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The Power of Conformity

B.D.

English 102
Professor Davis
15 December 2013

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Part I
Hegelian letter (this student's version was redacted). Write a
letter to a historical figure, celeb, politician, writer, scientist,
etc., according to the four-part structure explained in the
Tasks.

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Part II
The social experiment that I have chosen to conduct was influenced by both Stanly Milgrams
shock experiment and Aschs line experiment in the essence that it will measure the degree that
everyday people obey authority when put in social situations. I am interested in this topic
because I have taken both Psychology and Sociology courses, and have conducted a similar
experiment in the past. I will determining the degree of conformity by placing male and
female signs on doors and measuring the difference between the control group and the
experimental group. I believe that after conducting this experiment, the data will show that
people do follow signs of authority.
Procedures
1. First, during a busy period on Orange Coast College Campus I will record how many students
go through each door (left and right), and what their gender is over a thirty minute period. It
would be helpful to have several other researchers with me and assign each person to record a
particular group. Since no signs are placed on the doors yet, this will be the control group I will
compare my following results to. This step will have to be repeated many times in order to
collect a large amount of data.
2. Create both male and female signs. For best results make them look as official as possible.
For the purpose of my experiment I would make sure to have the words males enter through this
door and females enter through this door on each sign with bold, large, and easy to read font.
3. Next we will set up the conditions for our experimental group. It is important to make this
situation as similar to the control group as possible (except for the signs on the door). So in this

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case the experiment must be on the same day of the week (preferably a week later), the same
time, and the same doors. The signs must be placed on the doors so they are easily identifiable.
4. Finally, researchers record data for the experimental group. It is extremely important that
researchers measure the total number of people that walk through both doors, the total number of
women that obeyed, the total number of women who disobeyed, the total number of men who
obeyed, and the total number of men who disobeyed. Make sure to switch the sides of male
and female signs on the doors, due to the fact that people mostly walk through the door on
their right This step will have to be repeated as many times as step one.
5. Compare the data from both the control group and the experimental group. Determine if there
is a trend in the data.

This experiment, like any will experience certain flaws. It is quite possible that people walking
through the doors will notice a group or people staring at them and recording data. This could
certainly skew results. In addition, people may see signs on the door and deliberately disobey
because they think it is silly. There may be no trend at all in the data due to the fact that people
follow the rules of traffic when walking through crowds (keep to the right).

Part III
Starbuckticus: An Examination of Conformity
The Characters:
Franny

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Brittany
Barista
On a sunny afternoon two female college students are enjoying blended coffee drinks at a
popular caf chain. Finals week is approaching, and the two friends are fixated on their shiny
macbook laptops. Occasionally one will absently flip through a college textbook or check social
networking applications on their iphones. There is a busy atmosphere in the caf, and a hushed
chatter envelops the room. Brittany soon contributes. She is usually soft spoken, and desires to
make everyone she comes in contact with happy. She follows the latest trends and is usually
enveloped in an overwhelming group of girlfriends. She is about to begin an uncomfortable
conversation with her childhood friend and classmate, Franny. She is known for being sharpwitted. However, her outspoken attitude created a drift between her and her classmates.
Brittany: Did you see they released a new iphone? Im so disappointed that I have six months of
my contract left. Im actually thinking about buying it after I collect a couple more paychecks.
Franny: Gosh that seems like a waste. Is there even much of an improvement from the previous
model? I feel like most people buy Apple products just because they want to fit in. I couldnt
imagine spending hundreds of dollars on a new phone if I had one that functioned perfectly fine.
Brittany: No you dont understand! This model has a fingerprint scanner on the lock screen! The
camera has also improved! I would take so many selfies if I had that phone!
Franny: (rolls her eyes) Arent you on your phone all day anyway? I hardly think getting a
slightly improved phone will impact your life in any way.
Brittany: (looks down at her shiny iphone) I think it would. Its nice getting new things every
once in a while.
Both girls remain quiet for a period of time. Brittany seems nervous; she is repeatedly checking

