4.3

The most interesting idea that I came across in the reading this week was the idea of "pressure for conformity". I find it interesting because even in small groups, the idea that you should conform to that which is popular can prevent a group from being successful. If you take into account that group work, for the most part, is a project that needs to be completed as a collective (even if you are graded on it individually, or something similar) then you can kind of understand the need to conform. However, by "conforming," it doesn't mean that you have to lose yourself as an individual. The chapter talked about people generally have trouble in groups getting past individual opinions and ideas in order to come to a conclusion. Yet you can still retain your individuality without the need to cause drama within your group. Conforming isn't always a bad thing; it just has to be taken into context. Conforming within a group can be a good thing, and can lead to successful results.

4.2

The concept of "white men of power" is basically one of this: while, upper class men have more power and more privilege than those who don't fit that category, such as different ethnicity, women, the disabled, the poor, the "unattractive", etc. The idea is that these men are the ones who in businesses and places of power have, well, not to be repetitive, the most power.

Do I agree with this? Yes and no. Yes, I agree that from what I have seen in my limited life is that men who fit this category (white men who are upper class) tend to rule the roost in life. They have better jobs, more money, more power, etc. On my company website, we have pictures of the people who are high up on the corporate ladder. I was looking at them at work today, and lo and behold, most of them were white men. I wasn't actually that surprised.

Now, I don't agree with it because I think it's pretty crummy that people who have most of the power are white, rich men. I think that with the election of President Obama, however, hopefully that will change.

4.1

Being a middle-to-lower class white girl, believe it or not, I have been part of a group that has been stereotyped against. My friends and I are "dorks" (see, I just stereoptyped myself.) Meaning we play Dungeons and Dragons, we play video games such as World of Warcraft, and we play table games such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, and quite a few other "nerdy" things. A lot of times people think that we're the type of people who don't enjoy bars, like to stay home on the weekends, and don't fit to their idea of "fun". One particular time stands out in my mind.

We were having a party, and it was a themed party. My friend Andrew decided he was going to bring some friends to this party that we hadn't met before. They came in, wearing designer jeans and shirts, heavy jewelry, and hats. When they came in they immediately saw the gaming gear, the fantasy posters, and I saw them look at each other. They went into the kitchen and had a beer; after that I heard them talking to Andrew, telling him that this wasn't their thing, and that they were "gonna bounce". I was kind of hurt because they didn't even take the time to get to know any of us; they came over, had our beer, and left without giving us the courtesy to realize that hey, we might be dorks, but we can party like the best of them.

3.3

The most interesting concept in the chapters to me was the idea of violating a norm. While I would like to say that I think the entirety of chapter three was interesting, I don't think that matches the assignment. The idea that we violate something that isn't written, and isn't actually a law or anything, yet the consequences from violating that which isn't written could be just as harsh. For example, it isn't written anywhere that you shouldn't cheat on your partner. However, should you stray from them into someone else's arms, the repercussions are severe. You can lose your partner, or they won't trust you anymore, or a myriad of other consequences if they find out.

Just like in a relationship, group norms vary depending on the group. But it's been my experience that, in general, group norms such as do you part of the work, communicate, and don't cheat are typically what you'll find in any group.

3.2

Norms in groups are an essential part of functioning as a group. Each person usually has a part in a group, whether it be a group of friends (you have the funny one, the quiet one, the smart one) or a work group (the leader, the note taker, etc.) While the roles within a personal group might be emergent roles, roles within a work group are usually assigned roles. These roles help give us guidelines for our actions, or what norms would be for our behavior within that group. When these norms are violated, however, it can cause a problem. A personal example of this is when I told my friend something very personal. I expected her to not repeat it to anyone, but later found out that she did in fact tell others. This violated our norm, that I can talk to her and she will keep it private. I had a conversation with her letting her know that I was hurt by her action, and that I hadn't expected this behavior from her. We worked it out, but even still I'm a bit hesitant to tell her very private details, because this norm was violated between us.

3.1

I think that there are group norms wherever you go in life, whether it be school, work, church, or in your own group of friends. In all honesty, I don’t interact with a lot of people at San Jose State; meaning I don’t hang out with friends on campus, or, in reality, have any “school” friends. All of my friends are outside of school. Wow, that sounds kind of sad.
Anyway, I don’t think that I can answer fairly whether I see norms at SJSU. My interaction is limited to that of the classroom, and I’m actually only on campus for 2 hours on Tuesday and Thursday.
Now, when it comes to my friends that I hang out with, we absolutely have norms. It’s normal for us to be touchy-feely with each other, but if someone new comes into the group, we reserve that right until we get to know them better. While we don’t have any “explicit” norms (that would be odd in our group) we do have “implicit” norms; whenever we have a get together, we ask what we should bring, what the host needs help with, etc.
These norms were fairly easy to adapt to. They went along a lot with what morals
I was raised with as a child: help out, don’t be rude, be honest, so on and so forth. This
group of friends have probably been the best that I’ve ever been a part of, simply for the
fact that they can relate to how I am as a person, and my norms are similar to theirs.