Conformity and Nonconformity (Society and Culture) PDF

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Conformity and Nonconformity a) Define the concepts of conformity and nonconformity. (482 words) Conformity refers to the changing and eventual concurrence of beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and actions to a prevailing social agenda. The two overarching reasons behind this socio-cultural phenomenon can be underpinned within informational conformity and normative conformity; the first regarding a change of values or attitudes, believing that others are correct, and the second regarding a change in behaviours or actions in order to gain acceptance. Micro level informational conformity can be observed in students that ask others for answers in order to confirm their own and changing their answers if they do not align. Meso level normative conformity occurs in Australian educational institutions whereby students largely wear uniforms that identify them belonging to a certain primary and secondary school group. Conformity at a macro level can be identified in the way legal systems have outlined rules for social stability. Within these occurrences, the motivations of needing to be right, avoiding rejection from visible differences and adhering to expectations and prescribed norms for social cohesion are driving factors that may influence the person’s decision to conform with mainstream attitudes. Nonconformity is the resistance and rejection to changing one’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and actions in disagreement or indifference to the prevailing social agenda. Nonconformists refuse to reconfigure their beliefs or values and deem a change in behaviours or actions nonessential to be accepted. People who answer questions without needing validation from others, choose to not wear their uniform or engage in activities that defy the laws of the legal system are examples of nonconformists, disregarding the influence of a mass in forcing them to change their thoughts, appearances or behaviours respectively. These concepts are interdependent upon one another, for where there is conformity in one situation, it may be classified as nonconformity for others. The notorious Maroubra Bra Boys conform to one another’s own values of protection and respect for the environment. Normative conformity is evident in how the Bra Boys adopt these values, informed by the leading founding members, in order to gain acceptance and avoid ostracism from the group once involved with them. However, the group does not conform to certain laws and deviate from various social norms as a result of their defence of the environment; engaging in unruly behaviours, disobeying local authorities and intimidating other groups despite the beach being a shared, public venue. Informational conformity shares similarities to these behaviours, as investigated in Solomon Asch’s 1951 experiments. This research found that there is a greater tendency for people to conform if a majority perceives certain answers as correct, demonstrating acquiescence. When provided with independence to respond to the experiment, it was also discovered people would not conform if they were not pressured by a vocal, larger group presence. Hence, the concepts are interrelated, defined by the balance of each other depending on the situation and influence one another’s extent in aiming to maintain or challenge social cohesion over time.

b) To what extent have the values and behaviours of ONE group influenced the perceptions of this group in the wider society? (1506 words) Values guide the coherence of diverse groups within contemporary society and the cognition and execution of these behaviours are crucial to understanding conformity and nonconformity. It is to a great extent that a group’s values and behaviours can influence how they are perceived by wider Australian society. These perceptions are induced from the representations of the group and how they have presented themselves amongst wider society. From an examination of the Bra Boys group, a surfer gang from Maroubra, New South Wales, the interplay of conformity and nonconformity can be critically observed to evaluate the perceptions upon their values and behaviours in conjunction. What can be discerned from this group are tribal behavioural tendencies, a criminal generalisation from a refusal to comply to societal norms and rules, and the interactions they have had as mediators of other intergroup conflicts. These social aspects have greatly influenced how they are interpreted as a subgroup, whether it be in a poorly, primitive fashion or as a group of justice advocates for Maroubra. The formation of the Bra Boys was characterized by fundamental values placed on heroism and unity, greatly expressed in their rituals and practices and perceived by wider society as a radical form of mateship. Conformity within the group emerges from the process of deindividuation, expressed through a code of brotherhood that mirrors the behavioural tendencies of a tribe. The environment’s significance in the Bra Boys’ values is conceptualised in their motives and reflected in their extremist acquisition of surf culture. The group operates as the rightful owners of the land due to their spiritual salvation from the hardships that were once imposed on them and now overcome together. Revolving around demonstrations of hyper masculinity and security from having one another, the stigma of their group has been developed and socially categorised by wider society in tribalism. Enculturation of tribal facets have been translated and coerced into their physical qualities, producing a relative cultural uniformity; “shirtless, tattooed, scarred...viewed as badges of honour...seen as surf warriors...riots classified as tribal warfare.” (Brooke Collins-Gearing, 2012) The impact of deindividuation and their excessive machismo have anonymously stereotyped and marginalised the Bra Boys as tribalists, which can be interpreted as intimidating with their large group presence and can reveal the perceptions of wider society on their physique. The group’s connection to Maroubra shapes their collective identity, serving as a central motivator in the behaviours they exert to wider society. These battler personas have been embodied to test the masculinity and suitability of the person amongst the fraternity of the Bra Boys. On the surface, rituals such as their tattoos and group handshake simply distinguishes them from over regular surfers and other groups, but the deeper role of their physical initiation signs and rituals can be derived from how they confidently exhibit their warrior-like behaviour, identity and exclusiveness as heroes amongst their fictive kin for wider society to witness. Although this tribal stereotype may not hold true to all the Bra Boys, it is a perception that results from a deindividuation process, a unit of mates that conform to heroic expectations and their applied behaviours that are thus subject to social categorisation.

