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The study of the role that social or external influences and social norms have on human behavior is well-established in sociology and psychology, as evidenced in the assigned readings. Real or false, they have a powerful influence on human behavior. Social influences create social pressure, which arises from one’s belief about what other people expect or want them to do. Social norms are the perceived standards of acceptable attitudes and behaviors prevalent among the members of a community. The community can be small (a family or workplace), or it can be large (city, state, country). External influences can lead one to conform to the group norms or obey a perceived authority figure. Conformity can be defined as changing one’s behavior or beliefs to match those of other individuals or group members due to unspoken pressure (social/external influences), real or imagined. Requests, or demands, from a perceived authority figure can be construed as orders and when followed can be called obedient behavior. In this paper I will explore the role that external influences play on determining human behavior, how they relate to conformity and obedience in our everyday lives, and how they can limit or expand our perceptions th