Alienation and Conformity PPT
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Transcript Alienation and Conformity PPT
Challenge and Change in Society
HSB4M
ALIENATION AND CONFORMITY
‘The Power of Conformity’
An example of people’s overwhelming needs
to conform to a social paradigm
What is conformity?
Discussion Questions:
Video
What are the triggers to conform in this
video?
What feelings did the person in the
experiment feel to make them change their
behaviour?
Vote: What would you have done in this
same situation?
Discussion Questions:
Society
In today’s society – are there pressures to
conform? In what ways?
What are the repercussions to not
“conforming”?
After looking at this clip, think about how
people in society would act, what would
happen if everybody acted the same?
How different would life be?
Alienation
Refers to an individual separation from a
community or group of people in general
This is also known as an anomie
Refers to a personal condition resulting in a
lack of norms
i.e. A totalitarian society would produce an
anomic individual such as Hitler
Isolation
Known as a state of seclusion
i.e. a lack of contact with people
May stem from:
Bad relationships
Deliberate choice
Contagious disease
Repulsive personal habits
Mental illness
Isolation in society
Feeling marginalized in society could force
people to resist the social norm
Unrest in society could lead to isolation, not
feeling included in society
Conformity
Process whereby an individual’s attitudes,
beliefs and behaviours are influenced by
other people
Could be the result of social pressure
People often conform to achieve a sense of
security in a group of people – a feeling that
makes one ‘belong’
Pressures to Conform
An unwillingness to conform could risk social
rejection
An individual who is deliberately excluded
from a social relationship or social interaction
is a victim of social rejection.
Conformity acts as a scapegoat in order to
avoid bullying and criticism from peers.
Key Questions for Today
What groups in society may feel socially
isolated?
Why is this?
What groups in society are forced to
conform?
Conformity in Contemporary
Society
Most people conform to the standard values
and norms without even realizing they are
doing so
Some degree of conformity is necessary for
societies to function
i.e. Stopping at a red light means that you are
conforming to the law and the good and
safety of society
Conformity and Youth
• Pre-teens and teenagers face many issues
related to conformity
• Pulled between the desire to be seen as unique
individuals and desire to belong to a group where
they feel accepted
• i.e. wearing the latest fashion, cutting your hair
into a certain style, smoking, changing the type
of music you listen to
• All of these are examples of conforming to a
social norm
Scenarios
• Discuss the following questions with your
group:
• A) What are the triggers to conform in this
scenario?
• B) What feelings did the person in the
situation feel to potentially make them
change their behaviour?
• C) What would you have done in this
situation?
Discussion
Which situation would be the
most easy and most difficult in
terms of resisting conformity?
Why?