Social Pressure: What It Is, Characteristics And How It Affects Us
People want to feel that we are part of a society. We need to see our desire for relevance satisfied and, to do so, we are sometimes “forced” to do or say things that, in reality, we do not want.
Social pressure is a psychological and social phenomenon in which individuals change their behavior, attitudes and even opinions in order to please others and thus avoid being rejected or marginalized.
This phenomenon can occur at any age and there are several factors that determine it, although it is especially common during adolescence. Below we will see what it is about and why young people are more sensitive to social pressure.
Social pressure is the influence exerted by a social group that causes the person who receives it to change their attitudes, thoughts, or even their values This influence, also known as peer pressure, although it does not have to be negative, can influence the person who receives it so much that they even change their personality and belief system in order to satisfy others.
This pressure can be exercised consciously or unconsciously When it occurs intentionally, the person or group of people who do it intend to change a behavior or attitude in the people they want to influence. This type of influence usually occurs a lot when one is part of political formations or religious and social movements, exercised by the leader or elite of these formations towards their audience or followers.
One of the moments in which one can experience the most social pressure is in youth, mostly in adolescence, although it is also present during childhood. Whether at school, college, or even college, young people may feel that others want them to behave or think in a certain way, and fear that if they do not do so they will end up being outcasts and marginalized
In itself, social pressure is neither good nor bad, but it can be the means by which negative behaviors are encouraged that can spread in society, especially among adolescents. A person may feel that they must do something or say something, even if it is totally contrary to what their system of values and ethics tells them is correct, in order to fit into the group of people they consider to be role models or socially attractive.
Social pressure is still present throughout our lives and conditions, in one way or another, our actions and ideas.
Although it might be thought that decision-making is an individual process, the truth is that Other people’s opinions can affect you a lot Often, decisions are based on the influence of the reference group or social references. Each person acts based on what they perceive about the social environment and if they consider that their actions or opinions could go against that environment, they are likely to soften them, modify them or simply not do or say them.
There are many studies that show how people, as gregarious animals that we are, change our opinion when we see that everyone has a point of view contrary to ours. We alter our opinion with the aim of not feeling isolated from society, avoiding rejection and managing to remain in a group that is considered a reference.
One of the most important scientists in the field of study of social pressure is Salomon Asch, psychologist known for carrying out several experiments to test how social pressure exerted by peers can influence the judgment of the experimental subject. In one of his experiments, Asch gathered eight participants, seven of whom were actors. The test consisted of answering a series of simple questions that had nothing to do with the topic of the research.
The experiment consisted of seeing what the reaction of the only real participant in the experiment was when he discovered that the others answered wrongly to the very simple questions he asked them. One might think that, since they were simple questions, the participant would answer them correctly every time, regardless of what the others answered. The reality was that the participant, after several attempts, I preferred to answer wrongly and be in consensus with the false participants to say the answer that he knew was the right one.
Social pressure is responsible for us frequently acting in line with the social group of reference, even if it is radically opposite to what we want to do. We do this for, among other reasons, fear of rejection, desire for acceptance, lack of security and fear of criticism. Social cognition plays a fundamental role in the degree of influence of others on oneself.
Other important psychologists such as Elliot Aronson and Leon Festinger also investigated this phenomenon typical of social psychology, comparing the values on a group, previously issued individually and, later, in front of the social group, which varied significantly.
The period of life in which most social pressure is received is adolescence. It is natural during this phase to want to be liked by others, there being a desire to fit in with a very intense group. For this reason, It is common for friends and classmates to exert great pressure at these ages Young people feel the need to be part of a group, whether it’s a group of friends or something with a more influential team culture, like a sports team, a marching band, a swimming club…
From the age of 12, young people form their first opinions about how the world works His first points of view emerge on certain topics, political positions and various ideas. Thinking evolves throughout adolescence. As a result of this, young people can have very different opinions, something that makes their cohesion difficult. This occurs at the same time that the need to belong increases, which generates conflict, causing adolescents to have to choose between saying their genuine opinions or changing them to fit in, the latter being the most common.
In other words, most adolescents, For fear of being rejected, they put aside their personal convictions in exchange for belonging to a certain social group. Although this situation is not permanent, since over time people come to respect their ideology, during adolescence the desire for acceptance is so intense that it makes them hide any opinion that they believe endangers their social acceptance.
It should be said that There are many occasions in which young people completely adopt the group’s ideals and end up feeling good about it This is neither negative nor positive, since social influence alone does not imply harm, it just makes it difficult for a person to be totally genuine. In fact, within the family nucleus, parents and older siblings also exert their influence, one that is mostly positive and shapes the adolescent’s personality and belief system.
Social pressure is negative when its influence causes behaviors that are harmful to the individual to be carried out Among these behaviors we would find all those that harm your health, put your work and academic performance at risk or put you at odds with your family, such as drug use, criminal activities, self-harm, risky behaviors, lack of respect. towards adults.
Causes
The causes of social pressure They tend to have more of a relationship with the person being influenced than with the social group that exerts it An important factor behind this is the need to belong to a social group, a very high need during adolescence and which explains why at these ages young people are so impressionable. In adulthood, in addition to having a certain desire to belong to a social group, one of the factors that most explains social pressure would be the fear of rejection.
Human beings have a life very defined by social patterns. The idea is widespread in most cultures that, once a certain age has been reached, if certain social demands have not been met you begin to feel anguish when you believe that you are not socially valid Examples of this are not having married before a certain age or not having had children. Many people feel rejected when they see that they are not complying with what is socially established.
It is this fear of being left behind, combined with the social pressure exerted by people of their age and significant others such as parents or siblings, It makes one desperate and behave thinking more about other people’s opinions than about their desires People who feel this way do everything possible to find a partner and have children, not thinking about whether they want it or not, but out of fear of not being a social outcast. Social pressure pushes them to forcefully marry and start a family, for the simple fact that they believe it is what society expects of them and, if they do not fulfill it, they are worthless.
Other causes that could explain how social pressure comes to have so much power in certain people are:
If one of these factors that we just mentioned occurs, the social pressure that the individual feels more than a social problem it is a health problem It is advisable to go to a psychologist to work on these aspects, help them acquire greater self-esteem, that they do not share excessively with others and that they understand that the important thing is that he or she is the owner of their life, doing what they consider best for them. itself.
