Psychology

Human beings are social in nature and as such they are bound to interact or engage in activities that bring them closer to each other. The reasons for such interactions are vast and varied and can only be determined when we consider an exact situation. Some of the reasons why most people interact are sharing of ideas, finding companionship, understanding other peoples perspectives, among very many other reasons. Each one of us has his own peculiar habits. Everybody engages in some antisocial behavior that tends to make them happy in their private lives. While these behaviors make them happy, they would not be happy to be identified with such kind of behavior because of the manner in which their societies perceive such acts (Westen  Kowalski, 2006).

Nobody likes to be thought of as an outcast. Nobody likes being left out by their peers. People are able to sacrifice what they like, or engage in what they do not enjoy just to have the perception of being together with the people. Human beings are able to acquire the nature of chameleon this is in the sense that they are able to change some of their behaviors to adapt in a given kind of environment. They want to have a feeling of belonging to the crowd. Their behaviors are always geared towards fitting into their social situations and as such their real behaviors can be known only with time (Merton, 1957).

When men go out with their male friends during night outs, they are able to engage in certain activities that they would not contemplate engaging in if they are in the company of their wives. Very polite men who are otherwise polite and always respectful are able to engage in disrespectful acts when he is with some of his friends. A gentleman who is associated with polite gestures towards women is able to take a completely different turn of being particularly arrogant to women. Men are always trying to show their might in such occasions and are such more likely to do anything that portray the same. They want to show that they know more than their peers in the course of their conversations. They want to drink more than their friends to show that they are able to withstand alcohol than most of their friends. They want to outdo each other in terms of tuning women. They raise their voices in the course of their talking. The situation would be completely different when they are in the company of their spouses. They would lower their voices they would be particularly gentle and would not engage in any disrespectful act. A frequenter of the stripping club would act as if he does not know any of these clubs when they are in the company of their wives (Westen  Kowalski, 2006).

The driving force behind such actions by men may be the cheer and being highly regarded in these groups. When they compete in drinking alcohol, their friends cheer as if they were in a kind of competition. They have to demonstrate that they are manly in such company. The influence of the group is demonstrated on the individual members. The individuals would do many things including those that they do not really enjoy in order to conform. They would also change the types of clothes they wear to reflect fashion even when they do not like some of those items (Gray, 2006).
Many people enjoy ghost hunting and ghost tours in the Halloween spirit. The members of such expeditions always adjust their behavior to fit their company. They visit haunted places under the instruction of a guide who gives them all the details pertaining to the place in question. Individuals in such kind of tours supposedly experience supernatural occurrences. They can claim to be seeing a shadow which may not be present in real sense. When a person says this to members of the group, some may genuinely see this non-existent shadow. However, some or even all the people in the group may just pretend to be seeing these things to ensure that they are part of the group. They then feel that they have had a ghost experience while some of their members did not even catch a glimpse of this experience. Others may just base their experience on what the tour guide told them about the ghosts at that site. The impression is able to make some of these people have a real experience of seeing some of these things. People in a cemetery can just point in a given direction and claim they are seeing something (Merton, 1957).

Bibb Latane developed a theory, The Social Impact Theory, which tries to explain such social pressures. He argued that if more people are pushing you towards a given direction or action, then you are more likely to conform. If the source of a given opinion is a source you value so much then you are more like to follow that direction. A source you see more often can easily influence you than distant sources. A source of information particular to you is more likely to influence you than that which is aimed to advice many people. These men are normally pushed to engage in some of these activities because of their audience and they would most likely not do these things alone. It is thought that audience arouses an individual. These men are out to impress (Gray, 2006).

The concept of group polarization also comes into play. This concept is based on the idea and belief that each member of a given group is always in a competition with the rest of the members to achieve the support of the majority. The way in which a group is divided on a given opinion matters a lot to the common stand or state of compromise the group is like to settle for. Individuals are usually in a dilemma on whether to compete with each other or to cooperate. When one member gives an opinion that differs from the other, it is a bit difficult to settle for a solution without a compromise on the side of one or both the individuals. A person may feel shortchanged when his ideas are not taken into serious consideration. Nobody likes to be the inferior member of his group (Gray, 2006).

The examples we have considered are never permanent and only occur in certain occasions. These behavioral changes are inconsistent and do not appear to happen to these individuals out of the necessary settings. They are able to control them and hence no therapeutic intervention may be required. The people are to adjust to their normal behaviors. Medical intervention would be recommended in the event that these people did the same thing with both the men and the women. Since human beings are social, they have to be together. Each and every one of us is unique and hence we are bound to be different from each other and as such some behavioral adjustments may be necessary to fit into different groups.