The purpose of this project is to investigate the relationship between an individual’s motivation and behavior and the influence of society. This week, you begin your research, focusing on the relationship between group norms and societal influences. A rough draft, table, or annotated outline summarizing your findings is due by the end of the week. In Week 4, you will continue researching your selected community and submit a final research paper which describes and analyzes the research you conduct for this project.

Throughout the project, you are asked to be cognizant of how your own background and bias influence your perception of others. Remember to be respectful in language and tone when discussing differences among people.

Select a community as the focus for your research. This may be a community near where you live or have lived, or it may be a community that you are interested to learn more about.

Conduct internet research about this community and, if possible, make firsthand observations or interview a community member. Please consider the following topics:

• Demographic and community data

• • Determine basic demographic information about the community and how it compares to the larger society.
  • Identify differences in aspects of society, such as poverty and wealth; police, hospitals, schools, and community centers; immigrant communities; drugs; gang violence; mental health services; and other features that may influence group norms.

• Relationships among community members and nonmembers

• • What are some major forces that influence group behavior within the community? How are these behaviors represented by individual members of that community?
  • What are some differences between the community’s and the larger society’s perceptions of legal, moral, and ethical behavior?

• Social psychology research

• • Is there any information you would like to acquire that is unavailable? Why is it unavailable? How would accessing this kind of information help you understand this community better?