Social Norms Case Study

All around the world, people have set ways that they form automatically called, social norms. In my case study, I overcame the barriers of social norms and performed an experiment. The experiment consisted of me purchasing flowers to provide for people. I would go up to complete strangers and bombard them with kindness and offer them the flower. The method that I used to choose my experimental subject was by picking random people that I spotted gloomy. I tried to decrease the racial tension, so I chose a variety of people from different backgrounds. My purpose was to violate the standard of non-communication and commit random acts of kindness. You don’t see this in usual circumstances because people shopping, tend to be very reserved and offer …show more content…
Also due to the era we are living in, due to my appearance of being Muslim, I believed I would receive hostility. During the experiment, I realized all what I believed previously was proved false. It made me realize people are not all the same. A lot of people that I talked to were very amiable and appreciated the kind gesture. The reactions that I received, encompassed of people delighted to be complemented. It made me happy also, because I got to see the smiles on peoples’ faces. Something interesting did occur during my experiment, there was a woman that did not take the flower. It was actually a very humorous experience. She could not speak very good english, so she just told me, no. I was astonished and then she used non-verbal communication to present, she was allergic. Out of all the experimental responses, I did not expect this. I proceeded on with the experiment and complimented her like usual. I realized during the experiment that there was a pattern in the reactions. People would often be astonished and confused at first. As I progressed the conversation with them, they would become more comfortable with what was happening. Afterwards, I realized the importance of breaking social norms. I realized it is sometimes more beneficial to defy social barriers because it creates a more unified world. It allows people to