User:Byr Ros Spring 2008
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[edit] On Campus Conformity
1. I propose to document with photoraphy the social interactions of students on campus, in particular, on a warm day when everyone is outside in bathing suits and why they feel like they need to dress like they do to get the attention and acceptance of others.
2. This is interesting because we see it daily (on a warm day) and it relates to everyone because whether you join in or not you see it often. This idea demonstrates sociological concepts such as conformity, primary and secondary groups, social relationships, etc.
3. I will find scholarly research on the general issues of conformity, social relationships and interactions, non-verbal interactions, etc. As well as reading the text about these issues.
http://books.google.com/books?id=-9B0mQ7WQ3gC
http://www.ida.liu.se/~gorgo/pres/SymbolicInteractionism.pdf
4. I will find popular press discussions of my topic. Perhaps Wikipedia articles, blog entrys, newspaper and magazine stories, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_group/Secondary_group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_relationships
5. I plan to take photos of people interacting outdoors in warm weather, read and research sociological concepts mentioned above.
6. I will be working with Amanda Zimmerman.
Project Essay
Our project consists of social norms, conformity, primary grouping, non-verbal communication, and social freedom of Ohio University students. We chose to focus on these aspects by asking the question, “Why do students lie outside in their bathing suits in front of their dorms and or the street to gain attention?? And why do they feel it is necessary??” Primary grouping, non-verbal communication, social freedom, conformity, and social norms explain this behavior. Over the years it has become a social norm to have fun in the sun and with the years the bathing suits and behavior has become even more intense. It has now become socially acceptable and “in” to show your skin. So we decided to explain the social reasons for why it is acceptable and why we see it on a daily basis. Primary grouping demonstrates one reason why these students lie outside in the sun. Most college students love to spend time with their friends and tend to follow what their friends are doing. If one friend lies outside to tan, another will follow, then another, then another, just like a domino effect. This involves primary grouping because they are close-nit groups that have the “same goals” and since primary groups often spend a lot of time together, they often feel that this is an activity that they all can enjoy together. Conformity demonstrates another reason why these students lie in the sun. Most students don’t want to be the only ones not lying out in the sun like everyone else because that means that they are different from the norm and the main goal of most students is to fit in. It involves everyone who comes into contact with these people because it will influence them to conform or not to conform. Non-verbal communication is a very big factor to this behavior. One of the main reasons that students lie out in the sun (mainly female students) is to attract the opposite sex and non-verbal communication is a very big part of this attraction. By showing off their bodies it sends the message that it is okay to join or to look. Non-verbal communication can also be used to discourage someone from conforming or to encourage someone to conform. For example, If one of your friends was having a lot of fun lying in the sun and used non-verbal communication such as laughing, smiling and so on, you would be compelled to join her because all these non-verbal communications are positive signs and they make you want to become a part of that positive atmosphere. Or for another example, being encouraged not to conform can be done by a girl you don’t know possibly giving you a rude look to discourage you from wanting to be outside with them. Social freedom is a contributor to this behavior as well. Since college is most students first time away from home and their parents, their parents have no say in what they do or do not do, they make their own choices whether or not to join these groups or not, and are closely influenced by them. Most students feel that now because they have so much freedom they want to take advantage of every opportunity to fit in and take risks whereas they couldn’t possibly before due to strict parental guidance.
Comments from Ted
- General comments. I think this sounds like a great project idea. One thing you might want to emphasize is people's perception of the behavior-- what do other students think? Second, you might connect it with ideas of norms and subcultures and how those relate to the idea of OU as a party school.
- Plan. One way you can make your plan more helpful is to plan out the next 4 concrete steps that you will take. For instance—one step might be make a list of examples that we might want to show, then find clips or images that represent those examples. These sorts of concrete steps will help you get the project done if you think them through and write them down.
- Background research. You will need to be more specific about the concepts, theories, and research from sociology that will be used in your project. It is helpful to start with the textbook and find several concepts that are relevant. Then do a little bit of research (check for articles and books cited for that concept in book) and do some google searchers. However—once you have found one or two concepts that seem helpful you should focus on those and go into more depth. Your goal is to really understand how those concepts relate to the ideas you address in your project. In summary, start your background research broad, with several possible concepts—but finish narrow focusing on one or two that you really understand and are helpful for your project.
- Interest. You have an interesting project idea and an interesting topic. Spend some time thinking: why do you find it interesting? What makes other people interested in it? Your project will be more compelling if you can take advantage of what makes people interested in general. For your project-- it is interesting to think that some people will have problems with the psuedo daytona beach effect, while others will not? Why and why not do different types of people react differently?
