...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Violating Social Norms I. Social Norm Violated Society today is shaped by norms and customs that we as humans abide by. Many norms are followed without opinion or realization that it is being done. Norms are unwritten but traditionally followed. One norm that is an understood rule is how one should behave in an elevator. For instance, it is proper to face front, stand with a respectable distance away from the person next to you, to look forward, and not stare. Being polite is acceptable with a greeting or so but normally that is all. I violated this norm by standing very closely to people as they entered the elevator and uncomfortably staring at them, I also faced the back of the elevator and sang loudly. That one was easiest for me because I didn’t really have to look at the person the entire time but the consequence was I did not get to fully visualize their reaction. II. Reaction of Others When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humor, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means, a standard or representative value for a group. The norm that is more universal to people is social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context. While I violated the social norm of elevator etiquette, I had a few different reactions. I first faced the back of the elevator...
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...PSYCHOLOGY 260 SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT #3 SOCIAL NORMS In society today, many people act accordingly to social norms which is generally “implicit or explicit rules a group has for acceptable behaviours” (Aronson, Wilson, Fehr, Akert, 2013). If an individual acts defiantly towards expected behaviours, most of the other people would tend to isolate or reject that individual. In part of my violation of the social norm, I had worn flip-flops with socks the entire Thursday out in public to interpret people’s reactions. This social norm is referred to a descriptive norm, considering that this “behaviour is approved or disapproved of by others” (Aronson et al. 2013). This day was like any other regular Vancouver day, it consisted of rain. It became abundantly clear that the social norm for that day would require an individual to have shoes on. Besides the social context that it is generally uncomfortable walking with your socks drenched in water, some people believe that wearing flip-flops with socks altogether is despicable, and unacceptable social behaviour. As I walk through the school, I began to notice a lot more people looked at me when I walked by, compared to the usual nil before. To my senses, these stares felt nothing like acceptance, but felt more related to exclusion. This was understandable, as groups tend to use “social exclusion as effective ways to enforce normative behaviour” (Whitson, Wang, Kim, Cao, Scrimpshire, 2013). It wasn’t until after school, that...
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...4/4/12 Sociology 101 Project 4 After much consideration the norm I decided to violate was standing in line after your “turn” has passed. Let me explain a little more about the norm I am breaking. It’s when you are in a busy place, standing in line and finally it’s your turn to pay, after your transaction is done we all have this tendency to automatically move to the side. I move to the side to put the bills into our wallets, and then put those wallets into my pockets. Instead of conforming and moving off to the side I stayed exactly where I was, counting my bills, and putting my change in my pocket. The location I choose to break my social norm was the McDonalds near the Prairie State campus. I went to the store, and ordered a double cheese burger. I choose a very busy time in between classes, when the line consisted of about fifteen people, all antsy to get to where ever they were going. I found that it was particularly harder to violate a norm with the pressures of my peers to conform. This norm was easier for me to violate in a McDonalds because they were people I didn’t know, or I would not see again. As I was standing in line debating if I really wanted to do this or not I was extremely nervous. My main worry was what these people would think of me. Then I started thinking about this and as to why I cared so much of what they thought of me. Then I thought I shouldn’t care so much as to what these people, that I didn’t even know, thought about me. As I got to the...
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...There are many different facets of social norms today, which range from race, sexuality, beliefs and behaviors. The list is endless. So who defines these social norms, and if a person was to violate a norm will they be treated unfairly and discriminated upon? There are thousands of people who pass through the airport on a daily basis. Most of the population breeze through security with no problem. Then you have a Muslim who is covered from head to toe in a burqa and after 911 the Muslims are being questioned and even strip searched. It’s unfair to the law abiding Muslim who are singled out. Some will claim its discrimination based on ethnicity and religion, while security officials will claim it’s a random security check. Homosexuality has become a norm across America and has gained a wide acceptance. In cities around the U.S it’s normal to see a gay or lesbian walking down the street holding hands. There have even been laws passed in some states that allow same sex marriages. Even though homosexuality has become the norm homosexuals are still being discriminated upon today. Take for example a devout Christian who believes homosexuality is a sin and unacceptable in gods eyes. There have been published stories of priests turning away homosexuals because of their sexual status. These priests preach to love thy neighbor, but what message are they really sending. The government is who shapes these social norms and its unfortunate that in today’s society racism and prejudice...
