Download Conformity, Alienation and Deviance

Conformity, Alienation
and Deviance
HSB 4UI
Ms. Dahl
 The concepts of Conformity, Deviance
and Alienation are important to
understanding social change and human
behaviour.
 These terms are found in all three social
sciences, but tend to be talked about most
in sociology, since they have to do with
how individuals act within groups.
Rules, Norms and Values
 Values – Society carries with it a system of values. A
particular set of values are assigned to each role. The
practitioners of these roles are expected to accept and
internalize these values.
 Norms – These are rules set out for a particular role that
are considered standard behaviour (eg. Catholic Priests are
expected to be celibate)
 Rules – These are developed by cultures based on their
system of values
Conformity
 The act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviours to what individuals perceive as
normal to their society or social group.
 2 forces can encourage conformity:
 Normative Influence: the pressure to
conform to the positive expectations of others
 Informational Influence: the human desire
to accept information that another person
tells us is valid
Alienation
 Estrangement or distance of people from each other,
from what they find meaningful, or from their sense
of self.
 Durkheim first used the term “Anomie” to describe
the conditions of factory workers who felt they had
no roots or connections to their community
 Marx took this term and expanded it to mean
anyone who does not share the major values of
society and feels like an outsider
Deviance
 Behaviour that violates the standards of conduct
or expectations of a group or society
 Deviance can range from simple eccentricities to
behaviour that harms society or is considered
disreputable
 Is a concept that is culturally specific – what is
deviant in one culture or at one period in history,
may not be in another (Eg. The act of killing
during war may be honourable, while during
peace time it is considered a crime)
Whaa?
 “We must not say that an action shocks the
common conscience because it is criminal, but
rather that it is criminal because it shocks the
common conscience. We do not reprove
(denounce) it because it is a crime, but it is a
crime because we reprove it” Emile Durkheim
 What do you think the Durkheim quote means?
Social Change
 So how do these terms relate to social change?
 They are all forces that can both encourage and
impede social change.
 Impacts both individuals and society
 Outline two positives and two negatives for
conformity, alienation, and deviance
Conformity
 Positives:
 Maintains rules, norms and values throughout generations
 Provides comfort and stability for people
 Prevents chaos
 Negatives:
 Can prevent/resist social change
 People may conform to hurtful/damaging social norms
(eg. Holocaust, bullying)
Alienation
 Positives:
 Can create reformers/social changes
 May lead to new inventions or ideas
 Negatives:
 People who are angry about being outcasts can act out
violently, or hurt themselves (eg. Unabomber, Columbine)
 Can create anarchists
 Decreases sense of unity
Deviance
 Positives:
 Allows people to express themselves
 Can spark social change
 Can lead to heroic behaviour (eg. Running into a burning
building to save someone)
 Negatives:
 Can lead individuals to feel angry, isolated, left out
 Can lead to criminal behaviour
How does this apply to
individuals?
When people experience the social pressures of
conformity, alienation and deviance, there can be
many effects – some negative, some positive.
The next activity will give you a chance to explore
how individuals are impacted by these social
experiences.
Big Paper Activity
 For this activity, you will be having a silent written
discussion in groups. You will be discussing how
conformity and alienation affected children living during
the Holocaust. Three stories will be profiled:
 Alfons Heck
 Elizabeth Dopazo
 Frank
The Rules:
 I will read the excerpt on the page in front of you once.
 You must remain silent during the entire activity – you can
only communicate with your group members in writing on
the chart paper.
 You must make two comments that are reactions to the
text itself, two comments that are responses to what
other group members have written, and two responses to
the questions on the next slide.
 You may write all over the chart paper – use words,
pictures, images, circle the text, etc. You may move the
page, write upside down or sideways – whatever you like.
Questions
 How important is it for you (or teens today) to “look right”, “act
right” and to fit in? How does this pressure impact teenagers self
esteem and confidence?
 When do you think in a child’s life they are most vulnerable to the
pressure to conform?
 The Nazi’s created a world in which young people were “free” from
parental supervision. Why do you think this world was appealing to
youth? What problems did it create for adolescents like Elizabeth
who wanted to fit in, but also wanted to respect her families beliefs?
 Have you ever been in a situation where you felt torn between fitting
in and what you believed? What did you do?
 If you had to pass on one important message about conformity and
alienation to teenagers, what would it be?