There are times when being subjected to a group situation or external influences can be beneficial to us in relation to behavioral choices. For many different reasons, one’s perception of situations and choices are often limited causing our thoughts to be constrained or stereotypical. Being in a group situation can open our minds and thought processes to allow other possibilities to unfold that we may never have been aware of if not for the group influence. For example, a cancer support group allows its members to share their own experiences of the disease. Some of these members may be survivors of the disease. If a member who has just recently been diagnosed with cancer can only relate cancer to death because most everyone he knew that had cancer has died, then being in this group situation and hearing of the survivors experiences may change his attitude about the disease, different treatment options, cures, etc.

On the other hand, in our daily lives, we are constantly bombarded by the media and society with ideas and images of how to act, how to look, what to wear, what to think, what kind of car to drive, etc. So it’s no wonder to me that so many people choose conformity over individuality. Since we often doubt our own inner voices, we are more likely to conform to another person‘s opinion and beliefs of how to act. In an effort to fit in with a certain group or for fear of embarrassment or of looking stupid, we give in to those social pressures. Teenage drinking is an excellent example of how social influence and pressure to be like everyone else leads kids to drink alcohol in a group situation. Even though they’ve been taught that drinking is bad and can have very negative consequences, the group pressure to conform is so great that kids will give in to it. Fear of not being accepted or not fitting in with the “cool group” is of great concern to teenagers. We tend to conform with people by whom we want to be liked or who we perceive to an authority.

Sometimes behavior is determined by a direct order from one person to another. Obedience involves agreeing to a specific demand made by someone perceived to be an authority figure, regardless of whether or not that person has the power to enforce the demand. Milgram’s classic experiment studies how obedience to an authority figure influences behavior, even if the requested order will cause harm to another person. Subjects responded to a newspaper ad to participate in the experiment and were paid a smal

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