...Social norms are the unlimited list of unwritten rules that everyone follows everyday without even thinking. When was the last time anyone thought twice before putting shoes on before leaving the house, or eating with a fork instead of their hands. Here in the United States these are perfectly normal actions that people do daily, but in different cultures around the world these norms may vary dramatically. You have asked us to go out and break a social norm, and pay attention to the peoples reactions. This is a huge eye opener for me, and I am sure the others in the class as well. The concept really is a great way to examine yourself, your culture, and to think about how these normality’s have come to be. As for me this proved to be a little nerve racking as I probably fall into the slightly shy category. So I started thinking about some of these things I do everyday, and decided I was going to take my dog for a walk. But this time instead of looking forward as do most human beings, I would walk backwards, and let my dog lead me through the park. This was my first idea and I figured I would give it a try and see if I got reactions from people. The park where I was walking was completely packed with people because it was a Saturday morning. I couldn’t help but crack a smile as the people around me started to stare at me like I was completely retarded. I’m sure in some ways they were right. I kept walking, nearly trampling over an old man who was power walking...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...The social norm I chose to violate was to sit in an empty chair at an otherwise occupied table. I chose a table occupied by three people in a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. There was not much of a reaction to the social norm violation I committed. The people at the table just looked at me for a moment. After an awkward moment of silence the people at the table said hello and made small talk with me. They were very friendly and easy going. They did not seem to mind that I sat at their table uninvited. After speaking for a few minutes I explained to them that this was a psychology assignment and let them read the assignment. The people at the table were somewhat confused as to why such a thing would be assigned by a college professor. They explained that they felt it was inappropriate for a teacher to ask students to put themselves into any of the listed situations. All the people stated they were not offended by someone actually doing these things. They were bothered that students were required to violate any of the “so-called social norms on the list”. I found my actions to be rude and inconsiderate. I would not like it if someone came over and sat at my table uninvited. Maybe someone wants to have a private conversation with the others at the table. Maybe someone is on a date and wants to be alone. Maybe the people at the table are criminals. Maybe the people do not care if someone sits at their table uninvited. The bottom line is that for me it was uncomfortable...
Words: 429 - Pages: 2
...Norms are based on your behavior. Norms can be put into many groups. Informal norms are everyday behavior. They aren’t written down and can be as common as saying “good morning” and washing your hands or saying a prayer before you eat. Formal norms are written down into a law, which, if broken you will face a punishment. Examples of formal norms are do not steal from a store or do not speed. We enforce norms by sanctions. Sanctions can be positive or negative. Positive sanctions could be as simple as smiling at somebody or as formal as receiving a raise. Negative sanctions could be a frown or going to prison. Society adapts the norms to the world around them. For example, people in Texas don’t need to wear the same winter apparel...
Words: 549 - Pages: 3
...Each and every day we do most things without having to put much thought into them. We brush our teeth in the morning, we raise our hand when we want to speak in class, we wait in line behind others instead of cutting, along with tons of other norms. Whenever people break away from these norms society sees it as being deviant, and it catches people off guard because we are to be carrying out these norms, not only by ones-self but also by other’s around us and society. The norm I decided to breech was as simple as walking on the sidewalk to class. There always tends to be a certain side of the sidewalk that people walk on depending on the direction they are going. And when this is disrupted it forces people to change their direction. Whenever...
Words: 694 - Pages: 3
...Challenging the Social Norm. “Story Of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is a telling story about a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who’s given the horrible news that her husband has passed away in a train wreck. Devastated by her husband’s sudden death, she excuses herself and immediately rushes to her bedroom; this is where readers see a different side of Mrs. Mallard. In time she has taken on a different angle of life. Although obviously upset about her husband’s sudden death, Mrs.Mallard has something to be happy about. In 1894 when the “Story Of An Hour” was written, women didn’t have a say over anything and because of her husband's death; Mrs.Mallard learns the cost of both freedom gained, and freedom lost. Kate Chopin lived in a time period when women really did not have any rights. Therefore her stories typically focused entirely around the theme of female characters who dealt with these problems; Chopin was well known for writing about these society blocks. However in her stories the women usually take on a more conventional side than what would be expected. Normally they chose their own path rather than what society would want. One theme in Chopin’s story is freedom (Mayer, 95). In the beginning of “The Story of an Hour” the scene opens up and readers are introduced to Mrs. Mallard, who has been told that her husband has died in a horrible train wreck.She reacts to this news like any other wife would -- yes, she is clearly upset so she excuses herself and rushes off to her bedroom...
