self-control is influenced internally

 self-control is influenced internally

Question 1

People often believe self-control is influenced internally, but many times, we act depending on what our family members or friends do. Those who are around us can change our behaviours by inducing us to follow theirs such as developing a passion for a sport that a family member loves or liking a specific type of food because your friends eat it every time you hang out together (Cascio, Scholz, & Falk, 2015). However, there is a little more than peer pressure, where a person chooses to act in a way that fits them in a particular group. It happens subconsciously. Beneath the person’s awareness, the brain continuously gathers cues from the surrounding people to inform his or her behaviour (Forgas & Williams, 2016). And it can have significant implications. In my case, a group of my peer friends influenced me to start drinking, even though I had never taken alcohol before. Every time we hang out together, they would buy a few bottles of beer, but I was the only one who did not take them. After they were drunk, they seemed to enjoy themselves, and out of curiosity, I decided to try it as well.

Question 2

For a long time, I could only imagine how it felt to be drunk. Although I was close to a group of friends who drank regularly, I had never tried any type of liquor. During one of our weekend fun outing, my friends and I attended a concert in town, as our favourite local artist was performing there that night. It was going to be an event full of people, drinking and dancing, but I convinced myself that I would just go to watch the performance and go back home without tasting beer or getting naughty.

The next day was also a school day, which I could not miss because of hangovers. The night started well, the music was good, and the performance was thrilling. Almost everyone had a bottle of beer in their hands, and by around 11 p.m., they were all drunk, including my friends. I also wanted to feel what everybody else felt being drunk and, therefore, I also grabbed my own drink. My first experience taking alcohol was, however, terrible because I vomited, fell sick, and as a result, missed school the following day.

Question 3

The reason why I was so persuaded to drink was that I saw everyone else drinking and having a fantastic night. This persuasion technique is referred to as social proof. It is one of the most common persuasion techniques in society, especially among young people. It is evident, and most studies also indicate that most social groups tend to share a similar way of thinking, also referred to as groupthink (Fenko, Keizer, & Pruyn, 2017). When one person in the group mentions an idea, the rest are inclined to go with it, regardless of whether they have doubts about it. According to the social proof persuasion technique, a person first looks at what his or her peers are doing, then makes a decision, which often follows a similar fashion.

Question 4

If I were in the same situation now, I would not have acted the same way I did then. This is because my actions led to undesirable outcomes. First, I experienced stomach upsets that made me feel very uncomfortable the whole of the following day. More importantly, I missed school without a proper reason, and as a result, failed my tests because my tutor deducted my marks for submitting my assignment late. I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of not conforming to the behaviour of social groups. Since I knew I had school the next day, I should have left the concert early to have enough sleep. This would have prevented me from failing my test.

Question 5

Children are vulnerable to the influence of social groups (Cascio, Scholz, & Falk, 2015), and therefore, the first advice I would give them is to choose their friends wisely. A child needs friends with whom he or she can learn useful things about life through activities such as sports, hiking, swimming, adventures, explorations, and more. These activities help to develop their brains and boost their academic qualities, as opposed to drug abuse or early sexual behaviour. I would also guide them to make decisions not based on what their peers are doing, but on what they have been taught to be right. This would prevent them from subconsciously conforming to the behaviour of their mischievous peers.

Question 6

The reason why I would give them the advice is that I was in a similar situation. Although I had been advised to avoid bad company when I was a child, such as friends who disrespected their parents, those who abused drugs, or those who liked missing school, I still found myself in their company. However, after the incident I have already described earlier, I realized the importance of my parents’ advice because of the influence of bad companies almost led me in the wrong direction.