Lesson 7: Conformity & Deviance

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the Conformity and Deviance lesson.

Conformity

A type of social influence involving a change in beliefs or behavior to align with the attitudes and behaviors of the people one interacts with.

Social Norms

Unwritten rules about expected behavior within a group or society that guide how people act.

Compliance

Publicly conforming to the group's expectations or behaviors while privately disagreeing.

Identification

Aligning behavior with a specific group or role model one admires and wishes to emulate.

Internalization

Accepting the group's beliefs and behaviors as one's own, both publicly and privately.

Deviance

The act of going against the established norms and practices of groups and society.

Culturally Approved Goals

Goals that a culture or society deems legitimate and desirable as aims to achieve success.

Institutionalized Means

The legitimate, socially approved ways of achieving success.

R. Merton's Strain Theory

A theory suggesting deviance results from the interplay between culturally approved goals and institutionalized means.

Rebels / Rebellious Deviants

Deviants who challenge or reject both societal goals and means to create an alternative social order.

Superficial Conformity

Conformity that follows rules to avoid opposition without genuine belief.

Losing Individuality

Conformity that suppresses personal uniqueness by blindly following group norms.

Dysfunctional Conformity

Conformity that leads to bad habits or repeated past wrongdoings.

Public vs Private Belief in Conformity

Public conformity to a group's expectations may occur without private agreement or belief.