40) Some sign stimuli elicit the individual aggression, whereas other sign stimuli ay act as inhibitors. He also argues that aggression serves an evolunationary function, allowing the strongest and fittest members of a group to survive and re- produce, whereas eliminating the weaker members. If the aggression is not frequently released in controllable and manageable amounts, that are in accordance with environmental cues the risk is that it will build up and become unmanageable and randomly expressed. Also geneticists have offered theories on aggression by examining physiological processes. Their main focus has been to look at how the brain functions and how it can control aggression. The behaviourist approach view aggression as a learned behaviour and place significance on environmental influences rather then internal drives. They see aggression as a particular class of voluntary responses, which are acquired and modified by the means of reinforcement. This viewpoint emphasises the role of the situation rather than the person and individuals are seen as passive and as receptors of stimulation offered by the environment. The external world shapes learning by offering reinforcement and learning itself is seen as the outcome of associating certain behaviours with rewards or punishments. There are two main aspects of aggressive behaviour which have been supported by this approach: instrumental aggression and the role of frustration in aggression. Instrumental aggression is aggressive behaviour which is maintained because it is positively reinforced (Glassman 2004, p. 342). The primary goal of such aggression is not injury or harm to the victim; the aggression is simply a means to some other desired end. One such end could be self defence. Thus whenever the individual wishes to achieve the same environmental response, they demonstrate the same patterns of aggressive ehaviour. In contrast not all acts of aggression lead to reinforcement and in contrast the individual may be punished. The behaviourists Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower and Sears in 1939 introduced the concept of frustration-aggression hypotheses. This incorporates the concept that aggression might actually be the automatic response of an individual that gets frustrated. Frustration can be defined as the blocking of a goal-orientated response and they viewed this to be the sole cause of aggression. They believed that whenever an individual tries to achieve a goal, environmental onditions block our activity and hence the individual experiences frustration and this can elicit aggressive behaviours. This concept represents the backbone of the approach as it indicates the environment affects the behaviour and the individual is seen as responding to external events. The aggressive energy need not explode directly against its source. Their theory suggests that people learn to inhibit direct retaliation, especially when others might disapprove or punish; instead we displace our hostilities to safer targets. Displacement occurs in the old anecdote about a man dog, which bites the postman. It is clear though, not every frustration leads to an aggressive response. Therefore the earlier proposition of a deterministic relationship between frustration and aggression was altered into a probabilistic version by Miller in 1941. Moderating variables may also explain why aggression is frequently displaced away from the frustrator onto more easily accessible or less intimidating target. Marcus-Newhall, Pederson, Carlson and Miller 2000 found consistent evidence for the displacement of aggression from the source of the frustration onto a less powerful or more accessible target across a total of 49 studies. Berkowitz 1978 suggests that aggression can be produced by reinforcement, even in the absence of frustration and so challenges the original hypothesis too. In comparing the two domains, biological theories place their significance on genetic, inborn characteristics which drive a persons behaviour and emotion. In contrast the behaviourists insist that aggression in humans is the product of environmental demands and is acquired through the customary laws of learning. They see aggression to be solely caused by a stimulus from the external world and it is a suggested response which is based upon reinforcement. On treating aggression, the behaviourists suggest the environment can be modified by ensuring the external world has an appropriate structure of reinforcement and punishment available. Hence this will inhibit people from learning aggression or the behaviour can be unlearned. Whereas Lorenz argues that nothing can alter to eliminate aggression all together but to provide suitable forms of cathersis such as sports to allow individuals to release the build up energy and prevent the random leakages. The validity of the biological domain comes under heavy criticism as it lacks empirical evidence. Lorenzs concept of aggression energy is not easily measurable and lacks an operational definition. Also the comparative study of animal behaviours does not prove that they have the same cause in humans. Also the method of catharsis has little experimental support too. Despite the lack of direct evidence, the ethnologists view does have some appeal on the aspect that humans do have an evolutionary genetic heritage and seeing aggression as innate fits in well with some cultural beliefs. Overall though the evidence for a biological basis for aggression has gaps and thus is viewed as being more suggestive than conclusive. In contrast, the behaviourist theory has more direct supporting evidence and several studies such as those conducted by Lovaas 1961, Loew 1967 indicate that hostile and helpful verbalizations can act as regulators of non verbal aggression, so proving the concept of learning. Although the notion of not all frustration leads to aggressive behaviour and not all people respond to frustration in the same way does prevent the theory from being applied across the board. Different individuals may employ different sorts of aggressive behaviour in response to a frustrating situation and so he theory does not account for the different reactions and modes of expressing frustration. Also researchers have found that aggression can be exhibited when there is no obvious environmental reinforcement and the displacement of aggression can not be easily predicted. In conclusion despite the above criticisms the behaviourist approach does offer more in the way of supporting evidence than the aggression and frustration-aggression hypothesis together can account for many cases of aggressive behaviour and there seems no question that frustration can elicit ggression in certain instances.

