The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus
People who deviate from the established norms of their social group can clarify group boundaries, strengthen group cohesion, and catalyze group and broader social change. Yet social psychologists have recently neglected the study of deviants. We conducted in-depth interviews of Princeton University...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2020-02-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/1134 |
| _version_ | 1797964708394827776 |
|---|---|
| author | Robin Gomila Elizabeth Levy Paluck |
| author_facet | Robin Gomila Elizabeth Levy Paluck |
| author_sort | Robin Gomila |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People who deviate from the established norms of their social group can clarify group boundaries, strengthen group cohesion, and catalyze group and broader social change. Yet social psychologists have recently neglected the study of deviants. We conducted in-depth interviews of Princeton University upperclassmen who deviated from a historical and widely known Princeton norm: joining an “eating club,” a social group that undergraduates join at the end of their sophomore year. We explored the themes of these interviews with two rounds of surveys during the semester when students decide whether to join an eating club (pilot survey, N = 408; and a random subsample of the pilot survey with 90% takeup, N = 212). The surveys asked: what are the social and psychological antecedents of deviance from norms? The data suggest that deviance is a pattern: compared to those who conform, students who deviate by not joining clubs report a history of deviance and of feeling different from the typical member of their social group. They also feel less social belonging and identification with Princeton and its social environment. Students who deviate are lower in self-monitoring, but otherwise are comparable to students who conform in terms of personality traits measured by the Big Five, and of their perception of the self as socially awkward, independent, or rebellious. While some of these findings replicate past research, worth further exploration is the role of previous experience with deviance and its meaning for individuals as they decide whether to deviate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:48:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de848817e346431d90b96e76358effa5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2195-3325 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:48:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-de848817e346431d90b96e76358effa52023-01-03T07:33:42ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyJournal of Social and Political Psychology2195-33252020-02-018122024510.5964/jspp.v8i1.1134jspp.v8i1.1134The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University CampusRobin Gomila0Elizabeth Levy Paluck1Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USADepartment of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USAPeople who deviate from the established norms of their social group can clarify group boundaries, strengthen group cohesion, and catalyze group and broader social change. Yet social psychologists have recently neglected the study of deviants. We conducted in-depth interviews of Princeton University upperclassmen who deviated from a historical and widely known Princeton norm: joining an “eating club,” a social group that undergraduates join at the end of their sophomore year. We explored the themes of these interviews with two rounds of surveys during the semester when students decide whether to join an eating club (pilot survey, N = 408; and a random subsample of the pilot survey with 90% takeup, N = 212). The surveys asked: what are the social and psychological antecedents of deviance from norms? The data suggest that deviance is a pattern: compared to those who conform, students who deviate by not joining clubs report a history of deviance and of feeling different from the typical member of their social group. They also feel less social belonging and identification with Princeton and its social environment. Students who deviate are lower in self-monitoring, but otherwise are comparable to students who conform in terms of personality traits measured by the Big Five, and of their perception of the self as socially awkward, independent, or rebellious. While some of these findings replicate past research, worth further exploration is the role of previous experience with deviance and its meaning for individuals as they decide whether to deviate.http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/1134social normsdeviancesocial changereference groupsfield research |
| spellingShingle | Robin Gomila Elizabeth Levy Paluck The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus Journal of Social and Political Psychology social norms deviance social change reference groups field research |
| title | The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus |
| title_full | The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus |
| title_fullStr | The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus |
| title_short | The Social and Psychological Characteristics of Norm Deviants: A Field Study in a Small Cohesive University Campus |
| title_sort | social and psychological characteristics of norm deviants a field study in a small cohesive university campus |
| topic | social norms deviance social change reference groups field research |
| url | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/1134 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robingomila thesocialandpsychologicalcharacteristicsofnormdeviantsafieldstudyinasmallcohesiveuniversitycampus AT elizabethlevypaluck thesocialandpsychologicalcharacteristicsofnormdeviantsafieldstudyinasmallcohesiveuniversitycampus AT robingomila socialandpsychologicalcharacteristicsofnormdeviantsafieldstudyinasmallcohesiveuniversitycampus AT elizabethlevypaluck socialandpsychologicalcharacteristicsofnormdeviantsafieldstudyinasmallcohesiveuniversitycampus |