Abstract:

Conformity is defined as an individual way to adapt to the pressure of the referent group. The common characteristic of the different conceptions of conformity is that to this process precedes a conflict among the inner strengths of the personality who induce the individual to act according his own opinion and the strengths of the group who force the person to act according to the expectation of the group. The essence of the research is a transcultural analysis of conformity among two groups of adolescents (American and Czech). The prominent goal of the research was to take a look to the phenomenon of general conformity, peer conformity, peer pressure and popularity as well finding how risk behavior is related to the mentioned manifestations of group behavior. The partial goal of the research was to find out the inner consistence among the scales of the questionnaire which could contribute deeper psychological grasp of the connections. There was a particular accent on the cultural, age and sex differences among the Czech and American adolescents. The participants were students aged 19-21. To determine the empirical data we used the following research methods: peer pressure, peer conformity, popularity and general conformity scale and a scale of risk behaviors of adolescents, which was developed in agreement with the US Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. According to the statistical analysis we found out that between the Czech and American adolescents there is no significant difference in perceiving the group pressure. Young men from both groups perceive the group pressure more than the girls. The other results showed that the American adolescents have bigger interest to be popular among the peers. For the American adolescent is typical noticeable submissiveness to the adult authorities and their demands. On the other hand the Czech adolescents incline to peer conformity and risk behavior while their desire to be popular is lower.

Keywords:

Conformity, group pressure, popularity, risk behavior.