Words: 996 - Pages: 4
...We are always told in life that we must act and behave to conform to the social norms. We are told how we must behave, what we can do with no freedom to just be ourselves. In some cases social norms are important,, somethings do not need to be said or done in public but other times adhering to what is considered normal can crush one's spirit. It can make you more miserable and depressed than it will make you happy, teens struggle with this more than most. For me, I have never liked the social norms, I like to test the limits and see how far I can go before someone tells me to fix my attitude. Well I’m not really having attitude I just like to fight for my freedom. I grew up with all boys and never once have I wanted to be anything other...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
...This study tests the effects of social norms and Perceived Social Support (PSS) on the consumption of alcohol. Because of earlier discoveries, this paper attempts to study the correlation between the level of social support from a participant’s social group and the drinking norms as a base for their drinking. The paper hypothesized that those that had low levels of social support from friend groups would be more willing to follow drinking norms and that those with a higher level of social support would be less likely to follow drinking norms. There were 574 college students, both men and women with an average age of 18.77. Each completed a measure of their social support level and what peer alcohol norms were. The participants were to keep a diary of their drinking habits everyday and used it to figure out each person’s drinking frequency and quantity. The hypothesis was proven and the individuals with lower social support were more likely to fall into the norms of drinking. However, there wasn’t a correlation between high social support and drinking norm behavior. In conclusion, if a social group is supportive the less pressure one feels to fall into the path of the norm. Within this article one strength was having the participants record each the drinking of each participant was measured by day. Not allowing any time to pass within each diary entry allows for a more consistent result as well as more confidence in that what the participants are keeping track of is...
Words: 417 - Pages: 2
...In our society we have what are called norms. Norms are the expectations, or rules of behavior that develop out of a group’s values (Ramirez-Tinoco, Values and Norms Discussion). People react to norms differently in different times and places and this is what makes up certain norms being norms. I witnessed two norm violations being committed, and I committed one myself. By committing this norm violation I went against my values and my own expectations not only for myself, but also for the expectations others have for me. Values are standards by which people define good and bad beautiful and ugly (Ramirez-Tinoco, Norms Vary Discussion). Without using norms such as mores in our everyday life, our society would not be able to operate properly....
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...Assignment 3: Nonverbal Communication – Violating Social Norms Assignment 3: Nonverbal Communication – Violating Social Norms When I started this assignment I was totally lost. I couldn’t find which direction to go in until I researched the title and read over the chapters in the book a little more for a better understanding. Then it hit me and I realized how cool I was going to make this assignment. Before I get into the first scenario I want to briefly go over what I learned about nonverbal communication and social norms. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is “behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the use of words” (Floyd, 2011, p.179). How I interpret the meaning of nonverbal communication? In my opinion these are emotions that are not consciously controlled but an instant reaction off of one of our sudden perceptions. Our senses pick up this vibe. This is why people lean towards respecting nonverbal communication better than what a person actually says out of his/her mouth is because nonverbal communication is more honest. It’s an automatic reaction in most cases like a reflux (123helpme.com, 2000). Using of nonverbal communication. An example of nonverbal communication is “for instance, if someone asks you for directions to the bookstore and you point and say “It’s that way”, your nonverbal behavior (pointing) clarifies the meaning of your verbal message” (Floyd, 2011, p. 179). “In contrast, if you say “It’s...
Words: 931 - Pages: 4
...Social norms are customs that we are conditioned to percieve as ordinary. Social norms have their pupose in our society. One can look at social norms as being favorable or unfavorable. I personally think that social norms are often a positive thing as they help keep us in order. For this paper I decided to violate a social norm that is derived from folkways. Folways are common demeanors related to rituals and triditions of a certain society. The norm that I choose to violate for this paper required me to cut into the middle of a line by myelf and stay in line for atleast 2 minutes. I decided to violate this social norm on the campus of Queensborough Commnity Colloge, in the cafeteria located in the science building. I choose this specific...
Words: 886 - Pages: 4
...as in the case of noise pollution. However, human behavior is not always simple when determining the source. Many points of input are present, one of them being environmental cues. “Cues are elements in the environment that convey important information or trigger an affective reaction” (Steg, 2013, p. 120). How a human responds and impacts the environment is determined by the cues and the message they convey. Environmental Cues and Behavior “Sentences, words, and visual images are environmental cues that can affect the behavior of individuals (Charles-Sire, Guéguen, Pascual, & Meineri, 2012, p. 457). The presence of environmental cues is constant and therefore shapes human behavior in positive, as well as negative ways. Social norms and laws or rules are reinforced or weakened as a result of environmental cues. For example, a fabric rail queue line at the bank is meant to control the line and spread the customers for quicker service. Some individuals adhere to this cue regardless of the abundance or lack of customers while others adhere only if no way around it is found. Cues can be as basic as signs warning to not litter or as involved as public service announcements and social media campaigns. Behavior Modification There are often a variety of external cues and internal drives that shape behavior. As such, when an individual has set a goal to meet or an intention for new behavior, when the circumstances change, often the goals and intentions are dropped because...
