City of Metropolis
Fire and Police Attitudes
Conformity, Obedience & Compliance
Our Fire and Police Department consists of many women and men that take pride in their line of work and duties. Our success depends greatly on the compassion and compliance of the team members on our force and our ability to work together with a strong commitment to conformity, obedience and compliance. Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match those of others within the group to be consistent with the group norm. (Fein & Kassin, 2014) For compliance to occur within our group, one must adapt his/her actions to another's wishes or rules. A person that conforms must have a disposition that allows him/her to yield to others. Requests for and acts of compliance occur in everyone's lives. Simply asking someone to perform a task is a request for compliance. Obedience is the act of following orders without question because they come from a legitimate authority. (Constable, 2015).
Conformity (McLeod, 2007)
Conformity: is a type of powerful social influence that changes beliefs or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real (physical presence) or imagined (pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism, etc.
· One reason for this conformity is a concern about what other people think of us. Another reason we conform to the norm is because other people often have information we do not, and relying on norms can be a reasonable strategy when we are uncertain about how we are supposed to act. Unfortunately, we frequently misperceive how the typical person acts. Some interactions you may encounter due to conformity would be excessive binge drinking often seen in college students, a teenager dresses in a certain style because they want to fit in with their social group.
· Conformity in fire training in crucial for safety standards.
Obedience (McLeod, 2007)
Obedience: is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure. It is assumed that without such an order the person would not have acted in this way. Obeying orders from an authority figure can sometimes lead to disturbing behavior.
Compliance (McLeod, 2007)
Compliance: is a type of social influence where an individual does what someone else wants them to do, following his or her request or suggestion. It is similar to obedience, but there is no order, only a request.
· Understanding citizen compliance and learning how to use it can make your job a lot easier. People are more likely to comply when they believe that they share something in common with the person making the request. When group affiliation is important to people, they are more likely to comply with social pressure. For example, if a college student places a great deal of importance on belonging to a college fraternity, they are more likely to go along with the group's requests even if it goes against their own beliefs or wishes. The likelihood of compliance increases with the number of people present. If only one or two people are present, a person might buck the group opinion and refuse to comply. Being in the immediate presence of a group makes compliance more likely.
What To Do In Metropolis If You Feel Unwanted Pressure
The city of Metropolis is committed to the highest standards of integrity and fair dealing in all of its activities and compliance with both the code of conduct and spirit of the law. Employees of this city will reflect these standards in their day-to-day dealings on behalf of the of the citizens. The city of Metropolis has an "open door" policy that encourages employees to raise any concern relating to compliance with our code of conduct of code and applicable law. Management and other supervisory personnel are responsible for supporting this policy by maintaining an "open door" for their direct reports and other employees who may reach out to them for conformity. Should such a concern arise, and a consensus and can not be reached, disagreements should be tabled, and reproached with a 3rd party mediator agreed upon by both parties.
References
· Constable, S. (2015). Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience. Retrieved October 14, 2015, from http://www.units.miamioh.edu/psybersite/cults/cco.shtml
· Kassin, S., & Fein, S. (2014). Social psychology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
· McLeod, S. A. (2014). Techniques of Compliance. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/compliance.html