Social Norms in Society

1041 Words3 Pages

There are many things that influence our behavior from internal influences to social norms. Social norms are implicit or explicit rules that govern how we behave in society (Maluso, class notes). Social norms influence our behavior more than any of us realize but we all notice when a norm has been broken. Breaking a social norm is not an easy task and often leads us feeling uncomfortable whether we broke the norm ourselves or witnessed someone else breaking it. Sometimes however, you just have to break a norm to see what happens. One big implicit social norm involves personal space. In our society it is implicitly know that you give people enough space when waiting in line or when sitting next to them as not to invade their personal bubble. I thought it would be particularly interesting to see what people did the moment you crossed that “bubble line.” Periodically throughout the day I would intrude upon people’s bubbles. For varied results, this occurred in classrooms, the elevator, the lunch line, the lunch table, and at work. During classes and at lunch I would move my chair really close to that of the person next to me. While in the lunch line and in the elevator I would stand really close to the person, even if there was plenty of space to spread out. At work, again I stood really close to the person when talking to them. The reactions of people when you break a social norm can vary quite drastically. Sometimes the reactions are quite large and other times they are rather subtle. The reactions typically vary based on what norm you break and how strong of a norm it is. In the case of invading people’s personal space, I did not receive and intense reactions. All of the reactions I received were subtle. Not ma... ... middle of paper ... ...people shift away from someone too close they give a disapproving look. We seek out behaviors that will provide us with reinforcement and approval. Following the norm of giving personal space provides both for us. Social norms are really important to our society’s functioning. If certain norms were not followed it is almost certain chaos would ensue. Not only do we follow social norms in order to prevent chaos, we also follow them to avoid the consequences of not following them, especially if the functional perspective is accurate. On occasion though, breaking subtle norms that we may not think about often can prove to have interesting results. References Cialdini, Robert B, & Trost, Melanie R. (1998). Social Influence: Social Norms, Conformity, & Compliance. Interpersonal Phenomena. Retrieved from: angel.elmira.edu/section/default.asp?id=w114_PSY3010_01.

Show More
Related

  • Social Norm Breaching Experiment

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1950s and 60s Harold Garfinkle developed a method for studying social interactions. He formed ethnomethodology, which is studying the methods of people. In other words, ethnomethodology is the study of social norms. (p. 139, Conley) Most of us follow social norms unconsciously. It can be difficult to go against a social norm. The purpose of the project was to conduct a breaching experiment against social normalities. For this experiment, I chose to go an entire day whispering every word I spoke. I chose to violate this norm because it is socially unacceptable to whisper in a normal conversation. Throughout this paper, I will explain the methods and the results of this breaching experiment

    Read More

  • The Doing Nothing: Societal Norm

    295 Words  | 1 Pages

    Societal norms are ultimately the sociological expectations for our society. So, when people see somebody standing in the middle of a crowded public place doing nothing, they are going to take notice. I realized that while standing in the middle of the mall where many people

