Group conformity, opinion leaders and peer pressure

Have you ever been in a group of people who were saying different things? How did you feel about that? Have you ever made the decision by feeling the group [pressure? If so you were complying with your need to confirm.

Group is “a collection of individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals.”

Need of confirm is a feeling to belong to the group. To be accepted in the group you need to go along with the group rules or people.

Different group have different norms or rules to which people need to confirm. It depends on language, dress, behaviour, dress, social and class roles, gender roles etc.

To persuade someone you need to show that you are trustworthy.  To show it you need to deal with the group rules.

There are many different types of groups:

Ascribed - the group you are born into

Reference - is a group looked to for lifestyle

Acquired - Is one which is joined or moved into

Aspirational - This is a group one aspires to belong to. Perhaps a group someone looks up to

Disassociation - A group someone would hate to belong to. e.g. 'Chavs'

Contrived Formed for a specific purpose - This includes unions and committees.

Associative - What group someone realistically belongs to such as college friends and neighbours.

Peer - These are people of equal standing like school student or a regular contact

How to advertisements try to persuade people to belong to their group?  The example can be the advertisements of “PALL MALL” cigarettes.

PALL MALL advertisement tries to convince people to belong to their group by showing in the ads man and women enjoying cigarettes together. On their faces people can see satisfy smiles while puffing the cigarette.  The advertisement text invites audience to confirm the PALL MALL group the text says: "Wherever you go, notice how many people have changed to PALL MALL in the distinguished red package." The large cigarette package itself displays, "WHEREVER PARTICULAR PEOPLE CONGREGATE."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y8VgzUNPnU- this short advertisement shows an amazing world of a famous star Nicole Kidman. Almost every girl would like to be in that world and would like to belong to the group of famous and rich people.  In one part of this ad the man says: “You must be there tomorrow…” obviously by buying the channel perfume.

The products can make people associate to a specific group of people for example people who wear Lonsdale clothes belong   to the chavs group. People who wear d&g or Louis Vittoe clothes are associated with posh people.

Or

Opinion leaders are “Individuals whose ideas and behaviour serve as a model to others. Opinion leaders communicate messages to a primary group, influencing the attitudes and behaviour change of their followers. Therefore, in certain marketing instances, it may be advantageous to direct the communications to the opinion leader alone to speed the acceptance of an advertising message.” The example of it can be the ad of dental floss which may influence dentists. The advertisers are using the opinion leader to influence target group, they also give testimonials.

Nowadays is a world of mouth. “Mouth” is the best way to reach audience is and this role belong to the opinion leaders try to reach audience by world-of-mouth marketing campaigns.

Below there is a link which shows how the influence of group, social network and option leaders work together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jgQapB6cb4&feature=related

Peer pressure – means people in your age who try to influence you on how you act to make you do something.

One of the hardest thing is making decisions by yourself….but it can be even harder when other people try to pressure you from one way to another. Everyone must deal with peer pressure the example can be a group of people who try to convince another person to be mean to other people, to go for a party or to cut class. People give in to peer pressure because they would like to be liked by other people, to be part of the group or people may be worry that other people will lough if you don’t do something.

But how peer pressure is presented in ads?

Advertisements affect the way people live. People are exposed to over 2000 ads a day. Advertisements have a much bigger value that the products and it is because they sells values, images, and concepts of success, love , popularity etc. Advertisements tell the audience who they are and who they should be….sometimes they sell addictions e.g. cigarettes, coffees, alcohols…many teenagers are very sensitive for peer pressure. Mass communications has made national peer pressure which affects people’s lives and values.

Ads usually shows world where people are ugly, poor disabled etc…and everything what people do in that imperfect world is talk about products.

Group’s conformity, opinion leaders and peer pressure is something with what we have to live through all of our lives. We have to learn how to say “no” not to be affected by other people or ads.

REFERENCES:

Dennis Conn (1990) introduction to psychology, twentieth edition, Copyright.

Diana Kendall (2010) Sociology in Our Times, Wadsworth USA p. 154

Kate Hawelinn, (2000) Peer Pressure, Capstone Press