Introduction
The introduction “Are you a sheep?” is more of a rhetorical question rather than a mandatory inquiry. Irony is being produced by this query since sheep are perceived negatively in society as being naive, fearful, and deferential. However, a perspective that society fails to recognize is created by the fact that a sheep may also be associated with innocence, purity, and kindness. This perspective can be further developed by exploring the idea of a person being "sheep-like" in their behavior. This could include characteristics such as being selfless and compassionate, which are often overlooked by society. Furthermore, the phrase "Are you a sheep?" can be interpreted as a challenge, asking the individual to consider whether they embody these positive qualities. In this way, the rhetorical question can be used to encourage people to think about how they can improve themselves and positively contribute to their community.
Report
Background of Research
Social Influence
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The definition of social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group. Social standard are the unspoken behaviors that society interact with each other to get acceptance in a group or society. Therefore, there are various behaviors that are considered as a social standard when we are interacting in the community to achieve society’s expectation, and some is taken more seriously in our society. Society can be influenced by social standard easily on social media nowadays. In 2021, it is estimated that there will be around 3.02 billion social network users around the globe and this amount is continuously increasing days by days which means that almost everyone is prone the media’s interpretation of what is acceptable and what is not.
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The Bandwagon Effect
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People are more exposed to the bandwagon effect which explains that why society is easily manipulated to follow the ‘social standard’. Once jumping into the bandwagon, individual always tend to follow what majority chooses and stop thinking individually just to be socially accepted in society. But does following the so called ‘standard’ necessarily mean that they are naive or scared of rejection from the public? Could it be that it is a form of ethics? Or that it could be an advantage for one’s survival?
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Conformity
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A Social influence known as "conformity," which involves altering the beliefs or behaviors of people in order to fit in with a group. This adjustment is a result of either actual (other people being present physically) or hypothetical (other people feeling pressure from societal norms and expectations) group pressure (Mcleod, 2016). An experiment done by Solomon Asch, The Conformity Experiment, concludes that people conform when they believe the "group" has the more accurate answers and they also hope to fit in (Mcleod, 2018).
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According to the statistics, 75% of the participants went along with the wrong answer to fit in with the group. When the participant was writing his/ her answer instead of saying the answer out loud, the participants were 98% right. The result of social support is only 5% of the participant’s agreed with the wrong answered group, when one confederate participant gave the right answer. The result of attraction and commitment to the group was that if you are attracted and committed to a group, you are more likely to conform to that group. The researchers have identified informational influence and normative impact as the two main causes of conformity. People adjust their behavior under the impact of informational influence when they want to be right and under the influence of normative influence when they want to get rewards or stay out of trouble. Pride can also be involved in this experiment because as humans, we seek for a sense of security and acceptance. When we are disconnected from a group due to the differences in beliefs and values can lead to feelings of isolation and low self-esteem. Therefore, people are willing to go out of their way to fit into a group just to avoid being labelled as an outcast even if it means losing a part of themselves.
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Social Standards Can Have An Impact On Mental Health
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Social standard can also be the cause of the detrimental downfall of one’s mental health. As media and society continues to promote what is more acceptable and what is not, we have this underlying pressure to shape ourselves into the Mold that Is prepared by them. The pressure to fit in could occur daily from society, social media and from those who are more intimate in our lives. In the world of social media, different social platforms tend to have different responses from society and pressure upon how one should act and look. According to a study conducted in the United Kingdom, Instagram has shown to have a negative impact towards the youth in the form of strangers or friends judging one’s life, situation and background in pictures and videos posted. This creates a sense of insecurity and anxiety for those who wish to share but are not keen on getting the judge mental responses coming from people looking through the surface of their life by looking at a photo.
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We may not think about these things daily, but often the decisions we make are influenced by the pressure that everyone is different and what is good for one person, may not be good for another. By pressuring someone to conform can be detrimental to one’s well-being and mental health, leading to depression, anxiety, and stress. Clearly, it can be stressful to have society pressuring one to do something and follow in a path that they do not wish to follow. If we continue to allow this unnerving force of pressure to continue, the consequences we might face could even be lethal. (Jain, 2018)
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The Minimal Group Paradigm
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Previous studies and experiments towards social identity and how it would lead to fitting into the social standard is concluded in The minimal group paradigm. The experiment is conducted by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s, is the typical design used in experiments that inspired and supported Social identity theory. The basic idea is that participants (adults and children have been used in studies) are randomly divided into groups. They are then asked to award rewards, prizes or even money to other participants in specially designed booklets. The recipients are anonymous, except for a code number and which group they are in.
