Cultural Norms Research Paper

Where and how a person grows up can formulate cultural norms. Cultural norms are well-established behaviors that are accepted by a certain culture or society (Babin, Harris). Each state, country, and nation have their own set of cultural norms.
More broadly speaking, anyone who lives in the United States has a cultural norm of being very casual and informal. This is most prominent in how we speak and dress. For instance, I work I call my boss by her first name and we have conversations pertaining to each other personal life. In other countries, it would be unacceptable to refer your boss as anything but, Mr. and Mrs.(Last Name). Likewise, crossing the line of work and personal life is highly frowned upon in many other countries. In addition, American tend to dress very casually. A majority of offices do not require their employees to dress up. Moreover, most schools do …show more content…
Anyone who is not from around is confused as to why there are Dunkins’ on every corner. However, this is drastically different from someone who is from Seattle, where Starbucks is the cultural norm. Another personal cultural norm is wearing yoga pants. For me and several other females, it is completely normal to go out in public and shop while wearing yoga pants or workout wear. Other states, countries, or cultures may find this weird. They may believe yoga pants is not an acceptable arrie to wear in public. However, in Massachusetts yoga pants are highly accepted, so much so, that people even wear them to work. Thus, this goes back to America’s informal cultural norm.
Cultural norms can be seen in almost all aspects of society. However, sometimes if a person breaks these cultural norms they experience a penalty. The punishment for acting in a way that breaks their culture’s consistent behavior is referred to as a cultural sanction (Babin,