Social pressure: what it is, its characteristics and how it affects us

Social pressure is a phenomenon whereby the influence of others limits us. Let's see how it does it.

People want to feel that they 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 we don't really want to.

Social pressure is a psychological and social phenomenon in which individuals change their behavior. in which individuals change their behavior, attitudes and even opinions in order to be liked by 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 frequent during adolescence. Next we will see what it is about and why young people are more sensitive to social pressure.

What is social pressure?

Social pressure is the influence exerted by a social group that causes the person receiving it to change his or her attitudes, thoughts or even values.. This influence, also known as peer pressure, while not necessarily negative, can influence the person receiving it so much that he or she may even change his or her personality and belief system in order to satisfy others.

This pressure can be exerted consciously or unconsciously. When it is intentional, 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 it is part of political formations or religious and social movements, exercised by the leader or the elite of these formations towards their audience or followers.

One of the times when most social pressure can be experienced is in youth, mostly in adolescence although it is also present during childhood. Whether at school, high school or even university, young people may feel that others want them to behave or think in a certain way, and fear that if they don't, they will end up being outcasts and marginalized. fear that if they don't, they will end up as outcasts and marginalized..

In and of itself, social pressure is neither good nor bad, but it can be the means by which negative behaviors are encouraged and can spread throughout 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 value system and ethics tell them is right, in order to fit in with the group of people they consider to be role models or socially attractive.

Social pressure continues to be present throughout our lives and conditions, in one way or another, our actions and ideas.

Social pressure and decision-making

Although it might be thought that decision making is an individual process, the truth is that outside opinions can have a strong influence on it.. Often, decisions are based on the influence of the reference group or social references. Each person acts according to what he or she perceives of the social environment and if he or she considers that his or her actions or opinions could go against that environment, it is likely that he or she will soften them, modify them or not do or say them at all.

There are many studies that show how people, as the gregarious animals that we are, change our opinion when we see that everyone else has a point of view contrary to our own. We alter our opinion with the aim of not feeling left out of society, avoiding rejection and managing to remain in a group that is considered a reference group.

One of the most important scientists in the field of the study of social pressure is Salomon Asch, a psychologist known for carrying out several experiments to test how social pressure can affect us.a psychologist known for conducting 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 subject of the research.

The experiment consisted of seeing what the reaction of the only real participant in the experiment would be when he or she discovered that the others answered the simple questions wrong. One might think that, since they were simple questions, the participant would get them right every time, regardless of what the others answered. The reality was that the participant, after several attempts, preferred to answer wrong and to be in consensus with the false participants, preferred to get the wrong answer and be in consensus with the fake participants than to say the answer he than to say the answer he knew was the right one.

Social pressure is responsible for the fact that we often act in line with the social reference group, even if it is radically opposed 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 in social psychology, comparing the values about a group, previously issued individually and, subsequently, against the social group, which varied significantly. and, subsequently, in front of the social group, which varied notably.

Social pressure during adolescence

The vital period in which more social pressure is received is the adolescence. It is natural during this phase to want to be liked by others, there being a very intense desire to fit into a group. For this reason, it is common for friends and classmates to exert a great deal of pressure at this age.. Young people feel the need to be part of a group, whether it is a group of friends or something with a more influential team culture, such as a sports team, a band, a swimming club....

From the age of 12, young people are forming their first opinions about how the world works.. His first views on certain issues, political positions and various ideas emerge. Thinking evolves throughout adolescence. As a result, young people can have very disparate opinions, which makes it difficult for them to cohere. This occurs at the same time as the need to belong increases, which generates conflict, causing adolescents to have to choose between voicing their genuine opinions or changing them to fit in, the latter being more common.

In other words, most adolescents, for fear of rejection, put aside their personal convictions in exchange for belonging to a certain group. in exchange for belonging to a certain social group. Although this situation is not permanent, since with the passage of time people end up respecting 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 must be said that there are many occasions in which young people completely adopt the ideals of the group and end up feeling good about it.. This is neither negative nor positive, as social influence alone does not imply harm, only that it makes it difficult for a person to be totally genuine. In fact, within the nuclear family, parents and older siblings also exert an influence, one that is mostly positive and shapes the adolescent's personality and belief system.

Social pressure is negative when its influence leads to behaviors that are harmful to the individual.. Among these behaviors we would find all those that harm their health, put at risk their work and academic performance or confront them with their family, such as drug use, criminal activities, self-harm, risky behaviors, lack of respect towards adults.

Causes

The causes of social pressure often have more to do with the person being influenced than with the social group exerting the pressure.. An important factor behind this is the need to belong to a social group, a need that is very high during adolescence and which explains why young people are so impressionable at this age. In adulthood, in addition to a certain desire to belong to a social group, one of the factors that most explains the social pressure would be the fear of rejection.

Human beings have a life very much defined by social patterns. There is a widespread belief in most cultures that, once you reach a certain age, if you have not met certain social demands, you begin to feel anxious that you are not socially valid. one begins to feel anguish in the belief that one is not socially valid.. Examples are not having married before a certain age or not having children. Many people come to feel rejected when they see that they are not complying with the socially established.

It is this fear of being left behind, together with the social pressure exerted by people of their age and significant others such as parents or siblings, makes one despair, makes one despair and behave thinking more in the opinion of others than in their own desires.. People who feel this way do everything possible to find a partner and have children, not thinking about whether they want to or not, but for fear of not being a social pariah. Social pressure pushes them to marry and form a family by force, for the simple fact that they believe this is what society expects of them and, if they do not comply, they are worthless.

Other causes that could explain how social pressure comes to have so much power in certain people are:

• Personal insecurity
• Low self-esteem
• Personality conflicts
• Deficiencies in physical appearance
• Feelings of inferiority
• Lack of motivation
• Need for recognition
• Difficulty in relating to others
• Feeling of social rejection
• Lack of affection

If any of the above-mentioned factors are present, the social pressure felt by the individual is more of a health problem than a social problem. more than a social problem is a health problem.. It is advisable to see a psychologist to work on these aspects, to help him or her to acquire greater self-esteem, not to share excessively with others and to understand that the important thing is that he or she is the master of his or her life, doing what he or she considers best for himself or herself.