    Read More

  • Social Deviance Experiment

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    LET'S SIT RIGHT BACK AND HEAR A TALE, A TALE OF A FATEFUL TRIP, THAT STARTED ON THIS DESERT ISLE, ON THIS TINY SHIP.... WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF AFLOAT IN THIS OCEAN OF PEOPLE, IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO KICK UP A STORM AND CAPSIZE. FOR AN ENTIRE DAY I WAS A ONE MAN TROPICAL DEPRESSION. MY PARTNER AND I WANDERED AROUND TOWN WITH ONLY A GOAL OF INVADING OTHERS' PERSONAL SPACE. THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WE CROWDED PEOPLE AT PAYPHONES, SAT NEXT TO PEOPLE ON PARK BENCHES, SNUGGLED UP TO SINGLE RIDERS ON ELEVATORS, BROKE THE LAW OF URINAL ETIQUETTE ABD GENERALLY ANNOYED PEOPLE IN A LIBRARY. WITH THE PAYPHONE WE MADE THE INITIAL DECISION TO ALTERNATE, MY PARTNER BEING FEMALE AND I MALE, TO ALSO SEE THE DIFFERENCE RESPONSES TO MALE VS. FEMALE INTRUSION. WE WOULD ALTERNATELY WALK UP TO AND STAND BESIDE THE KIOSK OR BOOTH. WE MADE A DRAMATIC DEMONSTRATION OF NOT LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION BY DIGGING THROUGH PURSE OR WALLET OR TOEING AROUND SOME IMAGINARY OBJECT ON THE GROUND. ON PARK BENCHES WE USED THE SAME IDEA. WE ONLY STUCK OURSELVES INTO THE SITUATION IF THERE WAS ONLY A SOLO RIDER AND ENOUGH ROOM FOR US TO HAVE STOOD A DISTANCE AWAY. CROWDING SOMEONE IN AN EMPTY 10' X 8' ELEVATOR OR PLOPPING DOWN NEXT TO SOMEONE ON A PARK BENCH SURROUNDED BY FOUR TO FIVE EMPTY BENCHES SEEMED TO SHOW THE MOST DRAMATIC RESPONSE. WE DECIDED THAT THE RULES NORMALLY ADHERED TO IN A LIBRARY SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITION OF PERSONAL SPACE, JUST THAT THE SPACE HAD BEEN EXPANDED IN SIZE AND WIDENED TO INCLUDED SOUND PRODUCED BY ANOTHER. MY PARTNER SET HER CELL PHONE AND PAGER IN FRONT OF HER O A TABLE, SLID HER HEADPHONES INTO PLACE TO MAKE IT EASIER TO IGNORE BOTH AND SAT THERE. I MOVED TO THE STACK AREA AND CALLED HER PAGER AND PHONE REPEATEDLY. THE MOST QUESTIONABLE WAYS TO TEST PERSONAL SPACE WERE MINE, ASSUMING THEY WERE ALSO THE EASIEST TO DRAW VIOLENCE. I SPENT AN HOUR INSIDE THE THE WALK IN LOBBY OF A BANK IN THE DAYLIGHT AND AGAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT GETTING WHAT WAS EVIDENTLY TOO CLOSE TO PEOPLE USING ATM MACHINES. THE LAST DEVIANT ACT WITHIN THE REALM OF PERSONAL SPACE WAS DONE ONCE AND ONLY ONCE. WITHIN A BANK OF SEVEN URINALS IN A RESTROOM, I WAITED FOR ONE TO BE USED (THE FAR RIGHT WAS PICKED), THEN MOVED TO THE SECOND FROM THE RIGHT.

    Read More

  • Breaking Experiment Essay

    2113 Words  | 5 Pages

    Breaking those norms made me feel extremely out of place and rude. They made me feel that way because I knew what I was doing wasn't socially right and people would get mad or be rude to me with their reactions. For the most part throughout my experiment, most people reacted the way I thought they would. You could tell that most people felt awkward or uncomfortable while breaking the norm. I faced a couple of difficulties during my assignment when it came to violating the social norms.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Norm Violations

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our society has programmed us in such a way that we create values that pertain to our unique culture and social life. Norm violations sometimes make people feel uncomfortable, ashamed or embarrassed whether they themselves are violating a norm or witnessing someone violate one. The reactions people have during committing a norm or viewing someone do so is what makes it a violation. The feelings and reactions themselves can be a type of sanction whether it is a positive sanction or negative sanction. Negative sanctions are described as, “expressions of approval given to people for upholding norms or expressions of disapproval for violating them” (Henslin, 2015, p.49).

    Read More

  • A Sociology Breaching Experiment

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    When someone goes against something that everyone around expects he or she to act, it’s called norms violations. In other words, that person is doing something which is unacceptable to society or culture. In this sociology breaching experiment, I chose to violate a social norm in public areas – cutting a line without asking, so to observe what people acted and how they responded. I decided to go to Safeway and tried being a line cutter without asking anybody. If they asked me why I did it, I simply replied to them that I did not feel like either wanting to wait or getting in a line. By acknowledging that norms are quite essential in our society, I was aware that our society will have no foundation to stand if there is no norm. Cutting a line while others are queuing is a part of our social routine; even though I was kind of embarrassed, I got a chance to learn different kinds of

    Read More

  • Social Faux Pas: Violation Of A Social Faux Pas

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    This entailed looking at not only of what was said in class of violating social norms, but the intriguing manifestation of norm violations occurring not just for psychological research but for social entertainment. This brought to mind not only a multitude of questions, mostly consisting of whether or not the normalcy of abnormal behavior was influenced by the behavior seen on television or not, but that perhaps with this new research I could hypothesis in what to expect from the general public in my norm violation. From what the research has exhibited the reactions of people would alter from shock, humor, or interest over the individual committing the social disturbance. I also found that it depended upon the place these actions were committed as well as the people doing them. If the individual was a woman she would most likely be a lot less excepted by the incident and the responses of the people were not only the prescribed shock but then followed by displeasure or disgust by passerby 's. However, if the individual was a man the audience or surrounding people were often more excepting of the violation and after the shock wore off people often laughed or exhibited humor in the situation. In coming to my own conclusions as this was not necessarily part of the assignment, I decided that perhaps this behavior attributed to the idea that "Boys will be Boys" and that men are the more accepted aggressive and humorous

    Read More

  • What is Social Norm?

