He waved hello to me and every passing car and person he saw which subsequently made me smile. After going to the store for some pancake mix and syrup, I drove past the same old man, now returning to his home. He continued to wave at every passing person and vehicle. This is a rare siting in the United States since we take personal space very seriously. Most of us go out of the way to avoid touching, talking, or making eye contact with people on the street or at public places. This occurs because we were shaped to understand the importance of space. Another violation that I observed was in the women’s restroom on the Bakersfield campus. When I entered the restroom there was clearly a long line; some people were being conscious of this and hurriedly did their tasks to clear the way for the next person. However, not everyone complied. They was a small group of girls stationed themselves in front of a mirror and sink; they lasted a while in doing their hair and makeup while there were other girls waiting to wash their hands. This is a bathroom etiquette norm violation in which the girls were unable to realize that other people need to quickly use the sink and make room for the others waiting in line. When norms are broken, there can be serious negative sanctions which in turn can cause problems within the …show more content…
Beginning in the 1600s, much of Europe, and later the United States, were influences by the French Royal Court’s etiquette guidelines. By the early nineteenth century the United States used etiquette as a way to distinguish social class; the upper class properly represented the values of society while the lower class lacked correct representation of United States values. Eventually, after the invention of the automobile and creation of the suburban household, the norms and values loosened (Herschman). I formulated an experiment that contained two settings and two different types of social groups. The first was a primary group composed of my family members and another was a secondary group consisting of Bakersfield College students. For my experiment, my friend Diana and I sat in a round table located at the Bakersfield College cafeteria. These tables are shared amongst the students and occasionally different social groups sit in the same table due to a shortage of seats. I took the decision to perch us in a relatively full table. Hence began the experiment. I proceeded to have a conversation with Diana while simultaneously trying to chew and speak with my mouth opened and periodically spit a small amount of food onto the table; Diana was observing reaction the students showed while I continued to break a social norm. By breaking this social norm, I was