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her phone. The atmosphere is uncomfortable. Franny is directing all of her attention at her
laptop screen. It appears as though she is taking out frustration on her keyboard as she
mechanically types her sociology paper. A barista unknowingly breaks her concentration.
Barista: Are you ladies done with these drinks? Is there anything youd like?
Brittany: Yeah Im done! Id like a blended chai Frappuccino, with soy milk please!
Franny: (becoming noticeably irritated with her classmate) Ill just have tea, thanks.
Franny: (with a sarcastic attitude) You know what Brittany? It was kind of bothering me for a
while that you seem so shallow. But really, thats really how everyone is nowadays. Youre just
conforming to society. Everyone else follows trends like sheep; it shouldnt bother me that you
do too. Im sure you just do it because you are afraid to be an outcast.
Brittany: Wow Franny you dont have to be so aggressive. I dont know why youd say
something so mean. So what if I happen to like the same things as other people do? That doesnt
make me an awful person. And how do you know that I dont genuinely like the things that
youre saying are just trends?
Franny looks at three hardbound books, stacked perfectly at her friends side. All three are
Russian classics that look like they have never been opened. Franny knows this will be a low
blow, but she wants to get her point across. She points at the stack.
Franny: Whats with those books? Correct me if Im wrong but they look like theyve never
been opened. What is the point of bringing those to a caf?
Brittany: (she stares at the stack and says nothing)
Franny: You brought those books because you thought other people would notice that youre
reading a book that was written by some man that died over a hundred years ago. Wouldnt you
be happier if you didnt focus on what other people thought of you?

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Brittany: (her face softens) its not like Im knowingly conforming to what other people do.
Thats just how being a girl is. If I were to stand out, or look obnoxious, or even seem like a total
airhead, I feel like everyone would judge me so harshlyFranny: (cuts off her friend at the end of her sentence) Do you think anyone cares what youre
reading right now? Because they dont. Everyone is focusing on how their self-image is being
portrayed to the world without realizing that their thoughts and actions mimic everyone elses.
Brittany rubs her temples; she is tiring of the conversation. Not only is her childhood friend
creating a scene at her neighborhood caf, but she is beginning to doubt her relationship with
her childhood friend. Her submissive demeanor fades.
Brittany: (with both fingertips on her temples) If I did conform to society and trends its not like
that would make me a terrible person. I would never conform to values that reflected hate,
prejudice or judgment. You are making it seem like conformity can only be defined in a negative
light, but thats really not the case at all. People wouldnt be able to agree on anything if there
wasnt a level of conformity in society.
Franny is surprised, and slightly impressed by her friends defending remark, but she continues
with her argument.
Franny: Some level of conformity is necessary in society or else it would crumble. However, if
you just mindlessly mimic the actions of everyone else around you what do you think is going to
happen?
Brittany: (silence)
Franny: This is what would happen: if you were to mindlessly mimic the actions of everyone
else around you, you wouldnt be able to think critically about the consequences of your actions.
You cant deny that a majority of hate crime occur because the killer blindly accepts the beliefs

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of hate groups. Mob mentality is also a byproduct of conformity. Its sickening that those people
arent able to discover their own beliefs and ideas, and in turn poison other peoples minds as
well. Everyone should just be their own person regardless of that others think, including you. If
you were to just adopt your own ideas of what you view as cool or intelligent youd be much
happier with yourself- you would see how silly it seems to want to fit in.
Brittany realizes that her friend is truly concerned for her happiness. She ponders her stance on
the argument at hand.
Brittany: Maybe youre right. I have a lot to think about.
The two girls feel closer after this discussion. The two girls are content and finish their
caffeinated drinks within an hour and soon pack up their belongings. Franny and Brittany smile
at each other when they part.

Part IV
If Plato and Socrates Walked into a Coffee Shop
A Socratic dialogue is often seen in literature to depict the view of a philosopher who is
determined to get his point across to another character of the dialogue. This technique was first
utilized by the philosopher Socrates- who promoted critical thinking to his peers though one-onone, logical argumentation. More recently this technique was used in a modernized Socratic

