POWER OF THE SITUATION
The motive to fit in often compels people to do what is considered appropriate behavior in a given situation. Sometimes the compulsion to fit in leads people to say or do something at odds with their sense of self. No one wants to be perceived as weird. Therefore, when the situation calls for a certain kind of behavior, people are likely to comply, even when that behavior is not consistent with their self-concept.
For this Discussion, you will examine conflict between a persons behavior and sense of Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
TO PREPARE
- Think of a specific situation when you said or did something that you believed was out of character. Note: You will use this specific situation for this Discussion so make sure the situation is one you feel comfortable sharing with your colleagues.
BY DAY 4
Post a description of a specific situation when you said or did something that conflicted with your beliefs or was out of character. To what would you attribute behavior that did not reflect your sense of self? What compelled you to say or do something that misrepresented your true self? Your analyses must be informed by social psychology theory and research.
Resources/references
- Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.) (2019). Social Psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Chapter 1, Introducing Social Psychology
- Annenberg Learner. (n.d.). [Video file]. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://learner.org/series/discovering-psychology/the-power-of-the-situation/
- Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 27 minutes.