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The results shows that the in-group will act favorably towards members of their own in-group. Moreover, they will even sacrifice rewards for themselves to increase the difference in rewards given between the in-group members and the out-group members. Even though the participants are told that the groups were meaningless, they still were biased to their in-group. By gaining more points for their own group it improves their self-esteem because they belonged to the ‘best’ group. In conclusion, it is clear that the need for a sense of security and superiority can be met by feeling accepted and belonging to a favored in-group and showing hostility or a sort of discrimination towards out-groups.
The purpose of this study is to assist society in embracing a fresh perspective and to identify the factors that lead to people becoming "sheep".
Research Objectives
Understanding the social standards and norms in the modern society
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The objective and aim of conducting research are to gain a better understanding of the social standards and norms that exist in our modern society. Social standards can shape the behavior and attitudes of children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly. By gathering reliable examples and sources that ties to social standards, we can observe the dynamics of social interactions and how they influence people's mannerism, ideologies, and goals. We can also discover the lengths people are willing to go through just to feel accepted into a certain group or clique. This creates an ethical issue such as an individual throwing away their own personal beliefs just to fit in.
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The importance of saying “no”
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Another objective of this research is the importance of saying “no” can be a demonstration of how precious time is and this one word can develop our sense to manage time as we can be more selective about the work we choose to do. People usually can’t say no because of the fear of having negative effects on the certain relationship. People worry about the mere possibility of saying no would influence them to reject us in the future. Similarly, one fears saying “no” in an effort to avoid confrontations or disappointing others which is correlated with our mental health, especially for people pleasers. In my opinion, people should be able to say no for their peace of mind, which can also lead to improvements on self-worth. It has also been shown that the ability to say no improved with time. Confidence improves as one grows older, leading to more self-assertive behavior.
The objective and aim of conducting research are to gain a better understanding of the social standards and norms that exist in our modern society.
Research Methodology
Methods for gathering and analysing data for a study to get accurate and trustworthy results.
SPECTRUM explores the variety of beliefs within an individualized group to break down stereotypes and showcasing complexities. The spectrum game Is where several participants are given a statement and they would have a range of options to stand on, going from strongly agree, agree, slightly agree, neutral then the same goes for the disagreement range. This allows participants to express their opinions rather than being constrained with only a yes or a no. Participants are then told to elaborate their opinions and discuss regarding what they feel about the statement given.
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Individual Interview
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For the interview analysis, we have shown the spectrum game video to two guests. After watching the video, we have asked them about how they feel after watching it, how do they view social standards, and how much they relate to the participants who were in the spectrum show.
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Kenai (20)
From Miri
Student of Bachelor of Science in Architecture at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus
Kenai has a supportive personality that encourages others to being themselves instead of blindly follows standard that had been set by the community and social. She supports Andy (one of the participants in the spectrum show) to be confident in himself. The spectrum show has a great impact on her, and she is related to the questions mention in that video. After watching it, she feels more confident and appreciate of who she is. She has a strong self-identity where she will not easily affect by any peoples even though some time, she is the minority. Kenai mentioned that wearing a sleeveless top tank is one of her identities which makes her ‘Kenai’. She knows herself, what she wants and what she needs. The unique Kenai who knows what best suits her. In my opinion, Kenai is already a person with a strong sense of self-identity (in a good way) where after watching the video, it makes she more believe in herself, supporting her. It is a positive thinking where everyone should have a sense of self-identity and not to blindly follows others.
James (19)
From Selangor
Student of Bachelor of Science in Architecture at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus
​James has an open minded and kind personality. He shares positives and constructive comments and feedbacks to people around him. In the interview, he told Andy (one of the participants in the spectrum show) that in his opinions everyone is perfect in themselves because ones decide one's beauty standard and not the other way round. The spectrum show gives an impact to James where he felt that toxic or non-toxic, it’s all about suitability, understanding and how you cope with the situation. However, just wanted to join a ‘popular’ group, one might hurt itself and came across with toxic friends. The shows brought up an important element which is a platform for people to speak out whatever they want. Throughout the video, it helps James to knows more about other’s thought on social standard.
