Sociological Analysis Of Doing Nothing
Cassie Mingoia Mingoia 1
Professor Wonser
Sociology 101
7 September 2011
The Experiment of “Doing Nothing” My experiment took place in the front of the Edwards movie theatre in Valencia at 7:30 pm on a Friday night. I chose this location because I knew there would be a lot of families and students socializing in that environment. I placed myself in between the entrances of Edwards theatre and Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt, allowing people to see me as they walked in and out of both businesses. This act of deviance called “Doing Nothing” led to questioning my personal identity and the reactions of society to norm violations, as well as opened the door to understanding the sociological research. As I walked up to my location I was already experiencing overwhelming anxiety knowing I was about to open myself to public scrutiny. Within the first few moments I was almost relieved because no one had even noticed I had been …show more content…
I could not move or respond or say to the boy “It’s okay” and give a smile like I usually would I had to just stand there looking straight ahead, going completely against any social norms. By the looks on both the boy and his mother’s face, I am assuming they felt uncomfortable because I had no reaction towards them. She immediately pulled him away and I heard her say, “stay away from over there.” I then started to find the whole experience amusing, even though in this experiment I am not suppose to be entertained by anything. This experiment and the exchange of actions between the public and myself later ignited a million questions in my head. “Do I treat people who are different rudely?” “Do I make others feel just as socially awkward as I felt because they are acting out of the ordinary?” Well yes, I know I do to some extent, but now being the one gawked at I realize that people who are acting “crazy” deserve just as much respect as everyone
Professor Wonser
Sociology 101
7 September 2011
The Experiment of “Doing Nothing” My experiment took place in the front of the Edwards movie theatre in Valencia at 7:30 pm on a Friday night. I chose this location because I knew there would be a lot of families and students socializing in that environment. I placed myself in between the entrances of Edwards theatre and Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt, allowing people to see me as they walked in and out of both businesses. This act of deviance called “Doing Nothing” led to questioning my personal identity and the reactions of society to norm violations, as well as opened the door to understanding the sociological research. As I walked up to my location I was already experiencing overwhelming anxiety knowing I was about to open myself to public scrutiny. Within the first few moments I was almost relieved because no one had even noticed I had been …show more content…
I could not move or respond or say to the boy “It’s okay” and give a smile like I usually would I had to just stand there looking straight ahead, going completely against any social norms. By the looks on both the boy and his mother’s face, I am assuming they felt uncomfortable because I had no reaction towards them. She immediately pulled him away and I heard her say, “stay away from over there.” I then started to find the whole experience amusing, even though in this experiment I am not suppose to be entertained by anything. This experiment and the exchange of actions between the public and myself later ignited a million questions in my head. “Do I treat people who are different rudely?” “Do I make others feel just as socially awkward as I felt because they are acting out of the ordinary?” Well yes, I know I do to some extent, but now being the one gawked at I realize that people who are acting “crazy” deserve just as much respect as everyone