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CONFORMITYthe social PrinciplePrestige vs. Dutiesor: the Greed for STATUS
Characters with a problem of Conformity believe fulfilling all their duties will grant them higher status that will liberate them from their hard work. They seek recognition for their self-sacrificing service and authority, because they feel left out by their community. They want to belong, yet keep their good reputation, so they conform strictly to all norms and social conventions, but avoid real intimacy themselves. It’s their conformity that leaves them frustrated and longing for prestige.
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Greed for STATUS Prestige vs. Duties General View Life is Plight + Compulsion. avoids Breaking Rules, Intimacy feels Unloved seems Frustrated, Angry Greed for STATUS Prestige vs. Duties Motivation My efforts must not be in vain Mission Keep + fulfil one’s social role and maintain a good reputation acts Self-Important Greed for STATUS Prestige vs. Duties DOGMA [+ Flaw ] Life has constraints and duties [ but conforming will promote + liberate you eventually ] |
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People guided by a social principle believe that they are living their life the right way and thus can’t let go of their social role. They think they took the right decisions and worked hard to get where they are, yet they are not content with what they got out so far. They desire more and seek for ways to gain prestige and improve their status without endangering their good reputation. But what they actually want is to truly belong to their community as they feel unloved and excluded although they genuinely try to meet everyone’s expectations. They conform to social norms and engage professionally with other people. But as long as they can’t meet others on eye height level without the protection of their social role, they fail to establish the secure intimacy that they actually seek. So they stay unfulfilled and keep craving for more attention.
They desire status and prestige, because they feel unloved and think they deserve better, after all they fulfil all their duties diligently, and still don’t really seem to truly belong. They want to be seen as important and self-less people that make the world go round, but find themselves underprivileged and thus strive to get different rewards, like more money, a promotion or other status symbols as a compensation. They act generous yet take a lot of space to portray themselves as caring. They play a role after all and never show their true feelings. They want to belong, but they think they have to meet others expectations first. So they hide their true self behind a social mask and can’t really participate. This is the real reason why they feel excluded in the first place: They can’t break their character and have human contact, because they are afraid of losing their social standing or their professional authority. They abide to the rules and thus want others to comply to laws + social norms too. But secretly they work so hard because they think rising in status will grant them exceptions from these rules and other special privileges. They see society as an oppressive hierarchy. That’s why they are afraid to lose their social status and end up on a lower hierarchical stage. To make sure they are not secretly disliked they try to verify other peoples loyalty and want to ensure no one takes advantage of them. Thus they become more controlling and consequently get even more and more left out from human contact « off the records », because others can’t trust them enough, wich again fosters their paranoia. They think conformity will liberate them, as they climb the social ladder. But the truth is, that higher status only comes with even more rules + obligations. Instead of being freed they get imprisoned further. But they’d only notice if they could ever reach the top. |
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