CONFORMITY AND
ALIENATION
Alienation
▸ Alienation is defined to mean
emotional dissociation and isolation
and is marked by an inability to
follow the rules of society or share in
the values in society.
▸ Alienation is said to occur because
people have difficulty adapting to
societal change
Alienation
Emile Durkheim
▸ Durkheim lived in a society in
tremendous state of change (industrial
revolution)
▸ Used the term “anomie” to describe
the condition of industrial workers who
seemed to live without any roots or
norms
Alienation
Karl Marx
▸ Wrote about alienation of the
proletariat (working people) and the
lumpenproletariat (unemployed
people)
▸ Said they could not reach their full
human potential when so many
aspects of their lives are controlled
by others (paid employment, decent
housing)
Alienation
Contemporary Examples Of Alienation
▸ Joining of cults or gangs
▸ Anarchy/ Extremism - set out to
destroy the society which they live
through armed struggle
▸ Terrorists
Conformity
▸ Conformity can be defined as
adjusting one's behavior or thinking
to match other people.
▸ Many reasons why people conform,
including the desire to be accepted
by others
Conformity
▸ Informational Influence- is the
human desire to accept information
that another admired person tells us
is valid
▸ Parent or friend tell you that smoking is
bad for your health
Conformity
▸ Normative Influence- is the pressure
to conform to the positive
expectations of other.
▸ E.g. some people take jobs because
they feel like they are expected to.
Alienation And Conformity
Forces Of Social Change
▸ Alienation can cause positive
change
▸ Women’s movement was about change
because of disatisfaction with social
roles
Alienation And Conformity
Forces Of Social Change
▸ Conformity has a tendency to
discourage social change.
▸ E.g trying a new hairstyle
▸ Nervous about reaction of others stifles
desire to change