Embedded Files
Getting Started...
Some possible search terms for databases/search engines:
"conformity" AND "obedience"
"conformity" OR "complicity"
"McCarthyism"
"Red Scare"
"groupthink"
"social influence"
"peer pressure"
"conformity" AND "authority"
Read:
Psychology Today - "Conformity"
This entry on the Psychology Today site goes into the reasons that we conform, different types of conformity, and the impact this behavior has socially. There are also links to related pages on topics such as "Groupthink", "Bystander Effect", and more.
PsychCentral - "Understanding the Concept of Obedience in Psychology"
This entry on PsychCentral provides insight into the concept of "obedience" and the two main types (constructive and destructive). With links and information to a couple of studies on the concept, this is an interesting look at the psychology behind obedience behaviors.
Verywellmind - "The Concept of Obedience in Psychology"
This web page offers an overview of the concept of "obedience" and provides some background and information around past research looking at this concept.
Read more about these famous experiments focused on the concepts of "conformity" and "obedience" in Psychology, and check out the video breakdowns of both experiments (below):
read more about Stanley Milgram on Britannica School
Gale Databases
Gale Databases
The Vermont Online Library is a great source for reference, news, magazines, audio/video files and more.
Use Gale in Context: High School for general resources/searches. You can use Gale in Context: U.S. History for great resources on the background for this play (The Red Scare/McCarthyism). The Gale OneFile: Psychology database is a great place to find resources on the psychology of concepts like "conformity" and "obedience".
Get started with this overview of the idea of "conformity": "Conformity" - The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
Note: You can filter your searches by content level in all of these databases!
Britannica School
Britannica School
Britannica School is a great place to start most research projects. You'll find helpful articles offering foundational information for your topic, plus additional resources and recommended web resources connected to your topic (see the "Related" tab in each article).
Try the Britannica School entry on "Conformity" for an informative overview of the subject. See also, the entry on "Authority" which looks at how authority shows up and plays out in our society, in psychology, etc.
U.S. Major Dailies
U.S. Major Dailies
For relevant newspaper sources, try searching the U.S. Major Dailies database from ProQuest. Log in with your CSD Google account.
A 2019 Washington Post essay looks at the history of the Red Scare through the lens of a journalist who was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and draws comparisons between that time and our current political/journalistic climate.
Reminder: Explore the "More Like This" and "Related Articles" sections in each of the database articles in order to find more resources and dig deeper.
Watch:
"Conformity vs. Obedience"
This Khan Academy video explains the difference between "conformity" and "obedience" and the pros and cons of both.
Why We Love to Fit in - The Dangers of Conformity"
In this 15-minute TEDx Youth Talk, Sayyada Khaki looks at the different types of conformity, examines research and past studies into how conformity plays out in our human experience, and connects the dots in terms of what the human relationship to conformity looks like in the world of social media/mass media, and how it can lead to the practice of "othering" different groups of people and nurturing biases.
Robin Mahieux questions how we define our values in this modern day, where technology is omnipresent and constantly evolving, resulting in changes in perspective, traditions, and heritage. What defines true values? Are they defined by how we grew up? Or are they more likely being established through deliberate decisions and experiences that we have taken throughout our life?
Mostafa Khaled Saleh-–a third year construction management engineering student--tackled the notion of social conformity and the reasons why people need to conform. He also shed some light on the strong correlation between social conformity or the need to fit in within a group, and the trends, especially those on social media.
Making Connections:
When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, he was thinking about the "Red Scare" and McCarthyism of the 1950s.
Read more about The Red Scare with this article: "Red Scare"
Some people today are observing some connections between the era of McCarthyism, and our present day political environment. You can read one assessment of this connection in this New York Times article: "Trump is Building the Blue Scare"
How do cultures of fear and conformity impact artistic and creative expression? Read this article: "Artistic Expression: Did Government Measures Calculated to Counter the Threat of Communist Subversion Limit Artistic Expression During the Post-World War II Red Scare?" and consider the two viewpoints represented.
What connections might be made to the impact of conformity on Academic Freedom or the Freedom to Read.
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