Defying Social Norm

Deviance is an act that goes against the social norms such as rules or expectations. It can be something small such as running through the stop signs or it can be something big such as hijacking an airplane. Deciding if the act is deviant or not depends on the context (society, environment, etc.). According to Howard S. Becker, it is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act that, makes something deviant. Deviance is not a word that is used for judging people, but it is used to refer to an act to which people respond negatively. Norms vary among different cultural groups, therefore, one deviant act in one group might not be deviant to another. For example, it will be considered deviant or going against the norm if someone decided to

The concept of Sociological Perspective of Deviance also known as “rule-breaking” behavior or “counter culture” can be defined as culture norms, values, and morals which shape the social acceptance of individuals or group through their actions or “unmoral or illegal” behavior.

For my breaching social norm experiment I was determined to do something I would never do even if it was a dare, especially since my ability to interact with strangers is not the best. So, I decided to make people feel uncomfortable by holding their hand. What I would do is walk up to the person from behind and slowly make my way to their hand to make them feel even more uncomfortable. People normally hold hands with their significant other, or with someone they know like a friend or family member, so to be holding hands with a stranger is out of the ordinary and awkward.

I brainstormed and contemplated about what social norm I should break in order to achieve this assignment. I fathom the idea that some social norms and expectations would be quite difficult to accomplish. Surprisingly, without much thought I knew exactly what norm I wanted to break. I decided to break the well known concept that each gender must go to the restroom in their designated restroom area. I planned on starting the assignment by choosing a few public restrooms in which I would enter the men’s restroom. That particular behavior breaks a social norm because with most public restrooms; genders are separated by signs or names. Thus, there should be no reason why men or women end up going into the same restroom. I personally believe that

In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. For example, it is proper to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at 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 common to people is a social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

Lets start by understanding that cultures are a melting pot of people’s beliefs, language, behaviors, values, material objects, and norms. Norms are written and non-written “expectations of behavior” that govern a certain location, place, or culture (26). These norms also vary from culture to culture meaning what is a norm in the U.S may not be a norm in India. For example, a norm in America would be tipping a waiter after a meal. Another would be acknowledging someone as you walk past him or her, typically done at work or in a public place. In all, norms are folkways, mores, taboos, and written laws that are an established standard of one’s behavior.

An example of this is when I walked past an older woman and asked, “Hey, how’s it going?” and she smiled and replied, “I’m good” versus when I passed a group of young girls ignored me when I asked them how it was going. When comparing the responses between genders not much was found. Both males and females were friendly and open, but some males and females also ignored the question or gave a weird look. What was most noticeable was if the stranger was with a group or not.

Cultures around the world have their own set of behaviors and actions that are considered acceptable and appropriate to humanity. Because of the differences between cultures, some may experience the idea of deviance without realizing they are doing so. The term deviance is any behavior that violates rules or cultural norms. A norm is a social expectation that guide human behavior. When one violates cultural practices, he or she may seems like everything would be okay but there are people who may not be appreciate of such behaviors and/or think that one is acting social norm. Understanding culture practices require one to be involved and participating in the culture. Sometime the best method to truly comprehend a practice is to act upon it and realized that it may or may be “right” behavior within a particular culture.

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

In our society we have a number of norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. It is “proper” to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humour, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about simply being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means a standard or representative value for a group. A social norm is some sort of an expectation that our society has that is deemed normal by that society; they tell us which behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given

I went to Khan el-Khalili on a Friday afternoon and it was about 40 degrees. My plan was to observe the different reactions between the people in the Egyptian souk and the people around the goldsmith’s shops and Naguib Mahfouz coffee shop, to my norm breaking outfit. I planned to stay an hour in each area. I chose to wear a very heavy wool jacket and a pair of Uggs, (calf-high boots made of heavy wool) with a pair of jeans and winter accessories. My expectations were that people would laugh and I wasn’t sure if they would insult me in the Egyptian souk or not. I thought the foreigners would also laugh but probably not insult me.

If social norms were ranged in a spectrum, at one end of the spectrum are critical norms for society, while on the opposite end of the spectrum are insignificant norms or minor norms. Though, norms can be classified differently by individuals, what might be a minor norm to one, might be critical to the other. When observing social norms in display on the spectrum they are subtle, however, when individuals cross the line and violate the norm they become fully aware of its existence. David G. Myers and Jean M. Twenge (2013), authors of Social Psychology, state, “In trying to break with social constraints, we suddenly realize how strong they are”(p. 170). By realizing the difficulty to violate the norm, it demonstrates the power that norms have upon individuals. Norm violation might be difficult to violate since individuals tend to conform

I decided to break a social norm in my house by asking my parents for their permission before doing anything in my own house, for example I would ask to use the restroom or if it was okay for me to get a drink. I only asked for permission to preform those two tasks. After a day it was very obvious to everyone in my home that something was going on with me, but when confronted about what I was doing by my family I refused to conform to their group pressure and inform them. Everyone in my household urged me to conform and stop asking such ridiculous questions; conformity is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. Examples of conformity can be found everyday in life from the way we dress to the way we talk, a specific example is when one persons’ clapping

At a very early age, children learn about social norms to help them become proper citizens in society. Examples of some social norms that students learn are: “do not yell in the library,” “do not speak unless spoken to,” “do not talk to strangers,” and “close the door when you use the restroom.” As you grow older, these rules become unspoken because everyone knows how to act like a proper individual in society. The textbook definition of a social norm is something that is a rule of behavior that society accepts. (Bicchieri) Since everyone knows these unsaid rules of society, what would happen when someone decides not to follow these rules? What would people think and react? In this paper, I discuss my violation of the social norm “don’t talk to strangers” and discuss what I learned from this experiment.

The violation of the social norm can be meant to be utilized as a way of sustaining power, position, and influence of a specific group of people or organizations. In most cultures, the idea of deviance is based on the values, deeds, and beliefs that are achieved through interaction among people that have influence in the society and from the understanding that culture is passed on from member to member. Societies are also comprised of the subculture and the culture itself. The huge cultural forces depict what deeds are appreciated and which are unaccepted or discouraged. On the other hand, the subculture in a certain setting creates a resistance to the dominating culture and in doing so, they give a hand in the behavior that violates the large culture social norms. Therefore, the deviation from the cultural norms can be attributed to the social classes and financial classes. For example, prostitution in regions of the developing world is deviant in most cultures, however poverty pressure pushes young girls toward it for survival.