Individual assignment 4 - Psychology

Introduction to Psychology
ESSAY: SOCIAL PRESSURES OR PERSONALITY,

WHICH ONE IS MORE POWERFUL TO HUMAN
BEHAVIORS?
Lecturer: Vu Thu Trang

Student’s name: Nguyen Thi Ngan Ha
Class: Anh 01 - K61 KTĐN CTTT
Email: nganhanguyen204@gmail.com
Human behavior is a complicated and multifaceted phenomenon that has
been constantly studied by many psychologists, sociologists and other experts in
this field for a long time. Two of the dominant influences on human behavior
are social pressures and personality. While social pressures represent external
factors like peer pressure and cultural norms, personality refers to internal
factors such as character traits that shape a person’s behavior. People have
different views concerning the question social pressures or personality is more
powerful to human behaviors. From my point of view, although both factors are
important, personality plays a more significant role in defining human
behaviors. In this essay, social pressures and personality will be analyzed to
give us a better understanding of why people behave in a certain way.
The definition of the term “Social pressure” is the influence that is
exerted on a person or group by another person or group. It includes rational
argument, persuasion, conformity, and demands (Psychology Dictionary).
Human behaviors can be influenced by the powerful impact of social pressures.
Firstly, conformity is a form of social pressure that can shape human behaviors
in a certain way. One of the most popular studies of this phenomenon is Asch’s
experiment on conformity. In this research, the participants were required to
match the length of the target line to three other lines, and they had to do so with
other people who had been told to choose the wrong answer in advance. Asch
found that 37% of people in the experimental group conformed to the incorrect
answer, while less than 1% of people in the control group chose the wrong
answer, demonstrating the influence of social pressures on human behaviors.
Secondly, obedience is a type of social pressure that can affect human behaviors
in many different contexts. As demonstrated above, social pressure can affect
human behaviors.
“Personality” refers to an individual’s unique collection of consistent
behavioral traits. These traits can affect the way people perceive the world,
respond to external factors and behave in different contexts. For example, the
Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion,
agreeableness and neuroticism) can predict a set of behaviors. A study found
that personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness were associated
with health behaviors. More specifically, individuals high in the personality
trait of neuroticism were more likely to react negatively to daily stress, leading
to the development of chronic conditions, while people high in
conscientiousness tended to react less negatively, which predicted better
physical health. Thus, it is clear that personality has an effect on human
behaviors.
While social pressures and personality both contribute to shaping human
behaviors, social pressure is ultimately more powerful. Personality may be
relatively stable over time, but it is important to know that it is not entirely fixed
and has the potential to change over the course of our life. There are some
factors causing a change in personality such as environmental, sociocultural and
biological factors. For example, a person who has grown up in a culture where
obedience is highly valued. This person may naturally have a personality that is
more independent and assertive, but the pressure to obey the authority for a long
time may turn them into a more submissive and passive person. In some
research, they found that people in individualist cultures have more positive
self-esteem (Heine et al. 1999) and are more optimistic (Lee & Seligman 1997)
than people in collectivist cultures, and those factors are associated with high
subjective well-being. A study conducted by researchers at the University of
Illinois and the University of California found that individuals from
individualistic cultures (such as the United States and Western Europe) tend to
value independence and self-expression, while those from collectivistic cultures
(such as Japan and China) tend to value conformity and social harmony. This
can lead to differences in personality traits, such as extraversion and
agreeableness. Cultures are associated with different social norms and social
pressures, and the evidence presented above suggests that cultures can shape
personality, leading to the form of different human behaviors. In short, social
pressure is more powerful to influence the way humans behave.
In conclusion, human behavior is affected by both social pressure and
personality. While both factors play a significant role in shaping human
behaviors, it is argued that social pressure exerts a more powerful influence on
human behaviors as social pressure can even make a personality change, leading
to different human behaviors of an individual. Ultimately, a better understanding
of the interaction between social pressure and personality can help us explain
why people behave in certain ways.
Reference:
1. Libretexts. (2021, February 20). 6.5C: The Asch Experiment- the power
of peer pressure. Social Sci LibreTexts. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_So
ciology/Book%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/06%3A_Social_Groups_and_
Organization/6.05%3A_Group_Dynamics/6.5C%3A_The_Asch_Experi
ment-_The_Power_of_Peer_Pressure
2. N., & Name. (2015, June 19). What is social pressure? Definition of
Social Pressure (psychology dictionary). Psychology Dictionary.
Retrieved April 7, 2023, from
https://psychologydictionary.org/social-pressure/
3. AP Psychology Personality. . SlidePlayer. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2023,
from https://slideplayer.com/slide/7617653
4. (PDF) cultural influences on personality - researchgate. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 6, 2023, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11603887_Cultural_Influences_
on_Personality
5. Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Big 5 personality traits. Psychology Today.
Retrieved April 7, 2023, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/big-5-personality-traits

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Introduction to Psychology

ESSAY: SOCIAL PRESSURES OR PERSONALITY,

Lecturer: Vu Thu Trang

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