Difference Between Conformity and Obedience (With Table)

Conformity is the conduct or behavior of a person that reflects that of a group of individuals. It is the process of modifying one’s own beliefs, attitudes, and even sentiments to fit or copy the group’s perspectives and viewpoints. Conformity is enforced by a combination of subtle influence and indirect control.

Obedience is merely the conduct of executing commands without question or resistance. The commands or instructions are issued by a specific figure in control, who is supposed to be the team’s leader or head. These figures of power are frequently shaped by societal norms. Obedience is undertaken to avoid punishment or other undesirable consequences as a result of disobedience or a lack of understanding of the command.

Comparison Table Between Conformity and Obedience

What is Conformity?

This is the adopting of attitudes, views, and behaviors to social standards, ideology, or being like-minded. Norms are unspoken, specific guidelines that influence a group of people’s relationships with one another. 

People frequently choose to fit into society over pursuing their aspirations since it is often easier to follow in the footsteps of others rather than forge a fresh route.   This inclination to conform can occur in small groups or communities as a whole.  When a person is alone or in the company of others, conformity might occur.

Conformity is generally motivated by a desire for comfort within a group, also termed as a normative influence—typically a group of those of the same age, culture, faith, or educational standing.   This is known as groupthink: a style of cognition marked by self-deception, forced assent, and obedience to group morals and ideals while ignoring realistic assessments of alternative courses of action.   

It is possible to be socially rejected if you refuse to conform. Often associated with young people but it can affect all ages.

Since conformity is a group phenomenon, elements like the size of the group, uniformity, integration, position, past dedication, and world perception have a role in determining an individual’s level of conformity.

What is Obedience?

In human behavior, obedience is a type of “social conditioning” in which a person obeys specific guidelines or directions from a superior. Obedience is distinct from adherence, which is peer-influenced conduct, and conformity, which is behavior that is designed to resemble the majority. Obedience can be moral, immoral, or amoral as per the situation.

Humans are obedient in the face of recognized lawful authoritative figures, as demonstrated by Stanley Milgram’s Milgram experiment in the 1960s, which sought to understand how the Nazis were able to persuade common people to participate in the Holocaust’s mass killings.   The experiment revealed that submission to leadership was the rule rather than the exception. “Obedience is as essential a component in the framework of social life as one can refer to,” Milgram stated of obedience. All community living requires some form of control, and it is only the man who lives alone who is not expected to react to the dictates of others through disobedience or compliance.  

Many traditional cultures value obedience; traditionally, they require the kids to obey their seniors, slaves their masters, serfs their lords in feudal society, lords their monarch, and everyone God. The Black codes obliged black people to comply and bow to whites, even after slavery was abolished in the United States. Compare and contrast the Islamic religious ideal of submission and its significance.

Main Differences Between Conformity and Obedience

1. Conformity is the behavior of adhering to the views and lifestyles of a particular group of individuals. Obedience is the act or action performed in response to a specific command or authority.
2. Both conformity and obedience show signs of pressure and persuasion. However, although conformity has a sophisticated approach, it is nevertheless regarded as a chosen behavior. Obedience necessitates authorities’ direct control and influence (usually adults or people with power).
3. Conformity and obedience have different motivations. Disobedience can lead to penalties or other negative repercussions, whereas non-conformity frequently leads to rejection. Isolation is a possibility in both circumstances.
4. Power is centralized and focused on a leader or influential figure in conformity, but it is centralized and focused on a leader figure in obedience.
5. In both cases, the concepts of majority and minority are clear. However, in conformity, where there is a clear separation between who is approved and who is not, it is more prominent. An influential person can enforce what comprises the majority and minority groups in the situation of obedience.

Conclusion

Therefore, we can see that conformity and obedience are two separate words with separate meanings. Even though both types of social contacts, behaviors, and impacts occur in teams, their focus, goal, and influence are distinct.

Conformity is the act of adhering to the views and lifestyles of a particular group of individuals. Obedience is an act or action performed in response to a specific command or authority.

A conformist denies the truth as perceived through the five senses. Views, attitudes, and general personality undergo a metamorphosis. In obedience, on the other hand, a person’s personality does not alter by following rules and regulations.

References

1. https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=psych_oer#page=244
2. https://internal-journal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00051/full