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In my opinion, James is a person who ready to receive any information, advice or critic in order to improve himself in terms of skills and knowledge.
Social Media Engagement (Post and Insta Stories)
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Several posts were made in conjunction with our main topic. After posting educational posts alongside the spectrum game that we have filmed, the responses we got were diverse and interactive. Many have responded saying that they do relate to the participants in the spectrum game and continues to share their own experiences in the comments. This goes to show how engaging our social content is with our viewers. Some have even responded by saying that the spectrum game has comforted them because now they know that they are not alone into thinking about one’s obligation to follow the social standards.
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Online Survey
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According to the online survey, 65.2% of respondents were between the ages of 20 and 29. However, there were no respondents between the ages of 6 and 12. This could be because the survey was primarily distributed among peers. The first question asked if our respondents were aware of social norms. According to the respondents, 69.6% knew what it meant, while the rest did not. When people are around, 89.1% of them behave differently than when they are alone. 59.8% of our respondents, or more than half of our population, have an ignorant personality of various people. The next question was, "Will social media have an impact on you?" and 78.9% of people said yes. This perfectly exemplifies the influence of social media on one's personality. According to 38% of our respondents, introverts have fewer opportunities than extroverts. On the other hand, 82.6% believe that education will alter our behavior. 63% of our participants have the impression that a wealthy person has a better life than a poor person. The response came in a tie with the next question asking about you concealing your age (if youre a minor) to seem a little older. Interestingly, 68.5% of people believe that 25-29 is an ideal age for a woman to get married. Accompanying a family member is the ideal way to honor your parents instead of spending money on them, according to 80.4% of our respondents. Finally, 76.1% of people would deliberately pack themselves even if they cannot afford an item. This shows the importance of materialistic things to most people in our society today.
Findings and Discussion
Analysing the findings in light of appropriate philosophical viewpoints, such as those on logic, psychology, sociology, epistemology, and the philosophy of Sejahtera.
Logic
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When one is pressured to follow the socially accepted standard, we tend to lose our sense of reasonings whether that would be good or bad. The “sheep” represents how we as humans try to adapt ourselves to “follow the herd of sheep” which translates to fitting into societal standards. We are too invested in selling ourselves out in a world where your actions, looks and background all play a part in determining how worthy you are in being accepted into society. This often causes social identity crises as we constantly masks ourselves with an exterior persona just to feel the sense of security of being one with society, that we realize too late that we have lost a part of ourselves in the process. The consequences we face just to not be labelled as an outcast might not be as scary for some, but when a day comes where we realized that this is not what we want, is the day we will realize that we’re too far deep to go back.
The way society these days have shaped the rules and regulations of how one should act, how one should dress and how one should think; It does not only make us question our beliefs and reasonings but it also imposes a certain type of mindset towards the younger generation. It brainwashes the immature minds of the upcoming generation. “This is how is how we should act, why? Because they said so. Because that’s how they all do it. Because it is norm for us to do so.” these thoughts are no more of an individual thinking rather it is based on how others think and how they perceive it. Thus, it shows how people these days are abandoning their logical reasonings just to be seen as someone who is ‘just like one of them’.
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Psychology and Sociology
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Our main title “Are you a sheep” is an allegory of Psychology and Sociology. The “sheep” encapsulates an individual that is under the influence of the “shepherd” which represents society’s standards. The “herd of sheep” portrays our society when it comes to a group of people that are content to follow one another without questioning authority, or it can represent the idea of unity and solidarity within a group. It can also be used to represent people's tendency to conform to certain norms and expectations within society.
Fashion, trends, and materialistic items can greatly influence sociology by setting standards of acceptable behavior and dictating what is seen as "socially acceptable" or "cool." For example, when certain fashion brands become popular, such as designer labels, it can create a divide between those who can afford these items and those who cannot. This can lead to a sense of higher social status for those who can afford the items, and a sense of inferiority for those who cannot. Similarly, trends in music and entertainment can create divides based on what is seen as popular or "trendy." For example, if certain music genres or TV shows become popular, those who are interested in them may be seen up to date and “cultured”, while those who are not interested may be seen as out of touch or uncool. This can lead to a feeling of alienation for those who do not live up to these trends. Finally, materialistic items can create a sense of status and worth, where those who own certain items are seen as having more value than those who do not. This can lead to a feeling of superiority for those who can afford these items, and a feeling of inferiority for those who cannot.
