Unwanted imitation by outsiders drives groups to abandon contaminated conventions

Evidence

Once conventions become internalized, should we still call them “conventions”? In these cases, we act out of habit rather than as an intentional coordination with others or as a way to avoid social disapproval. That being said, there is still a strong link between status and habits: specifically, the social hierarchy influences which conventions we internalize. We are more likely to imitate the “correct” conventions practiced by high-status members of our communities. We may copy some behaviors indiscriminately. Even the “haughtiest country gentleman,” writes nineteenth-century French sociologist Gabriel Tarde, could not “keep his accent, his manners, and his point of view from being a little like those of his servants and tenants.” But when we do take up low-status acts, others are likely to nudge us back to the proper high-status alternatives. The inverse is also true: the psychologist Bruce Hood notes, “We dislike individuals from outside of our social group more if they mimic us.” The unwanted imitation of low-status outsiders makes us conscious of our internalized conventions, and as a result, we may move on to less “polluted” alternatives. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 132

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the mechanism the reader has seen in sociological treatments of cultural capital: high-status groups defend boundaries by fleeing forms low-status actors adopt. — connects to: Every act of imitation within a group simultaneously distinguishes that group from outsiders — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 168; Larger interconnected populations counteract the inherent lossiness of cultural copying — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 715; Territorial groups weaponize breached politeness rules to repel outsiders (+8 more)
• FICTION: The Tarde line about a gentleman unconsciously absorbing servants’ and tenants’ mannerisms is a vivid image for fiction that plays on class seepage across hierarchy.
• SHARE: Worth sending to someone studying cultural boundary-maintenance or status competition — the police ‘pollution’ language for adopted low-status conventions is precise.

Broader Connections

• Group isolation produces collective misperception and redirected violence against outsiders #corroborates (0.80)
• Territorial groups weaponize breached politeness rules to repel outsiders #exemplifies (0.78)
• Seiged communities reinforce the very practices outsiders condemn #qualifies (0.76)
• Larger interconnected populations counteract the inherent lossiness of cultural copying #complicates (0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 715
• External danger and social isolation drive members toward group conformity. #corroborates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4142
• Conventions become habits through unconscious early-life mimicry of peers #complicates (0.74) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 130
• Occupational subgroups hoard private appearance-code schemes that outsiders lack #corroborates (0.73)
• People trade off imitation against distinction based on their status position #qualifies (0.72) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 182
• Group identities are invariably reinforced by reference to outsiders #expands (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 356
• Social norms persist because group members have interests in sanctioning violators #qualifies (0.72) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 270