Characteristics of a Tragic Hero

Characteristics of a Tragic HeroAlthough it is not classified as an educational book, August Wilson's tragic hero essay sample is a wonderful way to learn the secrets of creative writing. If you are struggling with writing, this is a great place to start. In this lesson, you will learn the secrets to a tragic hero who will do anything to win the heart of his beloved.From the moment that he first meets Juliette, the tragic hero goes about being in love with her. His love for her is unconditional, but does not always result in a happy marriage. There are moments of fear and anxiety, but he remains undeterred. In his quest to win her, he meets many men who can never overcome their fears of rejection, which only makes him more determined to win her heart.The tragic hero is courageous and determined. He will do anything to win the heart of the girl who could change his life forever. This article will help you see what these words mean.- The tragic hero is courageous because he will do any thing to win the love of a girl. This courage extends beyond just winning a girl's love. It involves courage to be bold in the face of any adversity in order to achieve the things that you want.- Courageous people are determined to accomplish things despite any odds. They put forth a positive effort and realize that it takes courage to succeed and to overcome any challenges that come along the way. The hero from this tragic hero essay sample exemplifies this.- Courageous people are committed to achieve their goals. They are willing to go the distance and overcome any obstacles in their path. Inother words, they do what it takes to be successful. In other words, they are true leaders.- The tragic hero is in love with Juliette. Although he does not seem to know it, he longs for her. Although he has trouble finding a way to propose to her, he realizes that he cannot wait forever. And so, when he is faced with the prospect of losing her forever, he reaches out to his best friend, Horati o, who will in turn help him win her heart.The tragic hero never gives up. In fact, he continues to stay in love with his beloved despite many obstacles. He is a true leader who continues to be true to himself and his goal even if he does not get the love of his beloved.

Bribery of the World

Gun Control3 essays

Gun Control3 essays Gun Control Since the days of the pioneers of the United States, firearms have been part of the American tradition as protection and a means of hunting or sport. As we near the end of the 20th century the use of guns has changed significantly. Because of fast and steady increase in crime and the fight for the right to own a hand gun, the introduction of legislation for gun control, to try to reduce the crime in the United States, has been a hotly debated issue in recent years. Although many people feel that gun control violates the right of the people, given in the second amendment "the right to bear arms", controlling distribution and sales and the registration of guns and gun owners is necessary because of the homicide rate involving guns and the violence by criminals using guns. Many people feel that gun control violates the right of the people given in the second amendment the right "to bear arms". Opponents of gun control, including the National Rifle Association, better known as the NRA, argue that the "right To bear arms" is guaranteed in the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and licensing restrictions penalize law-abiding citizens while in no way preventing criminal use of handguns. It is also argued that by making it difficult for guns to be bought and registered for the American public there is a threat to the personal safety of American families everywhere. However controlling the sale and distribution of firearms is necessary because of the homicide rate involving guns. In 1988 there were 9000 handgun related murders in America. Metropolitan centers and some suburban communities of America are setting new records for homicides by handguns. Larger Metropolitan centers have ten times the murder rate of all Western Europe. For example in Washington,D.C. there was an estimated 400 homicides including guns. In addition gun contro...

