The Regulation of Good and Evil: A Deviance Regulation Analysis of Societal Control

2. The Regulation of Good and Evil:A Deviance Regulation Analysis of Societal Control Hart Blanton Texas A&M University

3. Societal Influences

4. Carrots & Sticks • Negative Incentive Systems • Legal Codes • Moral/Religious Prescriptions • Peer Pressure • Positive Incentive Systems • Social Roles • Income • Social Status

5. Thesis • Negative incentive systems function to promote conformity. • Uniformity in groups • Individual movement toward behavioral norms • Positive incentive systems function to promote uniqueness. • Variability in groups • Individual movement away from behavioral norms

6. Outline • Introduce Deviance Regulation • Social Influence Studies • Self-Regulation Studies • Musings on Societal Controls

7. Program Notes • Multiple Levels of Analysis • Broad Discussion • Study Overviews

8. Deviance Regulation Theory A behavioral decision model that focuses attention on the social consequences of being different.

9. Difference = Information • Attribution models • Jones & Davis (1965) • Kelley (1972) • Spontaneous self-concept • McGuire & McGuire (1980) • Group Identity • Tajfel & Turner (1979) • Social Projection • Mullen & Goethals (1990)

10. Illustration: Deciding to Smoke

14. Decisions based on evaluation of not smoking. Decisions based on evaluation of smoking.

15. Social Influence Studies:Applying Positive & Negative Incentives

16. Message Framing Negative Frame Positive Frame

17. Positive Message Frame Non-Smoking Identity = Good Negative Message Frame Smoking Identity = Bad

18. Condom Use Intentions

19. Condom Use Intentions

20. Replication

21. Interpretation • Social influence should target counter-normative choices. • Positive incentives are well-suited for changing the status quo. • Negative incentives are well-suited for reinforcing the status quo.

22. Influence over Time

23. Influence over Time Start What is Normative? Desired Behavior Undesired Behavior Positive Frame Negative Frame

24. Social Influence Studies II:Conversational Pragmatics

25. Assumption • Most communicators have an implicit understanding of Deviance Regulation Theory. • Individuals and social organizations thus drift toward “correctly framed” influence.

26. Indirect Evidence: Provocative Message Frames

27. Provocative Praise “That outfit doesn’t make you look fat.” “Honey, I appreciated you not making a fool of me at the party tonight.”

29. Conversational Inferences • Praise reveals more negative assumptions. • Criticism reveals more positive assumptions.

30. Praising Abstaining

31. Estimated Virginity Prevalence

32. Behavioral Intentions Normative Beliefs -.36* .06* Positive Message Frame Refusal Intention -.17 ** (-.7 †)

33. Behavioral Replication Study 1: Framing effect on behavior Study 2: Laboratory study establishing mediation

34. Conclusion Positively framed influence can make desired actions seem less common. This can undermine the attempt at influence.

35. Negative Incentives over Time Start What is Normative? Desired Behavior Undesired Behavior Positive Frame Negative Frame

36. Interim Summary • Two reasons why negative promotes conformity: • To reinforce the status quo. • To reinforce the perception or expectation of the status quo. • It is assumed individuals and groups make this shift spontaneously.

37. Outline • Introduce Deviance Regulation • Social Influence Studies • Self-Regulation Studies • Musings on Societal Controls

38. Internalized Standards • Ideal Self Guides • Encourage success • Initiate approach motivation • Source of positive affect • Ought Self Guides • Discourage failure • Initiate avoidance motivation • Source of negative affect

39. Deviance Mechanisms? • Ideal Self Guides • Encourage good behaviors • Therefore promote (good) distinctiveness • Ought Self Guides • Discourage bad behaviors • Therefore, discourage (bad) disctiveness

40. Goal Priming • Study 1: Thought Listing • Ideal or Ought Self-Description (or Control) • Study 2: Thought Listing • What means to achieve or be ethnical • Study 3: Supraliminal Primes • Morality, ideal or control word associations • Not Shown: Subliminal Primes

41. Study 1 Being distinctive is _____ important to me. 0 = not at all 1 2 3 = Slightly 4 5 6 = Quite 7 8 9 = Extremely

42. Study 2: Behavior

43. Study 2: Behavior • 11 Pens • 7 Black-Ink Pens • 2 Bright-Red Pens • 2 Bright-Green Pens Mediation: Desire for Distinctiveness

44. Study 3: Novel Word Associations • Chair • Table (normative) • Cloth, Stool … (counter-normative) • Eagle • Bird (Normative) • Falcon, Bald … (counter-normative)

45. Study 3: Novel Word Associations

46. Interim Summary • Social mechanisms for promoting good (ideals) promote distinctiveness striving. • Social mechanisms for discouraging bad (oughts) promote conformity striving.

47. Outline • Introduce Deviance Regulation • Social Influence Studies • Self-Regulation Studies • Musings on Societal Controls

48. Carrots & Sticks • Negative Incentive Systems • Legal Codes • Moral/Religious Prescriptions • Peer Pressure • Mostly Positive Incentive Systems • Social Roles • Income • Social Status

49. Language of Conformity: Go Negative • Deviance Regulation Analysis • Reinforcing status quo • Reinforcing perceptions of status quo • Complementary Processes • Monitoring and control • Person perception • Losses relative to gains

50. The Downside of Negatives • Deviance Regulation Analysis • Reduce desired variability in groups • Diminish high-end performances • Dampen individual and group creativity • Additional Considerations • Reactance / anti-conformity • Need for “moral authority”