“C’mon…everyone else is doing it…” 

How many times did you hear that phrase in the schoolyard?       

It starts at a young age and through our experiences even as adults, we’re generally taught to believe that:

Conformity = Reward

Nonconformity = Ridicule

Social pressure comes in waves and we naturally want to be accepted by the cool kids. 

Our desire to belong, to be liked and feel included can often overrule anything that is going on in the logical part of our brain.

For example…

Does a teenager start smoking because he doesn’t know the health risks – or is the voice that’s telling him to conform speaking louder than the voice of better judgement?

We may think we have a mind of our own, but depending on the circumstance it can take a great deal of effort for us to step away from the masses.

Some psychological experiments have been done…

Here’s one of the most famous…

Such is the power of social pressure!

Sources: wikipedia