In the Divergent book trilogy and film series, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue). The factions are:

• Abnegation: the selfless, originally the governing faction.
• Amity: the kind.
• Candor: the honest, leaders in law.
• Dauntless: the brave, soldiers and protectors of the city.
• Erudite: the intelligent.

On an appointed day every year, 16-year-olds take a placement test and select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives). Failure to live up to the standards of ones faction will lead to expulsion, making one "factionless" and socially excluded, a fate considered to be "worse than death". The story of the Divergent trilogy is set within the dystopian, isolated, post-apocalyptic city of Chicago, where order is maintained by dividing the population into these five factions, each with its own values, patterns of behavior, social functions, and personality traits of its members.