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...strongly disagree with the majority’s point of view, they are influenced to carry out deviant acts to prove a point. Moral crusades may occur to fight back certain deviant acts or deviant people to try an bring back the social norm. A recent story has gone viral on the internet entitled Kony 2012. This video features a human rights activist group called the “Invisible Children” and their attempt to capture Joseph Kony, the founder of the LRA which is also known as the Lord’s Resistance Army. Jason Russell, the co-founder of Invisible Children, was the narrator of the viral Youtube video. In this video, he attempted to explain the purpose of Invisible Children and their main motive into tracking down the LRA and capturing Joseph Kony. According to an article posted on CNN’s website, Joseph Kony was labeled as a “specially designated global terrorist.” Evidence and years of research reveal that Joseph Kony began this group in an attempt to become a powerful political figure. He did this...
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...Growing a plant is a great way to develop a healthy habit as it allows a person to gain responsibility from taking care of the plant as well as being able to grow their own food. Growing food is a type of social norm that is often well received, in fact there almost seems to be a societal pressure to grow plants. Currently today there is a large movement towards being more ecologically friendly, whether it be by owning electric cars or growing your own food. Durkheim talked about societal pressures that exist in the world today, while first attributing him within Nineteenth Century France. Durkheim explains that social norms “I fulfil obligations which are defined in law and custom and which are external to myself and my actions” (Durkheim; pg. 1). The idea...
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...Each culture will have their own norms. It is best defined as behavior that is acceptable within a group, community or culture. What might be a norm for those of us that live in Missouri, would be abnormal behavior might get you ridiculed in other parts of the USA, or harmed in other countries. We are expected to sit quietly and listen in church, but get on our feet, get vocally loud and rowdy at sporting events. Some families eat super at the table, while talking and catching up on everyone’s day. Other families sit quietly during a meal. Any set of laws, or even house rules are the norm for that specific place. My company has two break/lunch room shared by all three shifts, which is about 400 people total. There are many norms in these rooms. The smaller breakroom is where the smokers go. Their norm is everyone talking, and laughing. They are a loud rowdy bunch. If you go in there, you will stick out like a sore thumb. The larger room-smokers sit tends to be real quiet, there isn’t a lot of socialization in the larger room. I quit smoking many years ago, but still go into the smaller breakroom at times, strictly for the social aspect. For my experiment I sat down at a table alone, in the larger quiet breakroom, early in the morning. I picked a time when it was as quiet as a graveyard to do my experiment. If any other conversations were going on it was in quiet hushed tones, which was the norm. I pulled out my cell phone and made a phone call. I spoke in a louder voice, laughing...
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...Adriana Torres Dr. Sean Laurent Psy 380 23 May 2015 PSY 380 – Psychology of Gender – Out of Class Assignment 2 Female 1: | * Masculine Traits: Strong, Confident, Loves sports | * Feminine Traits: Affectionate, Nurturing and Patient | Male 1: | * Masculine Traits: Dominant, House hold provider, | * Feminine Traits: Sensitive, Soft-Spoken, | Female 2: | * Masculine Traits: Athletic, Ambitious, Muscular | * Feminine Traits: Dependable, Shy, | Male 2: | * Masculine Traits: Dominant, Strong personality, | * Feminine Traits: Accepting, Loves children, Small Hands | Female 3: | * Masculine Traits: Independent, Self-Driven, Strong | * Feminine Traits: Loyal, Understanding, | Male 3: | * Masculine Traits: Driven, Hard Worker, | * Feminine Traits: Pleases others, Family orientated, Lover | To start off, for one’s own gender identity (i.e. femininity, masculinity) is considered to be described by how a person sees themselves as either masculine or feminine with the idea of how society views males and females to be. Gender roles, is different from gender identity, which are shared expectations of behavior given of one's gender. The concept of gender identity is also different from gender stereotypes, which are, shared views of personality traits often tied to one's gender. Gender identity is also different from gender attitudes that are the views of others or situations commonly associated with one's gender. In...
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