Social Pressure Influences

Regardless of what anyone says about individualism, the truth is that the people who surround us do have an impact on the choices we make and the actions we carry out. While being in a group can be beneficial, it also can be degrading depending on how things play out.

Many times with businesses and companies, people will have meetings where they discuss new ideas that could be successful. Many times, the ideas are thrown around and tried out based on feedback from other members of the group. If everyone in the group hates a new idea, but one person loves it, that one voice becomes dwindled down because they don't want to be the odd man out. Many times, their peers will influence them to the point where they completely change their mind about a product.

This idea of social pressure can relate to anyone about any topic, from young girls in high school to old men in businesses. The idea of fitting into the social norm has become something that people idolize and work for. This can be for something as simple as looking up reviews on what to eat for dinner. A few years ago, there was an experiment done. This involved asking people which couch they preferred, but telling them the number of people who had voted on each before receiving their vote.

While it appeared some people were first favoring the white couch, after hearing the high number of people who liked the blue couch, they changed their mind to that. Is this because they have a fear of sticking out or being different? 

As far as being in a group goes, both large and small groups have their pros and cons. Large groups allow for more diversity and a wide variety of opinions. However, small groups allow for you to be heard more and feel a sense of bonding that is stronger because there is a fewer group of people. Both can have an impact and it just depends what you're dealing with and what results you want to receive.