Braulio Inchaustegui

5A
#17

I tend to follow the influence that my friends create in me because I fear being left out. The

opinions that my friends have tend to control my own opinions a lot. I often have different perspectives

than the ones my friends have, but they often manage to change my perspectives about certain topics

to their owns. For example, whenever my friends don’t like someone that I do like, they influence me to

hate that person just because they hate him. It is difficult to stick and have my own opinions because

my friends often differ from them, and that is why it has become a routine to follow my friend´s

opinions and decisions.

One of the main behaviors that I have whenever my friends have opinions different from mine is

that whenever my friends don’t like someone, I tend to start hating that person too, even though I liked

him. According to the Asch experiment, I can surrender the things that I do on a daily basis just because

of the influence that my friends create on me. The power of social influence is so big that it can even

change the things you do in your everyday life. I do feel that the main authority in your life is yourself,

but you get to a point in which although your self-authority tells you to stick to your own ideas, you will

surrender those opinions and disobey your authority because of the constant suffering that you

experience by having pressure on changing your opinions or actions. This is shown in the Milgram

experiment, and it explains why you could even disobey authorities. Peer pressure can make you do

things that you never thought you could. Disobeying the authorities is seen as something particularly

bad and most of the time we are asked to obey without even questioning our actions. So whenever we

feel pressured to disobey, our mind begins to blindly obey because it knows that disobeying an authority

is considered something bad.

Another behavior that I often lie just to fit in. I tend to lie a lot because I want to create an

impression on my friends with things that they do or have, but I don’t. The influence of the opposition
Braulio Inchaustegui
5A
#17
changes significantly given the size of the opposition. If the opposition is bigger, then the influence is

bigger. The fact that my group of friends has several members , it makes the influence even bigger

because I feel that the amount of people against me is bigger. The Asch experiment clearly shows that as

the size of the opposition grows bigger, the person being tested decides to surrender his own opinions

as he sees the opposition growing bigger. The Zimbardo experiment also clearly shows how the idea of

belonging makes people change the way they are. The “sick as he felt, he had to prove to them that he

was nit a bad prisoner”. (para. 42) This clearly shows that the urge of fitting in comes before your own

well-being. I tend to want to talk about the things that I enjoy doing, and I suffer whenever I have to act

like I do some things that I actually don’t do. The feeling of fitting in is more important to me than

following my own needs and opinions.

I tend to hide some things from my friends because they always criticize everything they hear

from everyone. Unfortunately, my opinions are often criticized by my friends, making me avoid certain

comments or actions just to not feel sad or excluded. Others’ voices have become my own, to the point

I’m making myself not say everything that comes to my mind for fear of my friends criticizing and

making me feel ashamed. I try to behave “appropriately” so that others accept me because underneath I

feel like my true self is unworthy, so I rather say nothing than say what I’m actually feeling or thinking. In

“The Stanford Prison Experiment” by Zimbardo, a prisoner said: “What made the experience most

depressing for me was the fact that we were continually called upon to act in a way that just was

contrary to what I really feel inside.” (para. 38) I actually feel like the prisoner because I act differently to

what I really feel and following to what others say has become exhausting and depressing. I suffer

whenever I hide my thoughts because I feel excluded or even isolated, but I also feel ashamed of my

own whenever my friends criticize everything I say. The power that other people hold is enormous and

following blindly is a big mistake. Even though I genuinely believe that having an opinion and expressing
Braulio Inchaustegui
5A
#17
them is a right we hold that allows us to be different, I also know it takes courage to accept that not

everyone needs to agree with your opinions.

Socializing is one of the most important parts of growing up. Being antisocial is clearly a negative

aspect that someone could acquire by his own will or by the influence of other peers. Even though I

know it’s bad, I have become more antisocial because my friends don’t like socializing, so whenever we

are at the mall, or at a party, they prefer to stay all together instead of socializing with new people.

Asch shows this in his experiment because the person being tested, even though he knew that the

others were incorrect, decided to follow the majority’s influence. “Individuals can surrender their own

judgment to others, even when those others are clearly in the wrong.”. (para. 1) I find socializing vital for

an individual to mature, but I tend to surrender that aspect of my life just because my friends don’t want

to follow that type of life, so I stop socializing in order to make them feel proud or even satisfied.

Subsequently, whenever my friends make me feel that socializing is wrong, I surrender that need of

maturing.

Peer pressure could come both in positive form and negative form. It can bring both pleasure or

suffering. It is definitely wrong not to follow your own opinions and decisions, but sometimes following

what other people think can end in better results than the ones you could’ve acquired by your own

means and decisions. Sticking to your own opinions is vital to have more confidence in yourself but

learning from others is also a positive aspect that can bring you pure good and no harm.