A societal norm can be either a formal or informal rule regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable or appropriate within a culture. A formal norm is a law or something that is written down and could cause danger to people. An informal norm is a rule that is not written down and unspoken. For example, an informal norm can be making someone feel uncomfortable by standing too close them and a formal norm can be running red lights. For this paper, I will explain what I did to break an informal norm, the reactions of those people around me, and how I felt while doing this.
The informal norm that I did for this paper was standing too close to people in the RAB elevator at Neumann University. I take this elevator three times a week for class …show more content…
I personally am not racist but I tend to overhear conversations at times. For my norm violation, race, gender, and social class many have played a role. A person who is of a different race may have caused the stranger in the elevator to become a lot more comfortable. If the person is wearing something that their culture makes them wear it can also cause more of a reaction. When you usually do not see something, as usual, it can be very strange. Gender may not have a major influence on this norm. If the other person in the elevator was of the opposite sex, awkwardness may come into play. People who tend to be very shy may not try to come in contact with people of the opposite sex. Lastly, the social class will also play a role. Someone who tends to be a lower class than we are, we tend to ignore. We may think they are trying to take something from us. If someone is a higher class than us, we will not think that. We may believe that are very nice people and we do not have much to worry about. For this norm violation paper, I enjoyed breaking a norm and seeing others reactions. I would have never stood close to someone in such a small space before but now I am able to see reactions of others. I can tend to get a general view of how other people may think. There are times when people get annoyed very easily and then there are those people that may laugh at the same thing. Everyone has a different reaction to everything and this paper lets me see
The informal norm that I did for this paper was standing too close to people in the RAB elevator at Neumann University. I take this elevator three times a week for class …show more content…
I personally am not racist but I tend to overhear conversations at times. For my norm violation, race, gender, and social class many have played a role. A person who is of a different race may have caused the stranger in the elevator to become a lot more comfortable. If the person is wearing something that their culture makes them wear it can also cause more of a reaction. When you usually do not see something, as usual, it can be very strange. Gender may not have a major influence on this norm. If the other person in the elevator was of the opposite sex, awkwardness may come into play. People who tend to be very shy may not try to come in contact with people of the opposite sex. Lastly, the social class will also play a role. Someone who tends to be a lower class than we are, we tend to ignore. We may think they are trying to take something from us. If someone is a higher class than us, we will not think that. We may believe that are very nice people and we do not have much to worry about. For this norm violation paper, I enjoyed breaking a norm and seeing others reactions. I would have never stood close to someone in such a small space before but now I am able to see reactions of others. I can tend to get a general view of how other people may think. There are times when people get annoyed very easily and then there are those people that may laugh at the same thing. Everyone has a different reaction to everything and this paper lets me see