Download Forces that Influence and Shape Behaviour - BCI

HSB 4MI
Dahl
Forces that Influence and Shape Behaviour
Conformity Experiment
Your Task:



Demonstrate an understanding of the social forces that influence and shape
behaviour as identified by anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists.
Identify and analyze socialization patterns from the perspective of the three social
sciences.
Evaluate the major contributions to our understanding of the idea of self and others
made by at least one of the leading practitioners in each social science.
How?

Form groups of five people. Make sure they are people that you work well with, as
much of this experiment is to be conducted outside of school time.

Brainstorm in your groups, “out of the ordinary” behaviours that you could do that
would illicit a reaction from others. Choose an appropriate “odd” activity to conduct
in front of unknown people. This MUST be approved by your teacher – you don’t
want to get yourselves or the school in trouble.

Examples:
 Walking down the street singing out loud
 Eating in a restaurant with no utensils
 Wearing your clothes backwards

Within your group, there are five roles that must be played – Anthropologist,
Psychologist, Sociologist, Reporter and Performer. Each person will be required to
complete a written report fulfilling the expectations listed below. Before you head
out to conduct your experiment, make note of the key factors that you want to
observe so you know what you are looking for in the field. Be sure to use proper
social science research techniques when conducting your experiment.

Anthropologist: make observations about people’s reactions to the “odd”
behaviour from an anthropological point of view. Examine how people reacted
to the situation – was it positive or negative? What factors would motivate
them to react this way? What role do these reactions play in shaping our
behaviour? What factors in our culture have influenced our perception of this
behaviour? What would major contributors to the field of anthropology think
of non-conformist behaviour and its role in society? Choose a famous
anthropologist and explain how they would interpret the situation.

Psychologist: make observations about people’s reactions to the “odd”
behaviour from a psychological point of view. Examine how people reacted to
the situation – was it positive or negative? What factors would motivate them
to react this way? What role do these reactions play in shaping our
HSB 4MI
Dahl
behaviour? What factors or forces in our lives would influence our perception
of this behaviour? What would major contributors to the field of psychology
think of non-conformist behaviour and its role in society? Choose a famous
psychologist and explain how they would interpret the situation.

Sociologist: make observations about people’s reactions to the “odd” behaviour
from a sociological point of view. Examine how people reacted to the situation
– was it positive or negative? What factors would motivate them to react this
way? What role do these reactions play in shaping our behaviour? How does
our membership in certain groups or the roles we play influence our perception
of this behaviour? What would major contributors to the field of sociology
think of non-conformist behaviour and its role in society? Choose a famous
sociologist and explain how they would interpret the situation.

Reporter: make observations from a media point of view. How does the media
impact society? How does it effect the individual and shape their behaviour?
How does the media establish values in society about what is “normal” and how
does it respond to non-conformists? Do different media sources respond
differently? Why? Your report must also include a 150-200 word article
chronicling the event.

Performer: make observations from a non-conformist point of view. How did
you feel when performing the behaviour? Why did you feel this way? How did
the reactions of those around you influence you – did they make you want to
stop? What were the consequences of your behaviour? What role do the
reactions of others play in shaping our behaviour? Choose a famous nonconformist. What did they do and what were the reactions to their
behaviour? Explain how they would describe the role of the non-conformist in
society.
There will be two components to the assignment – the written report and the
presentation. Each component will be worth 50% of the final grade. The presentation
will be marked as a group, meaning all group members will receive the same mark. The
written component should be submitted as a group, but each individual will be marked
according to their specific contribution.
Presentation – be creative! Share with the class the experiment that you have
conducted, as well as the conclusions that each member has come to in their role. Each
member must participate. You may wish to videotape your experiment to share with the
class, or take pictures so we can visualize the experiment. How you structure your
presentation is up to you – for example, you may wish to have the reporter interview all
members of the team, as if it were a news show.
Written Report – each member is responsible for completing a written report that
thoroughly covers the areas of interest listed above. This should be done in proper APA
format, including all references and in-text citations, to give credit to any sources that
you have used.