Personal Narrative: The Breaking Of My Social Norm
Each and everyday people walk the halls of this school. You see people walking on the streets in their neighborhood. They are all walking forward. Why? That is what is normal. We have been doing it this “normal” way since humans could walk. Baby's first learning to walk don't walk backwards do they? No, they are biologically programmed to move forward. I wanted the breaking of my norm to be obvious. What better way than to walk backwards and go “against the crowd”.
I began the breaking of my social norm at my locker. I decided to walk from my locker to my science class backwards and I had my friend (Rory) watch people’s reactions since I was no longer facing forward. I walked down two long hallways before reaching the door and walking past …show more content…
the whole class to my seat walking in the opposite direction. It was harder than I thought because I had to constantly turn my head around my shoulder to see where I was going and get a sense of the other people near me, so I didn't run into them. It was a peculiar feeling not looking at people as I walked to class. Everyone is so used to see other people's faces and looking them in the eyes. If I saw a friend it would be hard to recognize them from just behind and then it would be strange to say hi to them when their back is turned to me, since when I could see who it was, they had already walked past me.
I was a bit nervous since I knew that everyone would notice that they were walking towards the back of someone’s head and couldn't see their/my face.
I was also hoping that I wouldn't trip because, like I said before, everyone was watching me. I got that chilling feeling that you get when you can just feel eyes on you. As I was walking backwards some people would turn around once they past me so we could see each others faces and just kind of stare at me like what are you doing. Sometimes I could feel people's eyes on me and when they past me,they just kept walking and didn't react at all. My witness said that everyone we passed had their eyes on me. Which I think is normal because we are all used to seeing people walk the normal way so to see someone doing something out of place makes them question it. It hard to think of a situation where someone has to walk backwards. So in this case I don't there is something to attribute if you were to see someone walking backwards like I did. One was I can think of how the fundamental attribution error could occur in this situation is if someone was hurt and it physically hurt them to walk forward but not back. This is a pretty extreme situation so that is why I don't think the f.a.e. doesn't apply
here.
I have learned that you get a lot more attention, whether wanted or unwanted, when you don't fit the norms. People are used to things the way they are and if you change them it makes it easier for them to notice and then they are able to notice that what you are doing is different than the norm. By doing this exercise you can become more understanding and compassionate for people that don't “fit in”. They probably feel nervous and that everyone is watching them, just as I did. You begin to learn how someone new to our culture, language, or region might feel just in a small demonstration.
I began the breaking of my social norm at my locker. I decided to walk from my locker to my science class backwards and I had my friend (Rory) watch people’s reactions since I was no longer facing forward. I walked down two long hallways before reaching the door and walking past …show more content…
the whole class to my seat walking in the opposite direction. It was harder than I thought because I had to constantly turn my head around my shoulder to see where I was going and get a sense of the other people near me, so I didn't run into them. It was a peculiar feeling not looking at people as I walked to class. Everyone is so used to see other people's faces and looking them in the eyes. If I saw a friend it would be hard to recognize them from just behind and then it would be strange to say hi to them when their back is turned to me, since when I could see who it was, they had already walked past me.
I was a bit nervous since I knew that everyone would notice that they were walking towards the back of someone’s head and couldn't see their/my face.
I was also hoping that I wouldn't trip because, like I said before, everyone was watching me. I got that chilling feeling that you get when you can just feel eyes on you. As I was walking backwards some people would turn around once they past me so we could see each others faces and just kind of stare at me like what are you doing. Sometimes I could feel people's eyes on me and when they past me,they just kept walking and didn't react at all. My witness said that everyone we passed had their eyes on me. Which I think is normal because we are all used to seeing people walk the normal way so to see someone doing something out of place makes them question it. It hard to think of a situation where someone has to walk backwards. So in this case I don't there is something to attribute if you were to see someone walking backwards like I did. One was I can think of how the fundamental attribution error could occur in this situation is if someone was hurt and it physically hurt them to walk forward but not back. This is a pretty extreme situation so that is why I don't think the f.a.e. doesn't apply
here.
I have learned that you get a lot more attention, whether wanted or unwanted, when you don't fit the norms. People are used to things the way they are and if you change them it makes it easier for them to notice and then they are able to notice that what you are doing is different than the norm. By doing this exercise you can become more understanding and compassionate for people that don't “fit in”. They probably feel nervous and that everyone is watching them, just as I did. You begin to learn how someone new to our culture, language, or region might feel just in a small demonstration.