Words: 1340 - Pages: 6
...those culture. Part II – Current Culture A. Cultural Type As we can see in the accompanying OCI Circumplex, Sandstone is strongest in the Aggressive/Defensive Styles. This Aggressive/Defensive culture is generally one “in which members are expected to approach tasks in forceful ways to protect their status and security, are characterized by Oppositional, Power, Competitive, and Perfectionistic norms.” * Oppositional: pointing out flaws * Power: building up one’s power base * Competitive: turning the job into a contest * Perfectionistic: doing things perfect Primary style is Competitive This was the cultural norm with the greatest percent score: 89%. According to the OCI Interpretation & Development Guide, a Competitive culture is generally one “in which winning is valued and members are rewarded for outperforming one another. Members operate in a "win-lose" framework and believe they must work against (rather than with) their peers to be noticed”. (Turn the job into a contest; never appear to lose) Secondary style is Oppositional This was the cultural norm with the second greatest percent score: 88%. According to the OCI Interpretation & Development Guide,...
Words: 1840 - Pages: 8
...reaction and centuries of habit has deeply ingrained this behavior into society. It has developed a sort of "functional autonomy" meaning that the modern implication of "bless you" is detached from its roots (Psychology Today). Acknowledging a stranger, be it holding the door or elevator, is not only tied to the impression an individual gives, but it has become a norm and an expectation in everyday behavior. Some may even be offended or hurt when others do not conform, leading to a dispute like the one between Robin and Michael in Seinfeld's "Good Samaritan" episode. Analyzing the social context makes it apparent that society uses norms to guide behavior and pressure people to conform while frowning upon those who stray from expectations. In a Seinfeld scene where Robin, Michael, Elaine, and George have dinner at a moderately classy restaurant, Robin sneezes and George hesitates before saying "bless you." George then proceeds to joke that Michael, who is Robin's husband, ought to have the responsibility of saying "bless you" first (Seinfeldology). George points out Michael's lack of adherence to the social norms demanded in such a formal setting. In this case, there is a variety of factors that shape the level of formality. The group is in a relatively upscale environment where appropriate attire applies, wine is served, and diners ask instead of reaching over for the bread basket. This adds to the social pressure that comes with proper dinner table manners and...
Words: 687 - Pages: 3
...article the authors use information from various academic references to support their theories. They also conduct this study with a focus primarily on physicians. This article starts of by introducing what workplace deviance is. In this article antisocial behavior, workplace aggression, organizational retaliation, and employee deviance are all used to describe behaviors generally regarded as workplace deviance. The article goes on to state that very little research has been done that examines the positive aspects of workplace deviance. One of these positives aspects is the occurrence of constructive workplace deviance. This article states that constructive workplace deviance encompasses behaviors that violate significant organizational norms in order to contribute to the well-being of the organization. The authors explore the belief that unlike much of the field of organizational behavior which focuses on managerial dysfunctions, such as resistance to change, constructive deviants can play a central role in facilitating organizational change. (Robbins & Galperin, 2010) The authors of this article go on to give an in depth look into what constructive deviance is. It states that the management literature has...
Words: 1005 - Pages: 5
...Deviant Behavior Course Project Option Four: Mini Research Paper Breaking Folkways For this assignment I chose this particular research option because I am very interested in people’s reactions to experiencing things they are not used to, I also do not embarrass easily. My research involved intentionally violating common folkways in the presence of family, co-workers and strangers. After breaking common norms I than analyzed the results and recorded them below. Day One – Hugging co-workers rather than saying hello In our culture, when in the workplace, it is appropriate to greet fellow employees with a “hello”, “hi” or handshake. For the purpose of this assignment I decided to greet my coworkers with hugs, rather than saying hello and shaking their hand. Clearly the norm which I violated here were keeping the greeting casual and possibly invading my co-workers personal space. Americans are usually very adamant about not getting too close to others while in public and vice versa, so this one was fun for me. Throughout my work day, whenever I encountered a fellow employee I gave them a semi-long hug with a pat on the back, this included both male and female co-workers. I really enjoyed this one. The reactions from the people whom I greeted with a hug, rather than a simple “hello” or hand shake ranged by the particular individual and were usually along the lines of what I expected. All of the females I hugged responded with a return hug, meaning my hug...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
