Conformity

Please take a look at this link before reading this blog entry: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/335204/1/.html

The above article highlighted the protest that was held by the SDP (Singapore Democratic Party) on 15^th March 2008. The purpose of the protest is to highlight the increasing inflation rates in Singapore and the fact that the citizens of Singapore are the ones suffering from the increase in prices of commodities products that is needed in our daily life.

The SDP members chanted slogans and displayed placards to voice out their concern on how increasing inflation affects our life.

In the end, SDP members were arrested for staging an unlawful demonstration without a permit. In the article it was highlighted that the SDP did try to apply for a police permit to hold a protect rally however the application was seen as an empty gesture (why was it described an empty gesture? After all they did apply for the permit, just that it wasn’t approved). Their acts were seen as a form of defiance, going ahead with the protest rally with the permit.

It was also highlighted in the article that the police “saw an escalation in the level of defiance" because for the first time, the group "staged typical militant protest methods of locking arms to resist arrest." The Police also reiterated that no one is above the law. The law applies equally to all, whether local or foreigners.

From this article, it seems like conformity is an essential social norm that is pretty much enforced by law in Singapore. The point that the SDP members highlighted are not based on foundationless grounds, this is because Singapore government has also provided information on the increasing inflation rate in its Singapore Budget 2008. The fact is that many of us feel the pressure of the inflation but yet not many of us are willing to voice out our opinion. That is because we conform.

So what exactly is conformity?

Conformity refers to any change in behavior caused by another person or group; individual acted in particular ways due to the influence of others. It does not refer to effects of other people on internal concepts such as attitudes and beliefs (Breckler, Olson & Wiggins, 2006).

So, why do people conform? It could be due to 3 factors. They are namely: informational social influence, normative social influence and terror management.

Informational social influence is the influence of other people that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior. We see other’s interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours. For instances, our parents’ behavior, we are brought up listening to them telling us what is appropriate behavior. Thus when we are unsure of how to react during a new situation that we have encountered, we refer to them as a guide for information. We do what they deem to be appropriate for us. Normative social influence on the other hand occurs when people are influenced by others to gain rewards or to avoid punishment. Lastly terror management is whereby we conform to a cultural worldview that provides order and meaning to an otherwise random world to protect self.

Applying to the context of Singapore, it seems that most of us are affected by all three social influences when it comes to our behavior especially when it comes to deal with any legal issues (e.g protesting for a cause). However the larger percentage of influence seems to be coming from normative social influence. As a Singaporean myself, I understand instance whereby I try very hard to avoid violating any law that is stated by the government. Even though it could be a very small offence such as littering, this is because we all fear the punishment that is attached to the violations. It could be because the punishments are very heavy (your pocket gets $500 poorer if you litter [I don't even have $500 to spare!!!!!] ) or it could be simply due to the fact that we do not want to get into any trouble. I am not putting anyone down for conforming, because every one of us conforms to different things in our life. (e.g to friends and to our family)

Therefore to the ones who were brave enough to help us to voice out opinions: I applaud your bravery and passion, and hopefully more of us (Singaporeans) will be able to be like you guys in time to come. However it should be understood that many of us have stakes on the line when it comes to breaking our conformity and standing up for what we believe in (Its not just simply breaking the norm for us, its the way we have been brought up too). Thus for now we conform.