Answered>Order 22573

Write 5 page essay on the topic Final Synthesis Paper.

Students have vast psychologically-based needs that must be fulfilled in a rewarding environment with the teacher playing a key role in assisting in self-esteem development and providing a sense of belonging in a social environment. This paper describes how to ensure student conformity while still managing to support the emotional needs of students. What is Conformity? Principles of social psychology indicate that in order for a society to function properly, there must be established norms of behavior to guide social behavior and regulate it effectively (Morris &amp. Maisto, 2005). Social norms are “learned, socially based rules that prescribe what people should or should not do” (faculty.uml.edu, 2007, p.1). Students, especially those in high school, often turn to their peers as a form of reference group which serves as a model for their behaviors and personality development. It is usually the majority membership that determines what are appropriate social systems and guidelines. Students seeking to become part of the in-group generally look toward the norms driven by the majority and then seek to conform to these norms in order to gain a sense of inter-peer belonging. Abraham Maslow developed what is referred to as the Hierarchy of Needs that indicates it is psychologically necessary to be provided a sense of social belonging in order to develop important concepts of self-esteem and reach their highest emotional potential. This is why adolescents who are seeking to build their own self-concept and self-identity turn toward reference groups to understand what types of attitudes and behaviors are acceptable as it fulfills emotional needs. Maslow’s model of needs clearly indicates that self-esteem development is impossible without approval from the individual’s social group. Adolescence is usually a period of self-exploration where peer attitude and opinion are considered to be highly important. In the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch conducted a conformity experiment using participants that included confederates of the researcher (those who were trained on how to respond) and a lone participant unaware of the nature of the study. All of the participants were shown an image of a line and then asked to match the structure of the line as shown on another card. The confederates deliberately gave the wrong answer. Asch’s study identified that even though the lone participant clearly recognized his participant peers had given the wrong answer, he too agreed with the incorrect judgments and conformed to the group responses (Morris &amp. Maisto). Likely, this was a product of wanting to fit in and not appear abnormal to the group. This is important for the educator especially when it is necessary to develop conformity within the classroom to deliver a more effective lecture or build a rewarding social structure. Berten &amp. Van Rossem (2007) identified that adolescents are influenced mostly by peers with which they have solid personal connections. This is why in order to guarantee conformity in the classroom social network, the teacher must be aware of the social norms guiding the student population and draw on this need for affiliation in order to provide effective teaching and ensure active learning from the students.