Norms

Explore the power of norms. Conduct a short experiment where you break a norm (one in which doing so does not put you or others in any physical danger or break any laws – either in the school or the general community) and analyze people’s reaction to you. For example, wear pajamas to classes one day (after receiving permission from your professors to do so) or visibly eat an awkward food combination (such as peanut butter and tomato sandwiches) in the presence of others. In writing your paper: 1) Write a brief introduction discussing the importance of norms, their place in society and how their perception relates to concepts such as ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, etc. 2) Describe your experiment — what norm did you break? How did you do it? When did you do it? Where? Who was around? 3) Record people’s reactions to you – Did others look at you oddly? Did they behave in any specific way (shy away, make comments, etc.) 4) Analyze their reaction – What was the meaning behind their reaction? How did you feel about their reaction? Did their reaction affect YOUR behavior (or would it have if you honestly broke this norm, instead of for a class experiment)? 5) Conclusion – tie the results of this experiment to what you learned about norms and sanctions. Were the results as you expected? Why or why not do you think this is the case?

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