Social Norm Violation Exercise

Norm Violation Exercise

Norms are an element of culture, and all societies have unique social norms that encourage people to act in particular ways. Often times we follow these norms without even thinking about them, and sometimes may not even realize that they exist. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage students to think about the role of social norms in society by conducting a social experiment: violation of a social norm.

To conduct this social experiment, you need to first choose a particular social setting (because each social setting may have different social norms). The options are limitless for this assignment – classrooms, restaurants, public spaces, libraries, dormitories, and work environments all have social
norms that can be violated. Once you have chosen a particular setting, observe this setting and take note of the normative behavior in this environment. After you understand the social norms in this setting, violate one of these norms and detail your experience in this exercise.

You may not violate a law for this assignment! The norms you choose to violate should be folkways, not mores. If you violate a law for this assignment, you will receive a zero.
In many cases, it may also be helpful to bring a friend along during your norm violation to help record reactions of others and provide a second objective observer (this is required if you are violating a norm where you would be unable to observe others’ reactions).

Be sure to think sociologically when conducting this experiment and when answering the attached questions. You should incorporate concepts and ideas we have discussed in class when analyzing your experiences. You are also encouraged to incorporate information from the texts as well as outside sources (although this is not required). If you choose to use information that is not your own, be sure to fully cite these ideas both within the text and on a separate reference page (see the “citation examples” section attached to this document for more information).

All responses must be type-written on the attached sheet. The font should be normal (Times New Roman or Arial) and no larger than 12-point font. There is no minimum length for each question response; the assignments will be graded on how well you answer the questions. Further, it is expected that you proofread your writing, and that all spelling and grammar errors have been corrected. While grammar and spelling will not be explicitly graded, extensive grammatical errors can make it difficult to express your thoughts and ideas, which may lead to a lower grade. I also expect that all assignments will be turned in on time, and late assignments will be assessed a grade penalty of a 15 point deduction for every day the assignment is late.

This assignment is intended to be fun, so I encourage you to be creative in choosing a social setting and social norm to violate.
If you have any questions about whether something is a social norm, whether you might be violating a law, or whether a social setting may be appropriate, please come and talk to me. I am happy to provide feedback on ideas you may have or just to brainstorm if you are having trouble coming up with ideas.

NORM VIOLATION EXERCISE

Please type your responses to each question. Be as detailed as possible, and remember to think sociologically when analyzing your experiences.

1. WHAT SOCIAL SETTING DID YOU OBSERVE? WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS OF THAT SETTING? I observed the sidewalk. The social expectations are walking on the left side of the sidewalk, making eye contact, walking backwards, and not moving if someone gets in your
way.

2. DESCRIBE THE SOCIAL NORM THAT YOU VIOLATED AND HOW YOU ACTUALLY VIOLATED THE NORM. The social norm I violated was walking the left side of the sidewalk. I violated the norm during passing time between classes in front of the teacher’s college. Where I would walk straight ahead not acknowledging that I was on the wrong side of the sidewalk.

3. HOW DID OTHERS REACT TO YOU WHEN YOU VIOLATED THIS NORM? WERE THE REACTIONS POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE? The other people reacted in a no response or an angry one. Telling me to get out of the way and one girl made fun of my weight saying that if I wasn’t so fat I could walk on the right side of the sidewalk. Most people had no reaction either getting out of my way or just bumping into me. The reactions were Negative.

4. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN VIOLATING THIS NORM? WHY DID YOU FEEL THIS WAY? I felt like I was doing some thing that was wrong and I was really jittery and nervous when doing it. I didn’t want to do it but I did. The reason I felt this way because I was just use to walking on the right side of the sidewalk and I don’t like to hit into people on the sidewalk or have people look down on me.

5. HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE SHAPED YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL NORMS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE? HOW DO NORMS CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL STRUCTURE? WHAT ROLE DO SOCIAL NORMS PLAY IN SOCIETY? It has shaped the way I see how I act when I’m doing something just because I felt like I always have and Social structure is there to keep people from causing problems in the world. Norms construct social structure with rules and things we just do because we only know how to do that. Social norms play the role of not causing problems in the society. The way I see this is society makes these social norms to control and not make waves of situations in the society.

Citation Examples

Journal Article

Mirowsky, John and Catherine E. Ross. 1984. “Mexican Culture and its Emotional
Contradictions.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 25:2-13.

Book

Lenski, Gerhard. 1961. The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion’s Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life.
Garden City: Doubleday.

Book Chapter

Mantsios, Gregory. 2005. “Media Magic: Making Class Invisible.” Pp. 43-54 in Crossroads:
Readings in Social Problems, edited by K. Tiemann. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Online Document

Harris, Kathleen, Francesca Florey, Joyce Tabor, Peter Bearman, Jo Jones, and J. Richard
Udry. 2003. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health: Research Design [online document]. URL: http:/www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design.

Newspaper Article

Goldstein, Amy. 1997. “Dying Patients’ Care Varies Widely by Place, Study Says.” Washington
Post, October 15, p. A1. Retrieved October 15, 1997 (http://www.washingtonpost.com).

In-text Citations (Author Date)

Examples:
- Latino adolescents also pray more frequently and place a higher value on religion than white adolescents (Smith et al. 2003).

- Third, similar to racial minority status, sexual minority status is a strong predictor of adolescent depression (Young and Sweeting 2004; Ueko 2005).

- Similar to Latinos, many Asians have recently immigrated to the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of the Census
2002).

- Elder (1998) argues that there are four main components to life course theory: historical time and place, the timing of events, linked lives, and human agency.

*Be sure to include page numbers in the in-text citations when using direct quotations