Complete case brief of Nix v. Williams Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Complete brief of Nix v. Williams - Case Study Example During the trial of Williams, the court held that, even in the case that Williams had not made the informative statements to the officer; the body would have been recovered and used as evidence against him (Nix). Procedural History The defendant, Mr. Williams was a mental patient on the loose. Williams abducted and murdered Pamela Powers, a ten-year-old girl from a YMCA on the 24th of December 1968 (Nix). After two days, he went to the police, at another county – making the condition that he was not to be questioned during the process of moving him back to Urbandale. One of the detectives started a conversation with him, and suggested to him that he needed to reveal the location where he had left the dead body, before an anticipated snowfall took place (Nix). He agreed to the proposal, and the directions he gave led the detectives to the recovery of the body (McInnis 397-446). After the recovery of the body, Williams was convicted for the crime, but based on Brewer v. Williams (1977), the Supreme Court held that there had been a violation of William’s right to counsel, like it was directed during the case of Massiah v. United States (1964). For that reason, his conviction was reversed. However, Justice Potter Stewart’s opinion pointed out that the evidence collected from Williams could be used during a trial, in a constitutional manner (Nix). Following the opinion, Williams was offered another trial, during which the attorneys responsible of his case moved a motion suppressing the evidence-bases collected through the interrogation by the detectives. Legal Issues The legal issues to be determined through the case included whether, evidence leading to an arrest could be exempted from case proceedings, based on the grounds that it had been obtained improperly. Decision of the Court The court, based on the inevitable discovery doctrine, held that the evidence (body) would have still been recovered within a short span. Therefore, the method â₠¬â€œ through which the information leading to the recovery – was collected was not relevant; therefore the evidence was admitted as evidence against the defendant. The dissent to the case, by Justice Brennan, maintained that the inevitable discovery doctrine bases its considerations on a hypothetical case, where the supposed evidence may or may not have been recovered; therefore, regarding that it was recovered through illegal means, it remained unconstitutionally collected (McInnis 397-446). Legal Analysis The main reason as to why the exclusionary rule was extended to the evidence collected through illegal police conduct was that, the channel taken was enough grounds to stop the police from violating statutory and constitutional protections, without allowing guilty people to go unpunished. Based on the rationale, the prosecution was not to be offered more advantages, than its case would have been, in the case that the evidence had not been collected through an illegal cours e (McInnis 397-446). However, by contrast, the judges resorted to the independent source doctrine, which allows for the admission of evidence, which has been gathered through means that are independent of the constitutional violation. Despite the fact that the independent source rule did not apply to the case, the rationale derived from it was consistent and offered justification to the adoption of the inevitable discovery rule, to the exclusionary doctrine. In the case that

Auditing - Understanding and Assessing Internal Control Essay

Auditing - Understanding and Assessing Internal Control - Essay Example 3. There is a risk of window dressing from store managers in order to achieve higher bonuses. They may use techniques to alter the figurers of the inventory as to avail the bonus for example by not recording the last day inventory as to show a better inventory management which will ultimately result in understatement of inventory and payable balances. 4. The risk in this case is that, the remaining staff may not possess the same level of skills. They may be unable provide with the quality of service required to detect, prevent and correct the misstatements. Fewer numbers of people in the internal audit department will also put extra burden of responsibility on the remaining staff so, the level of care could also be compromised resulting in non-detection of misstatements. 5. The risk in this case is that the quarterly financial statements are not presented to the bank as required and it withdraws the credit facility. If this happens, there is a danger that the Homepro would have liquidity problems, which may prevent the company to carry business and revenue is lost. There are also chances of window dressing. 6. Increased use of online shopping is a threat to the Homepro, since it may have serious effects on revenue (AUASB, 2009). There is a possibility that the opening of the online store would be delayed and the revenue would be lost. There is a threat of revenue being overstated to present a better picture for example, by recording revenue receipts, which pertain to next year. 7. The increased competition would force price cuts, which would ultimately result in decreased revenue and decreased profits. There are chances of revenue being overstated, or non-recording or delay in recording of expenses to show better profit figure for example by not recording year end expenses to show lower cost of sales. 8. Although the staff has been trained properly to handle the changes in the information system due to up gradation but still there are