Breaking Social Norms Essay

Words: 990
Pages: 4

Social norms regulate day-to-day interactions between a person and their peers. They are not typically strayed from or easily altered, because these norms are what are known in a society. For my “breaking the norms” study, I chose to break the conversation location norm. It is widely understood that while using the restroom you do not carry on a conversation with the person beside you. You do not initiate a conversation with someone in the restroom, nor does a person (typically) reply to a question into any great depth. To break this norm, I waited inside a bathroom stall in HNS until another person went into the stall adjacent to mine. Once a person was in this stall, I would tap on the stall wall and just say an open-ended phrase, such as “hey man” or “how’s your day going,” to attempt to engage a stranger into having a …show more content…
We do not deviate from the norms that we have come to know throughout our life for a multitude of reasons, ranging from legal trouble to the judgment and disapproval from our peers. A deviant is defined as one who breaks decorum within a society, which can include ignoring figures of authority or acting in ways that are unacceptable to the majority of the people around us. Social norms are one of the most fundamental parts of our society. Each nation has their own personalized set of norms that can be viewed as peculiar by outsiders, but in the end, it is the best way that we all know how to live. The norms set in place in our society help maintain order, respect, as well as the freedom that we have been given. By going against the norms that you have been taught, you are putting yourself at risk for a loss of privilege, as well becoming ostracized from your surroundings. This study furthered my belief that the majority of people do fall into the “following the norms” category in our society in order to remain as camouflaged as humanly