Social standards have a powerful influence on a person's psychology. They shape how people perceive themselves and the world around them, as well as how they behave and interact with others. Social norms and standards can create a sense of belonging and security, as well as a feeling of being accepted and valued. Compliance with social norms can lead to feelings of self-worth and success. On the other hand, deviating from social norms can lead to feelings of shame, guilt, and alienation.
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Epistemology (knowledge)
– Rationalism - Empiricism, Theory of Truth
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When it comes to the nature of knowledge, epistemology, or the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, has two main theories: rationalism and empiricism. Rationalism holds that knowledge is derived primarily from reason and innate ideas, whereas empiricism holds that knowledge is derived primarily from sensory experience. In light of the tendency of people to follow social standards and the crowd, it's important to note that these tendencies can sometimes lead to a distorted view of reality. If a large group of people holds a certain belief based on misinformation or incomplete information, it can be difficult for individuals to challenge that belief, even if it goes against reason or evidence.
However, the theory of truth can help mitigate the impact of these social tendencies. Truth, according to most philosophical theories, is based on evidence and reason, rather than simply being a matter of popular opinion or belief. Adhering to this idea can help individuals critically evaluate their beliefs and resist the temptation to simply accept the views of the crowd. In conclusion, while social standards and the tendency of people to follow the crowd can sometimes lead to a distorted view of reality, theories such as rationalism and empiricism, along with a commitment to the theory of truth based on evidence and reason, can help individuals resist these tendencies and strive towards a more accurate and informed understanding of the world.
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Perspectives on the Philosophy of Sejahtera
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The philosophy of Sejahtera, which emphasizes the well-being and prosperity of the community, is an important concept that can help guide individuals and society towards a more harmonious and fulfilling life. In today's world, where social standards and the tendency to conform can often lead to a narrow-minded and conformist mindset, the Sejahtera philosophy encourages individuals to prioritise the well-being of the community over their own personal interests. This can lead to a more cooperative and inclusive society in which people are more willing to collaborate towards a common goal and support one another. However, it is also critical to recognise that individual liberties and diversity are critical to the overall well-being and prosperity of the community. To truly achieve Sejahtera, a balance must be struck between the needs of the community and the rights and needs of individuals. To summarise, Sejahtera philosophy is a valuable guiding principle that can help promote a more harmonious and fulfilling society. However, in order to truly achieve well-being and prosperity for all, it is critical to approach this philosophy with a nuanced understanding of the importance of individual freedoms and diversity.
Conclusion
Is it a bad thing for being a sheep?
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Are you considered naïve or a coward for trying to avoid being known as the outcast? From this project it is concluded that the term “follow the herd of sheep” may not always be seen in a negative light, because who are we to judge one’s decision for adapting to the social standards that we ourselves have created to this day? For every decision an individual make has its own pros and cons. Throughout the research in this project, we lay an in-depth research about how social standards exist, how is it plays an important role in society and how it affects people no matter the generation. The term social standard itself exist because we made it exist. As a society we created the social standards, we have created the so called ‘rules and regulations’ that people must follow in order to be accepted in the general crowd.
Ultimately, the study found that social standards and people's proclivity to follow the crowd can have a significant impact on individuals and society as a whole. This can lead to a narrow-minded and conformist mindset in which people are more likely to simply accept the crowd's views rather than critically evaluate their own beliefs. One of the research's key findings is the importance of raising awareness about social standards and the impact they can have on individuals and society. By recognizing the power of these standards and the temptation to conform, individuals can be more vigilant in resisting these influences and striving towards a more harmonious and fulfilling life.
In the context of bullying and feeling like one doesn't belong, the research has shown that these experiences can have a profound impact on an individual's well-being and sense of self-worth. However, it's important to recognize that these experiences do not define who a person is and that it's possible to overcome them and build a more fulfilling life.
In conclusion, this study has highlighted the importance of critically evaluating social standards and the impact they can have on individuals and society, as well as the importance of overcoming experiences such as bullying and a sense of not belonging. Individuals and society as a whole can strive for a better future by recognising these issues and working towards a more harmonious and fulfilling life.