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Kawaii characters (from left to right): Nyan Cat, the pixelated Pop-Tart rainbow cat, the storefront of a Hello Kitty store, and a 3-D rendering of Pikachu, the Pokemon character, Wikimedia
What do Nyan Cat, Pokemon, and Hello Kitty have to do with conformity to social roles? These simplified, cute characters developed out of the cultural phenomenon of ‘Kawaii’ (Japanese for ‘cute’) that started in the late 1970s in Japan as a rejection of social roles and norms.
It began when an increasing number of teenage girls started writing school texts with rounded letters, exclamation points, and pictures; so much so that this unorthodox way of writing was banned in schools.
The simplified, rounded graphic style became the hallmark of the desire of teenagers of the time to rebel against the expectations put on them by society, to take life more seriously, consisting of getting a job, acting seriously and starting a family. Instead, this new way of writing allowed young people to express themselves freely and have fun by retaining their playful and childlike innocence. Since then, Kawaii has become mainstream and has influenced much of Japanese culture, from food and entertainment, to how people dress and act.
Whether people accept or reject social roles and norms, the expectations that society puts on people and the way they react to them play a big part in understanding human behaviour in terms of conformity to social roles. This is why it’s an important topic in social psychology. We will now explore the theory and examples of the topic at hand as well as discuss research into conformity to social roles.
Social conformity is when individual changes their behaviour to match what is expected of them by a group or within a specific social setting. The reason that people conform is that they identify with a group. Identification is a type of conformity that means that values are shared with a group that someone wants to be a part of, but the behaviour change isn’t quite as permanent as internalisation.
Social roles are the patterns of behaviour that members of a group take on, as a part in a film or play. Expectations regarding behaviour accompany these patterns. Some roles are present from birth (e.g. gender, social status), others are acquired (e.g., profession, marital status). Typical roles could be student, teacher, mother, child, salesperson, or customer.
The role of ‘child’ would come with the expectation that this person is carefree, dependent, and obedient, whereas, for the role of ‘parent’, the expectation would be for them to be authoritative, responsible, and caring.
Conformity to a social role would be acting more authoritatively when you’re the captain of a sports team than you would be if you’re out and about with your friends. This change in behaviour could be explained by you fulfilling the role expected in each group.
Social norms are appropriate or acceptable behaviour for members of a particular group (‘normal behaviour’). They can either be formal, such as following ethical standards for professions, or informal, such as cultural customs.
Taking off shoes before entering a household is customary in many Asian countries, this is an example of a social norm.
What are the disadvantages and advantages of conformity to social roles?
Conforming to social roles benefit people in different ways; it can be seen as protection against social rejection, and help the different members of society work together smoothly. This is because it makes it easier to predict the behaviour of others and adjust your own behaviour accordingly.
If you know that everyone on the road will drive on the left-hand side, it makes it safer for you to drive on the left side as well. If you know that a teacher will speak to you in a calm, respectful manner, it’s easier to concentrate on the subject matter. If you wear skater clothes and go skateboarding, you’re more likely to be accepted by the skateboarding community.
Conforming to social roles can suppress minorities and uniformity of thought (‘groupthink’) that can limit creativity, individuality and innovation. It can even lead to discrimination against groups that don’t conform.
For instance, illnesses or disabilities lead to people behaving in ways that are not in keeping with societal expectations of adults. People with M.S. (multiple sclerosis) sometimes lose their balance due to their condition; but an adult stumbling is mostly associated with anti-social behaviour and intoxication, so often people with M.S. get treated unfairly as they’re seen to not be conforming to a social norm.
A few classic experiments have shaped the way psychologists understand conformity to social roles. Let’s have a look at them.
One of the most famous and controversial experiments regarding social conformity was Phillip Zimbardo’s 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, which investigated the power of social norms and roles. Here, participants of a study were randomly assigned the role of ‘guard’ or ‘prisoner’ and kept in a simulated jail for six days. The experiment ended in unexpected levels of abuse and distress subjected to the participants by the guards. Zimbardo’s main conclusion from the experiment was that anyone could turn abusive, given the right situational circumstances.
An additional study into conformity to social roles took place in 2002. Researchers Haslam and Reicher recreated the Stanford prison experiment for a BBC television series in the BBC Prison Study. Again, participants were randomly assigned a role but in contrast to the Stanford Prison Experiment, safeguarding measures were put into place. Haslam and Reich’s results differed from Zimbardo’s; the prisoners did not spontaneously take to their assigned roles and the experiment fell apart.
Social roles determine what is acceptable behaviour in society and what is not. Depending on which role is assigned to an individual, different behaviours are expected. For example, it’s acceptable for a child to crawl on the floor in a supermarket, but not an adult.
Conformity to social roles makes it easier for people to predict others’ behaviour. When behaving in a conform manner, that can be seen as insurance against social rejection.
Beyond the Stanford Prison Experiment and the BBC prison study, Carnahan (2007) replicated the Stanford Prison Experiment where he used both the original and an alternative ad to recruit for the study that didn’t mention the word ‘prison’. He found that those responding to the ‘prison’ and, on average, had higher scores in tests on aggression than the other group.
Social conformity is when individual changes their behaviour to match what is expected of them by a group or within a specific social setting. The reason that people conform is that they identify with a group. Identification is a type of conformity that means that values are shared with a group that someone wants to be a part of, but the behaviour change isn’t quite as permanent as internalisation.
Conformity to a social role would be acting more authoritatively when you’re the captain of a sports team than you would be if you’re out and about with your friends. This change in behaviour could be explained by you fulfilling the role expected in each group.
Social roles are the patterns of behaviour that members of a group take on, as a part of a film or play. Expectations regarding behaviour accompany these patterns. Some roles are present from birth (e.g., gender, social status), others are acquired (e.g., profession, marital status). Typical roles could be student, teacher, mother, child, salesperson, or customer.
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