(image: verbling.com)
Mogara kun mahamok an iban. When in a group, there
are tendencies that one lets loose: Manners will be forgotten and the danger of
being on familiar grounds allow the person to act sometimes in offensive ways.
Let
us have a situation inside a fast-food chain when people are queueing. There are those
who order food as a group. Then they argue on what food to order. For some
minutes, they think on their preferences and even add some more orders forgetting
that there are people next in line who are hungry have schedules to catch up.
There
are also those group of friends who talk loudly inside a passenger vehicle as
if their stories and jokes are meant to be heard by the world. They do not
consider others like if their seatmates are trying to catch a nap.
Walden
University published an article which states: When we’re in a group, we have a
strong tendency to conform to the norms of that group. This may be due to the
fact that, in many ways, groups protect us. By conforming, we demonstrate our
willingness to be a part of the group, thus increasing the likelihood the group
will protect us.
With
conformity, we follow a group’s norms for the sake of getting along. When a
specific behavior is normalized in us, we believe it to be normal and proper,
which bonds us strongly to groups that believe the same. Depending on what’s
being normalized, normalization can either be positive (eating healthy is
normal) or negative (using drugs is normal).
But
these persons act differently when they are alone. Sometimes, they are even
more behaved and reserved – conscious of their manners and actions.
That’s
why there are those who prefer to be alone (like this writer). Conforming to
the norms of a group can oftentimes lose one’s identity.