Conformity & Deviance

1. Conformity & Deviance Chapter 6 Charles Pavitt

2. Overview • Preliminary Distinctions • Conformity & Deviance Defined • Structural Perspective • Norms • CONFORMITY • Rationale • Relevant Theories (Social Comparison, Cognitive Dissonance, Reactance, • Compliance vs. Private Acceptance • DEVIANCE • Rationale • Valence – good vs. bad deviance • Group Pressure • Polarization – pressure toward conformity • Internal group pressure • Dependence upon deviant member • Functional Perspective • Conclusions • Negative Valence Errors • Minority Influence • Distinctions between Minority and Majority Influence

3. Preliminary Distinctions • Conformist vs. Deviant • Negative Connotations; Unfair Generalizations • Conformity – choosing an action that a majority favors or that is socially acceptable. • Deviance – choosing an action that is not socially acceptable or that a majority does not favor. • Neither conformity nor deviance is intrinsically good or bad. • Distinguish ACTION from REASON.

4. BAD vs. GOOD Conformity • Compliance (Undesirable Conformity) conformity in BEHAVIOR alone (usually bad) • Private Acceptance (desirable conformity) conformity in beliefs as well as behaviors (usually good)

5. The Structural Perspective • Expectations of how behaviors “will be” in groups turn into evaluations of how those behaviors “should be.” • The evaluations are GROUP NORMS. • Norms are socially accepted behaviors in groups.

6. NORMS • All norms are NOT created equal. • Degree of Formality • Degree of Permissible Deviation • Degree of Application • Can apply to group members in different ways. • Can apply to either OR BOTH group behaviors as well as outcomes

7. CONFORMTIY: Why Conform? • “Accepted Behaviors” • Pragmatic Reasons (to make decisions) • Motivational Reasons (acceptance, enjoyment, personal goals) • GROUP PERSUASION or “PRESSURE”

8. Theories of CONFORMTIY • Social Comparison Theory • People want to evaluate their beliefs, periodically, against standards in order to judge themselves. • Beliefs about Abilities • Opinions • Link between a need to evaluate oneself and a tendency to change oneself is not clear. • Cognitive Dissonance Theory • People are not so much influenced by a need to be correct as they are influenced by a need to be consistent. • Two behaviors are dissonant if one of them implies the opposite of the other: I like my group, I disagree with my group, I should agree with groups I like. • Feelings of Personal Responsibility (CRITICAL COMPONENT OF Cognitive Dissonance) • Reactance Theory • People need to feel as if they have freedom to control their behavior • Extreme pressure from a group can backfire and lead to increased deviance!

9. Compliance vs. Private Acceptance • Compliance • Social comparison, dissonance, reactance • Impress a group member • Group pressure • Lone dissenter faces unified majority • Private Acceptance • Accept belief of majority opinion • Individual blame for compliance > privately accept group’s opinion • Only standard is “social reality.” > Group norms

10. DEVIANCE: Why Deviate? • People Deviate so that the group can make good decisions (Devil’s Advocate) • Deviance creates Conflict • Constructive – carefully weigh the strengths and weaknesses of proposals. • Destructive – occurs when members do not have the best interest of the group in mind. • Power Struggles • Personality Disputes • Process Disagreements (policy decisions- what to do)

11. GOOD vs. BAD Deviance • Innovation - individual accepts group goal but rejects means for reaching it • Ritualism – individual rejects group goal but accepts means for reaching it (“going through the motions”) • Retreatism - reject both group goals and means (drop out entirely) • Rebellion – reject both group goals and means (substitute new, personal goals, as well as the means to reach them)

12. Group Pressure • Unmistakable constraints to conform • Persuasive force is predictable in its amount and type • Amount of Communication (pressure) due to two factors: • Internal Pressure (cohesion, task importance) • Dependence of Group on Deviant Member • Relevance vs. Cohesion (Schachter)

13. The Functional Perspective • Rebellious or retreating deviants can play useful roles in groups (positive function) • Groups tend to induce, sustain, and permit deviant behaviors • Functions to help groups maintain a healthy emotional climate (TARGET, solidify NORMS, COMPARISON, COHESION) • Groups resist trends toward the alienation of deviant members

14. General CONCLUSIONS • Negative evaluation of conformity and deviance is a MISTAKE. • Good AND Bad Types of conformity and deviance (with exceptions) • Privately accept option that has not been properly evaluated by a group (GROUPTHINK) • Emergencies require compliance • “Controlled Rebellion”

15. MINORITY INFLUENCE • Minority viewpoints can successfully exert persuasive forces upon the majority • Minority gives consistent responses • Reasonable judgments in ambiguous situations (consistency and confidence in accuracy of conclusions) • Differences between Minority and Majority Influence • Group majorities tend to have a greater influence on members than group minorities (leads to compliance) • Minority influence occurs (leads to private acceptance; time consuming) • If a group is to make high-quality decisions, it must: • encourage the expression of minority opinions and • examine the value of alternative viewpoints

16. Summary • Preliminary Distinctions • Conformity & Deviance Defined • Structural Perspective • Norms • CONFORMITY • Rationale • Relevant Theories (Social Comparison, Cognitive Dissonance, Reactance, • Compliance vs. Private Acceptance • DEVIANCE • Rationale • Valence – good vs. bad deviance • Group Pressure • Polarization – pressure toward conformity • Internal group pressure • Dependence upon deviant member • Functional Perspective • Conclusions • Negative Valence Errors • Minority Influence • Distinctions between Minority and Majority Influence