Field Project 3: Norm Breaching Experiment
Huan Pham 11/19/17
A society is enriched with cultural values and norms. Therefore, members of the mentioned society subsequently and collectively follow the written and unwritten rules in order to be functional members of their society. Because every society has an exclusive set of rules that is different from each other, how a society functions is going to be different from each other as well.
According to the sociologist Dalton C. Conley, a culture is composed of values, norms, and practices that are shared among the members of that society (Conley 78). With the concepts of culture, members and groups can define themselves, conform to shared beliefs and practices, and be functional members of society. Cultural norms are defined as the unspoken rules that dictate what are acceptable behaviors in order to establish a social foundation. Therefore, anyone that violates these unspoken rules is considered as a social deviant. Although informal deviance is not punishable by laws because they are minor violations, they still elicit …show more content…
We interpret showing respect in social interactions as a cultural value, so we enforce that belief by practicing certain behaviors as a cultural norm (Conley 90). As members of the American society, we engage in social interactions with other members by systematically facing each other and making eye contact. I was interested to observe what would happen if this formulated interaction was changed. In order to breach this cultural norm and be an informal deviant, I conducted a study by engaging in conversations with participants while facing the other direction with my back turned toward them. I continued our conversations normally, acted like nothing was wrong, and noted the reactions of the
Huan Pham 11/19/17
A society is enriched with cultural values and norms. Therefore, members of the mentioned society subsequently and collectively follow the written and unwritten rules in order to be functional members of their society. Because every society has an exclusive set of rules that is different from each other, how a society functions is going to be different from each other as well.
According to the sociologist Dalton C. Conley, a culture is composed of values, norms, and practices that are shared among the members of that society (Conley 78). With the concepts of culture, members and groups can define themselves, conform to shared beliefs and practices, and be functional members of society. Cultural norms are defined as the unspoken rules that dictate what are acceptable behaviors in order to establish a social foundation. Therefore, anyone that violates these unspoken rules is considered as a social deviant. Although informal deviance is not punishable by laws because they are minor violations, they still elicit …show more content…
We interpret showing respect in social interactions as a cultural value, so we enforce that belief by practicing certain behaviors as a cultural norm (Conley 90). As members of the American society, we engage in social interactions with other members by systematically facing each other and making eye contact. I was interested to observe what would happen if this formulated interaction was changed. In order to breach this cultural norm and be an informal deviant, I conducted a study by engaging in conversations with participants while facing the other direction with my back turned toward them. I continued our conversations normally, acted like nothing was wrong, and noted the reactions of the