Analysis Of Folkway

Folkway are the learned behavior, shared by a social group, that provides a traditional mode of conduct. The American sociologist William Graham Sumner, coined the term, and explained that folkways are social conventions that are not considered to be of moral significance by members of the group (e.g., customary behavior for use of silver ware) (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014).
The folkways of groups, just like habits of people, stem from the frequent repetition of acts that prove successful for satisfying basic human needs. These uniform acts are widely accepted. Folkways operate primarily at an unconscious level and persist because they are expedient. They tend to group themselves around major social concerns, such as sex, forming social institutions

If it is a dinner date, then it does not seem to happen just as quickly as if it is just a drink date. These quiet moments are when it usually becomes awkward and either it leads to a quick end of the date or the guy starts asking me why I am staring at him. Of course, before I learned about cultural norms and folkways I never understood this question and quite frankly the question used to make me feel uncomfortable. Germans generally do not smile all the time like most Americans do, it is not because we are in a bad mood, angry or rude, it is just not part of our cultural norm to use facial expressions or hide behind a fake smile or in order to appear extra friendly. There is a distinction in demeanor between interacting with a stranger or a person considered a friend. The request made for me to smile and the looks of caution I receive because I do not wear a smile at all times left me often a bit confused. Thinking to myself, why am I asked not to stare or to smile (on command)? I suppose the gentleman I am conversing with can read my facial expression yet does not necessarily decipher it in the way it was intended. By now we are both uncomfortable and the conversation slows to a halt. In the past I have often wondered if I have used a wrong word, a word with a different interpretation than he has, which is not uncommon when one speaks the language as mother tongue

Now I can finally analyze it while I am looking at it in retrospect. There are many difference in folkway between the German and the American culture. Holding constant eye contact is just one of the many ones I now recognize. For instance, one hand in your lap while the other hand is used to eat, versus using both hands utilizing fork and knife simultaneously. The custom that the person entering a room is the one who greets (good morning) first. I can now also see why some former superiors of mine thought of me as deviant and responded according to his perception. Yet neither said superiors nor myself knew better and therefor no one is at fault.
The study of Sociology has helped me see the cultural differences even more clearly and I am confident that I can apply the acquired knowledge to achieve better result and more comfortable situations in the future. There is a lot of truth to the saying “Never assume, always ask when in doubt (unknown author/ unknown