Furthermore, the Bra Boys have engaged in nonconformist behaviours in valuing defence and respect of their environment, leading them to be regarded as disobedient to local authorities and consequently gaining the stereotyped perception of them as delinquents from wider society. Their defensive and protective attitudes towards Maroubra stems from values of “a respect for the beach and a respect for one another” (James Hooper, 2008), prompting a localist worldview. In their intense adherence to the surf, the Bra Boys have involved themselves in controversial activities; some of which are responding to threats to what they believe to be the social cohesion of the environment and its surf community, whilst others are out of less comprehensive motives. It is from this ambiguity of their intentions that they have generated controversy on what behaviours are out of defence or provocation. Documentation of their reckless behaviours were included in montages throughout the duration of ‘Blood is Thicker Than Water’, including them; lighting a Bra Boy on fire before having him dive off a cliff, challenging hazardous waves by location and intensity, and initiating casual brawls to exercise their physical strength. These salient instances of misconduct can be perceived as “violent localism in a heroic way” (Clifton Evers, 2007) and the dissent from social norms have extended towards them being involved in conflicts with the police, posing negative perceptions on their supposed behaviours of defence. Numerous fights with the police detailed in their documentary have raised questions from wider society of whether they have acted out of defence, or if they intended to in order to stir up trouble, as they claimed it was a “good ol’ fashioned brawl.” The perception garnered from this behaviour is notably ironic in that by demanding respect and conformity to surf culture, they have behaved in ways which disrespects the authorities by not conforming, instigating intergroup tension with authority figures. Such conflicts from authorities would render the Bra Boys targets in naming suspects in organised crime and other nonconformist behaviours. A brawl which occurred between the surfing group and off-duty police officers on December 2002 at the Coogee RSL Club resulted in Bra Boy Koby Abberton being brought to court for assault and others hospitalised from injuries. This incident influenced the perception of the Bra Boys and was prompted from media coverage claiming there were weapons used on site and within the vicinity, exaggeratedly framing the deviant behaviours of the group towards those of criminals. Wider society would be conditioned by the media footage to believe that this was a case of delinquency and perceive Bra Boys as nonconformists disrupting accepted order. Justifications of these vices from the Bra Boys have been illustrated in the name of antics, protection and an escapism from their victimised backgrounds within one another, concocting several behaviours and cases that deviate from the social order of wider society. Therefore, the glorification of their disturbances on the social cohesion of the rest of society has developed a strong conflict between the surf community and local authorities, shaping the generalised perception of them being active seekers of crime and mischief against their moral intentions. Albeit these perceptions of the Bra Boys have been largely derogatory, there have been instances where the group’s values of justice and equality have benefited wider society and, subsequently, renewed the views placed on them through positive agenda setting in the media. Maintaining peace on the beaches has been a matter of concern to the Bra Boys and the diplomacy they displayed during the 2005 Cronulla race riots, an intercultural conflict occurring between the Australian and

Lebanese communities, exemplifies a virtuous sense of coexistence. The Bra Boys were able to act as mediators for the conflict, utilising their networks with the multicultural communities within their extended membership. In response to these events, Bra Boy Sunny Abberton was able to organise a peace conference and arrange a negotiation on behalf of the Australian surf community with a Lebanese biker gang closely associated to their group. The role of the media was prominent in projecting their diplomacy and non-violent behaviour to wider society; contrasting the previously held beliefs of them being aggressive and presenting them as a group of peacemakers, seeking equality and justice for the beach. Koby Abberton further accounts for how “there were no Bra Boys at the Cronulla riots. Our creed stands for unconditional love, respect and support...regardless of race, gender and age” (Candace Sutton, 2016), increasing the perception of them being accepting and culturally sensitive. Agenda setting within the media coverage of this incident diminished the otherwise detrimental attitudes held upon the group by wider society. Their declaration of peace on the news reflected this equality value, alleviating tensions amongst other cultural groups to maintain harmony and multicultural positivity in theirs. In not conforming to the violence and hostility perpetuating during the race riots, the Bra Boys served their value in a way which presented them as social justice activists. Hence, the Bra Boys were able to provide insight into their moral judgements and act as role models for the beach community by approaching advocacy in the form of a negotiation, demonstration of peace and as nonconformists promoting social change. In essence, the perceptions of the Bra Boys have been formulated from the values they uphold and the behaviours attributed towards them. The expression of their beliefs have been widely debated upon and contested from their controversial attitudes within the spheres of conformity and nonconformity. When investigating into heroism and unity, defence and respect, and justice and equality, these interacting values can be understood that as expository cores from which the behaviours of the group emanate from. It can be evaluated to a great extent that the values and behaviours of this group have influenced the perceptions that have been generated by wider society, whether it be negatively disdained or positively impacted, and will continue to henceforth....