Social Norm Observation

1. What social setting did you observe? What are the social norms within that setting? I observed the social setting of the library. Specifically, the third floor. The 3rd floor in the library has many social norms. You are encouraged to keep conversation to a whisper, take phone calls to the stair wells, no picking your nose, no burping, no farting, etc. Also, you’re expected to use the chairs and tables for their intended use. For example, I could break a social norm by using a desk as a bed.

2. Describe the social norm that you violated and how you actually violated that norm.

I violated the social norms of keeping conversations to a whisper and not taking phone calls in populated areas. I performed this experiment at noon on a

How did others react to you when you violated this norm? Were the reactions positive or negative?

I received negative sanctions. I received plenty of dirty looks and had two people “shhh” me. I even had one person come up to me and say something like, “it sounds like you’re having a rough day, but we don’t want to hear about it.”. I did see one group of people laughing after looking at me, which I take as a negative reaction. I only observed negative reactions to my violation of a social norm.

4. How did you feel when violating this norm? Why did you feel this way?

I felt embarrassed and rude. My face was probably bright red while I was talking on the phone, which is from being embarrassed. I felt rude, because I was distracting people and disrupting their studying. I felt embarrassed, because I stuck out. I wasn’t blending in with crowd, I was intentionally trying to stand out and violate a norm.

5. How has this experience shaped your understanding of social norms and social structure? What role do social norms play in society? How/why are norms important? What would happen if there were no social

I understand violating a norm can have a variety of reactions from others. It also made me understand that norms are important to social structure, because they help maintain expected and accepted behaviors. Norms “establish standards of behavior maintained by society”. If everyone was disruptive in the library, less people would go there to study. Mores are very important to society, because they are necessary to the welfare of society. For example, the more of do not murder, helps society maintain order. If everyone was murdering and raping each other, society would be unable to function properly. If there were no social norms, there would be ultimately be chaos and it would be hard to know how to socially interact with each