Breaking A Social Norm Essay

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Each day we, as humans, engage with one another in multiple social interactions. Through these encounters, we learn how to act in social situations and what types of acceptable behaviors we should abide by. When someone participates in unacceptable behaviors or aberrant behaviors in social situations, it triggers a moment of contemplation, or what I like to call an “Umm what?” moment. Often, I find myself unable to identify a plausible explanation for why an individual would violate what we have instituted as a norm, which are expectations or rules that society is encouraged to follow. When norms are violated, it is interesting to spot the outcomes or repercussions due to the violation, which is why I decided to conduct an experiment of myself …show more content…

Despite the initial awkwardness and embarrassment, I went around and conversed until we left for the game, and I received multiple strange looks. Throughout the afternoon, I couldn’t shake that gross feeling of my feet touching the ground without socks. Undoubtedly, this was an interesting experiment that delineates the impact of deviation from certain norms. If I had done this experiment in a different place, I would have likely received similar results which shows how impactful socialization can be when we don’t follow those norms. Throughout this experiment, I observed that several people looked differently and awkwardly. I then contemplated how those I find myself around may feel when I look at them if they don’t abide by social norms. Of course, they tried their best to not acknowledge the issue, but regardless, I could still sense their …show more content…

Of course, a majority of the people there were more interested in talking to their family members, so this isn’t a massive contributor to the reaction, but it’s still a contributing factor nonetheless. There are numerous amounts of deviant behaviors that are violated daily, but some can be potentially more dangerous than others. According to our book, “Deviance is a violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores, or codified law.” (Lumen, pg.3). I performed a deviant that was considered a folkway which is way less damaging than if I were to violate a more or even worse a taboo Reflecting on the experiment, I noticed how those around me were affected by my action. Although Katie did ask the question and it did create feelings of awkwardness, and besides all of the strange looks, I don’t think it affected as many people as I originally predicted it would. Almost everyone I encountered minded their own business after the initial shock of the deviance. All in all, while this experiment was humiliating, it was also creatively intriguing for

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