Social Psychology - S320
Living Lab - Nonconformity
Purpose
To further stimulate personal exploration and understanding related to
the
issue of conformity.
What You Will Do:
First and foremost, don't tell anyone what you are doing! Doing
so
would create a bias in the experiment, which will undermine the intent
of
this unique endeavor!
On your "Day of Non-Conformity" you will attempt to live
out an entire day in which none of your actions are dictated or decided
by
the social norms expressed by your cultural environment. Your
actions
should not be influenced by your desire to be accepted in a group, to
be
perceived in a certain way, or to be liked. The essence of this
lab
is to discover and act upon your true self, not the self you try to be
(unless
of course that is your true self).
Be sure to evaluate every activity you participate in. Ask why
you
do the things you do, the way you do. Are your actions a
reflection
of conformity? If so, try to discover your own authentic belief.
Don't
dismiss why you are watching a certain show or sitting at a certain
table.
Analyze everything. Move beyond simply avoiding the obvious
conformist
things you do and go for deep authenticity. At the same time, be
careful
that you don't go to far and actually conform to nonconformity.
The
goal is to be authentic, not necessarily different.
What You Will Turn In:
A 2-page, APA formatted reaction paper.
Specifics:
- APA formatted
- Typed
- Double-spaced
- 1 inch margins
- Cover page (No Name)
Possible questions to address:
- When preparing for the Living Lab, how did you mentally define
conformity/non-nconformity?
- How did this definition affect how you acted during the duration
of
the Living Lab?
- What were the psychological and/or psychosocial pros and cons of
this
experiment?
- How did others respond to your actions?
- What attributions did people make to explain your behavior?
- Was your behavior different from normal?
- What activities did you need to adjust and which stayed the same?
- Describe ways in which your own level of conformity was revealed
through
this experiment.
- What are the psychological and/or psychosocial factors that cause
you
to conform?
- What are the differences between the "normal" you and the "Living
Lab"
you?
- Which "you" did you like better? Why?