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    From what I understand, the norm is not something as the constitution, but more like the social morality. This is easier to do; I don’t need to try to do something weird because I already had many experiences like that. I’m sure many people have done something anybody think that was normal, however it turns out something so stupid that makes them embarrassed a lot every time they recall about it. With my personality, I have no sense for what people call normal, for instance, about fashion, entertainment or something like that, I means something about the way of life of the modern young people. The unchangeable mistake I always have whenever I hang out with my friend every time in a while is my sense in fashion. I usually just wear the pants I used to go to school or go out to do something, and wear a shirt inside and a jacket outside if I feel cold; I am pretty sensitive to the cold even in the summer. So the reaction I always received from my friend is a good laugh from them. To tell the truth, I have so used to it to the extent I don’t even feel trouble by it anymore for it is just...

    Read More

  • Violating A Social Norm Essay

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    The daunting task of violating a social norm, something that I could be ostracized and ridiculed for, I still chose to do. Social norms are the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society. Doing weird things in public while surrounded by strangers is a recipe for disaster, especially for somebody like myself. I am awkward and have plenty of trouble talking to new people. Most of us are told not to talk to strangers when we are younger because there are all sorts of crazy people out there. There could not be a better way to break out of my shell and violate a social norm than to sit down and talk to total strangers while they eat.

    Read More

  • Social Norms Definition

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    The objective of this paper is to discuss Social Norms and their impact on Social Action. To start, we will be defining what social action is, which Weber says that “Action is “social” insofar as its subjective meaning takes account of the behaviours of others and is thereby oriented in its course.” (Basic Sociological Terms [BST], p. 103). What this simply means is that not all action taken is social, any act that takes the account of how other individuals will react or behave to the action is defined to be social. An example of social action is when telling a joke in a group of friends, the individual says this joke which accounts for the dynamic of the group, its appropriateness, whether the group is the target audience for said joke, and if the delivery is right. A joke that displays the sport of hockey in an ill manner may not be appropriate to a group of people watching the

    Read More

  • Examples Of Breaking Social Norms

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    I chose to break a social norm by sitting/ laying on the floor of an aisle in a grocery store, engaging in deviant behavior, instead of shopping for groceries. Sitting on the floor of a grocery store is a case of deviant behavior because it goes against society by breaking the norm. Because the standard behavior of people in a grocery store is to walk and look around, with usually a basket or cart, shopping for desired items, the expected response of others would be feeling uncomfortable, awkward, and confused. Upon performing my act of social deviance, numerous people demonstrated the anticipated reaction. As people turned down the aisle, I occupied, conversations died down to whispers or stopped altogether. Of the people who questioned me on my

    Read More

  • Social Conformity

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human beings are defined as ''social animals'' because in every aspects of life they live together, they form a variety of groups and improve relationships with each other. Interaction with others is a natural result of living in society. In the process of interaction, society and its rules has a social impact on each individual. If people face with any kind of social impact such as group pressure, great part of them show conformity by changing their behaviors, ideas, decisions in expected way. A person conforms if he or she chooses a course of action that a majority favors or that is socially acceptable. Some kind of conformity is natural and socially healthy but obeying all the norms, ideas, and decisions without thinking or accepting is harmful for the society and its democratic norms....

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Conformity In Modern Society

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the analysis of society in today's times, the motives of social change, control, and conformity provides the basis of how society controls human behavior. The ideals and expectations place onto people in modern society are established through means of control where people are expected to behave within a spectrum of normality and what society deems as acceptable behavior. Forms of social influence as simple as peer pressure and wanting to fit in transform into major controls of society like laws, law enforcement officers and the government as a whole. The way that people make sense of their environment is through formed first impressions, interpretations of other people's behavior and how that behavior affects their attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions of other types of people. The overall impact of these ideas on individuals shows how conformity, persuasion, stereotypes, and culture affect how society maintains and changes social norms.

    Read More

  • Essay On Personal Space

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... Thus, there are strict boundaries that exist regarding personal space when a culture itself is strict in its views. Strict or relaxed, all human beings are part of the human race, the largest “community” consisting of every culture and every country. And in this human race, individuals thrive on interaction with others. However, this interaction is affected by one’s experiences in a community.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Group Dynamics

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Norms tend to guide the group. Even unknowingly, members act within the norms established. Staying within these boundaries, which become ingrained in their behavior patterns, the group becomes equipped accomplish its goals. While group norms may help a group progress towards its goal, some norms may also hinder the group from working together

    Read More

More about Social Norms in Society

Open Document