Lesson 11: Personal Social Control


Attention

Are we really being watched?


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Identify systems of social control that exist within personal groups

Teaching

Conformity and Social Control

The last topic in this lecture I want to discuss is conformity.  Conformity is the process of maintaining or changing behavior to comply with the norms established by society, subculture, or other group.

We have seen that we can view groups (large and small) as having a culture.  The culture of the group embodies the behavioral norms and expectations of members of the group.

Each group has an established list of expectations for their members.  Sometimes these are formal and other times they are not.

Consider a group such as the Boy Scouts.

  • The Boy Scouts are a group established to gather together boys (in America—in every other country the boys and girls have been combined to create "Scouting") and teach them particular values and behaviors.
  • There is a clear social structure within the Scouts defined by rank and merit badges.  Each rank (status) has specific duties (roles) and responsibilities.  There is also an assumed behavioral code of ethics that is adopted.  This code is so strong and influential that business leaders will favor persons who have been Eagle Scouts above others.
  • Leadership itself is established and formalized among the scouts and training for these leaders combines both a building of goal setting and goal accomplishing skills as well as personal and empathy skills important in working with other people.

Conformity can be established in a number of ways. 

Some groups, like the Scouts, have a written code of conduct that is adhered to.  There may also be consequences and punishments for rule breaking, as well as rewards for exceptional behavior.

Our society works much in this way (Consider the next chapter on Deviance and Crime and our examination of the Criminal Justice System).  We have codes of conduct that are both formal (law) and informal (norms) so most of us have been socialized to go along with the expectations of the larger group.

Conformity to some groups can be gained through leadership as well.

Consider the dynamic leadership of Hitler and other dictators in our history.  These individuals were very dynamic and instrumental leaders who were able to direct the behavior of millions of individuals.

Consider religious leaders and prophets of the years…same idea.

Finally, one form of informal, but very influential force in bringing about conformity is the pressure of the group itself.  We can call this peer pressure, provided we are a member of the group.

While we are a member of a group, we are socialized by the group as to what is expected of us.  If we sway from this expectation we will hear from the group and our membership may be threatened if we continue to not go along.

This model can be used to look at the effects of peer groups among teens, work groups in Japan and the US, team sports and groups that are established to do group projects in college.  Each of these will operate by these principles.

Anyone who had accidentally (or purposefully) violated group norms and then been admonished by their peers knows how powerful this influence can be.

Asch Study of Conformity

You will need to enter the user name "kvcc" and the password "films" to watch this movie  

 

Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study

Leadership can be a very powerful force (consider Nazi Germany)...a CLASSIC study in Psychology regarding conformity to leadership was conducted by Stanly Milgram

You will need to enter the user name "kvcc" and the password "films" to watch this movie  

 

Good Compliance...

Many of you who may be reading this may not be convinced as to how powerful groups in your life can be on influencing your behavior.  One point that is important to consider is that the degree to which a group is important to you is the degree to which that group influences your behavior.  For the most part we select groups that we want to be a part of and willingly comply with what we are asked to do.

Consider the nursing student who wants to be a nurse some day and complies with what they are being taught to do in order to gain admission into this group

Consider a relationship in which two individuals consult with and tell each other their needs and the other willingly and lovingly complies with the request.

Not all groups will effect us this way, only those we value and feel are important…however, there are some groups that we belong to that we did not select but manage to influence our behavior quite a bit.

Consider the groups you belong to like your family, your gender, your age group, the school you went to, the church you were brought up in, etc. etc.

Each of these may have an influence on your behavior as well!


Assessment

Lesson 11 Discussion A

Reflect on the norms, values, and expectations in the groups that you belong to. If you violated any of these (the important ones), reflect upon what could happen. What social control systems are in place in these groups?

Lesson 11 Discussion B

Review the video on Stanley Milgram's Obedience study and look up any online reference to the study. Examine the ethical implications of this kind of study. Do you see any issues with what Dr. Milgram did?