Relationship between Social Conformity and Vocational Interests in the Indian Context with a Focus on Family Upbringing

Abstract

Social conformity and education hold an environmental influence on the individual’s vocational interests. It would be a model of standardised convenience, not to reduce ambitions. This study looks at the association between social conformity and career ambitions among 134 aged 18 to 28. Using purposive and then snowball sampling through Google Forms, participants completed the Conformity Scale (Mehrabian & Stefl, 1995) and Dr. S.P. Kulshrestha’s Vocational Interest Record (VIR). SPSS software was used to do statistical studies such as Pearson’s correlation, and Jamovi was used to carry out independent sample t-tests. Results showed that, except in the executive, commercial, constructive, and agricultural domains, there was no significant correlation between social conformity and career goals. Commercial, constructive, and agricultural interests showed negative associations, suggesting lower interest levels with more social conformance. Executive interests, however, showed a favourable link. The impact of a patriarchal and matriarchal upbringing on social conformity was examined in further detail. The majority of respondents reported having had a patriarchal upbringing, and the results indicated little difference between societal conformity levels and family upbringing.