Gaining social approval requires conforming to arbitrary group practices, not just contributions

Evidence

In the previous chapter, we saw how groups award high status to certain individuals with rare talents, abundant capital, and personal virtues. But Metropolitan reminds us that there is a more elementary requirement to gain status: conformity to group norms. There are expectations for members within every status group and tier to follow specific behaviors. The simple act of donning formal attire allows Tom to expand his social network and gain access to greater material benefits. But black tie is an arbitrary standard. No activity at a debutante ball requires a tuxedo the same way that an hour-long underwater party would require scuba gear. This reveals the first major intersection between status and culture: earning social approval requires not just making concrete contributions to the group’s goals but also following a particular set of arbitrary practices. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 114

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Norms persist only while conformity benefits outweigh deviance rewards — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 139; Conformity to prejudice norms requires group membership relevance — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1895; Groups can gain status by persuading society to value their own criteria — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 304

Broader Connections

• Conformity to prejudice norms requires group membership relevance #expands (0.85) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1895