2 Responses to “Conformity”

1. pointerr February 18th, 2009 at 3:17 am

   I think it may be possible to assimilate unconsciously as a survival reflex. It is virtually impossible to survive at Vanderbilt, to use your example, without learning to develop interaction skills with the dominant group. You would have to live in a hole and never go to class in order to never interact with white people at this school. So, I think from this example it appears that assimilation can occur without one necessarily consciously trying to become more like the majority group. It may be a form of adaptation to a new environment, in which adopting new behaviors may be mandatory to stay afloat.

2. elizahorn February 20th, 2009 at 1:10 am

   I definitely think that people can assimilate without trying to, in fact, most assimilation is probably done that way. People’s natural reactions are to fit in with their environments so they can easily function. So, almost as a survival technique, it seems that people (good or bad) naturally assimilate.