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dialogue Starbuckticus which focuses on the values of two girls in college- Franny and
Brittany. The two girls offer different beliefs on the impact of conformity on society to the
audience, and Franny attempts to force her beliefs on her friend who Franny believes to be guilty
of conforming to the latest trends. This essay will examine the techniques used to create this
Socratic dialogue, rhetorical techniques, and an analysis of the characters.
This dialogue utilized several rhetorical techniques in order to contribute to the effect of
the argument. For example, in the beginning of the dialogue Franny seems to have made
practical use of disinterest or eunoia- a willingness to sacrifice ones own wants for the greater
good. It was clear that Franny was hesitant to begin her argument with her childhood friend, and
the conflict progressively grows to the point where she feels the need to act on it. She is more
and more troubled by her friends seemingly shallow attitude, so she sacrifices her own interests
to aggressively persuade her friend of the truth. It is undoubtable that by the end of the dialogue
she genuinely cares for her friends well-being- which is the final push to convert her friend to
her beliefs. Due to her self-righteous attitude, Franny also uses disinterest in a more selfish way.
Franny uses a rhetorical device known as reluctant conclusion- the act of reaching your
conclusion due to the characters belief that it is overwhelmingly right. Regardless of the fact
that Franny cares for her friend, her attitude is undeniably sermonizing. She is not moved in the
slightest by her friends beliefs on the topic, and seems to become extremely emotional
throughout the argument. It is clear that Franny is determined to get her point across, even if it
means hurting her friends feelings. Another rhetorical devise used in the dialogue is logos- or an
appeal to logic. This was Frannys most powerful strategy in the dialogue; she emphasized logos
through deduction- the strategy of applying a general principle to a specific matter. This was
emphasized in the dialogue when Franny observed that her friend craved a new iphone, and

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made a generalization that she was a shallow person who conformed to trends. Although Franny
succeeds in convincing her friend in the end, she is guilty of using fallacies to support her claim.
For example, Franny uses the fallacy reductio ad absurdum in order to diminish the appeal of
Brittanys argument at the end of the dialogue. Franny is disgusted by the idea that conformity is
not catastrophic to society, so she provides a somewhat extreme example as to why conformity is
unacceptable. Ultimately, Frannys statement that conformity leads to hate crimes reduces
Brittanys argument into senselessness. If Franny had neglected to do this, it is likely that the
audience would have complied with Brittanys beliefs.
The Socratic dialogue is defined by several characteristics, and many are incorporated
into Starbuckticus. For example, the argumentation that builds throughout these dialogues
ultimately follows a similar format. For example, each argument is defined by a claim. In this
case, the claim is that conformity is harmful for both individuals and society. Franny gives
grounds for this claim in order to support the argument. For the length of the dialogue Franny
provides both Brittany and the audience with reasons why conflict is so detrimental which
include both societal and individual concerns. The claim and the grounds are both tied together
through a warrant or a chain of reasoning. In the case of this dialogue the warrant is that
conformity ultimately leads to a loss of individuality which is dangerous to society. This chain of
thinking was emphasized in the latter part of the dialogue when Franny discussed mob mentality
and hate groups.
Both Franny and Brittany provide the dialogue with insightful opinions that help shape
the argument throughout the dialogue. The fact that Franny is gifted with an outspoken
personality to contrast Brittanys timid aura makes it clear that Franny will be deemed the
philosopher who convinces the remaining character of their values. What makes this Socratic

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dialogue unique from others is that the character who is not deemed the philosopher makes
several extremely insightful arguments. Brittany provides the audience with the idea that
conformity offers some extremely useful benefits to society. When one examines this statement
almost seems that there is an interaction of two philosophers in this dialogue. Brittanys
submissive attitude is certainly unique to Socratic dialogues. Usually, the other in the Socratic
dialogue is confined to an arrogant, and dense temperament. However, Brittanys insightful aura
seemed to add another modern aspect to the dialogue. Traditionally Frannys outspoken attitude
affects the dialogue in unique ways as well. It is true that generally the philosophers in Socratic
dialogues have a calm and understanding approach to the argument, however this requirement is
tested when Franny dictates the conversation and aggressively asserts her values. It is possible
that if Frannys demeanor was slightly more perceptive, Brittany would have offered some more
intellectual concepts on the topic, which would have made the dialogue more realistic and
interesting to read. However, it is undeniable that Franny did persuade her friend to adopt her
beliefs on conformity, which is essential to a Socratic dialogue.
Socratic dialogues offer the reader with two viewpoints, however only one can be the
victor. In this case, Franny persuaded her friend Brittany to realize that conformity damaged not
only individuals but society as well. She did this by adopting Socratic dialogue techniques,
utilizing rhetorical devices, and exploiting character traits opposite of her submissive classmate.
Although the work of writing did not follow all of the rules of a traditional Socratic dialogue, its
modernization was certainly effective regardless. Hopefully after examining the dialogue, the
reader has put some thought into the impacts of conformity on society. The topic certainly has a
huge impact on every individual; conformity both shapes society and confines it.

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