Every society has its own set of norms. Norms are simple guidelines that indicate morally acceptable social behavior. Norms form the basis of collective expectations that members of a community have for each other. They also play a crucial role in social control and order by exerting pressure on individuals to conform. Indeed, social norms influence peoples’ social behavior based on their culture. Culture provides members of a community with symbols of their basic concerns, principles, ethics, and bodies of manners, rituals, ideologies, strategies, and tactics for self-survival. It also refers to the way human beings give logic to the world right from birth via gestures, the tone of voice, noises, colors, smells, and body contact.
Culture remains a critical tool for shaping people’s knowledge, belief, art, morals, customs, values, and norms. In every society, there are deviances which imply the deviation from social norms. A society’s culture determines what is considered deviant and what is acceptable. According to McDonald , (2015) one’s personality is composed of self-awareness and self-image which manifests through social interaction. The author assumes that the self-develops only through social interaction, which involves the exchange of symbols. A person’s ability to understand these symbols depends on whether they are familiar with them or not. Symbolic interaction tends to focus on the language and symbols that are used to give meaning to human experiences.
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Examined in this paper are the various ways in which people violate norms in areas such as, in the washrooms, public places, elevators, classroom, on the phone and in the dining area. I began my breaches in the school bathrooms by talking to others in the bathroom while they were busy. By so doing I did put everyone else in the bathroom in a position where they were forced out of their comfort zones, and they had to adjust to the abnormal situation. They responded by asking me to shut up give them peace and let them continue with their business. Personally, I felt awkward as one cannot concentrate. I tried the same breach in public bathroom and asked strangers to hand me their toilet paper. Their reaction was similar to that of my fellow students; they ended by telling me to style up and know how to handle my business.
In public I choose to ask strangers if I can cut in a line at an A.T.M they asked why I needed to do so, and I told them that I did not really feel like waiting for a long time. In response, they had mixed reactions as the men thought that I was arrogant and inconsiderate while the two ladies present seemed to be shocked at my request and the answers I gave. I tried the same breach at a convenient store and by the time I got to the cashier I started making small talks about the weather among other things. Those present felt annoyed; one lady told me that she had a rough day and that I should not insult her by wasting her time. Others had varied reactions, some were annoyed, others amused, and some ladies thought I was hilarious. On the other hand, others were just plain confused. Personally, it did not feel right to disregard other people as it disturbed the existing orderliness, feeling guilty and ashamed all the same time.
I exercised another breach during dinner in a restaurant and brought my phone with me. The phone rang, and I had a conversation that was very loud Tankard, (2016) which made it difficult for those present to enjoy their meals. In a different restaurant, I ordered food that was not on the menu. When the waiter tried to explain that they do not offer the dish, I became rude and then apologized and shifted to rude again. The reactions of those dining in the two different restaurants had varied responses as some left the restaurant without ordering anything. Others. However, asked to be moved to another table while others found the behavior so unbearable that they did not say anything to those they were dining with. I was sanctioned by the restaurant manager, who asked me to lower my voice because I was disturbing the rest of the customers. Some of the customers began to call me names and became very offensive. A friend of mine whispered that they would never go to a public place with me again. Although I did not receive any punishment for breaking the social norm, the sanction I received from the manager, made me feel like an outcast because I did not behave in the way that was expected of me.
Additionally, I took a breach of littering an entrance to a public hall. With a bag full of litter, I started walking along the entrance of the hall trashing it with used papers, empty packets of used household goods by throwing one after another. I also littered a public park in a similar way leaving litter lying all over. The reaction of those who saw me was also different in nature, some were angry, and I was told to collect the litter by a guard at the entrance of the hall (Nyborg. at el 2016) . In the park, people distanced themselves from me making me feel unwanted in society. Although I did not get a ticket due to my inappropriate behavior, I was humiliated when told to collect the litter by the guard. I also got rebuked by the bystanders who saw me litter the places.
I exercised another breach by entering into an elevator in a shopping mall. When the doors closed, I started pushing buttons for floors I was not going to get off. I experimented again with a different audience, and I stood right next to them even when we were only two people in the elevator. During these occasions the people in the elevator expressed their disapproval of my constant pushing of buttons for floors I was not getting off, I apologized but continued to do the same. At one time when the elevator opened, a stranger pushed me out of it and threw me on the floor. Others gave me an angry look while the rest showed disapproval with a loud audible sigh. Likewise, others commented silently in an aggressive tone.
In relation to the classroom, I did a breach where I started doing my private things which did not relate to class work/reading a novel. On a similar occasion, I began chatting with a friend using my phone all which were unethical. The reaction mainly came from the tutors who made me stop reading materials not related to class work. This way, they were able to have control of the class. On the same, the classmates wished to follow suit and the later lend to a rule to switch off our phone during class time. The reactions from fellow classmates on the phone issue made them angry towards me; they linked it to my misconduct during class time. Once again I was alone as an outsider.
In summation, it is good for the members of society to conform to social norms to achieve proper socialization. As noted in the paper breaking social norms can lead to bad reputation, embarrassment, and even isolation. Although everyone is different, there is standard behavior in which people are expected to behave.
References
McDonald, R. I., & Crandall, C. S. (2015). Social norms and social influence. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences , 3 , 147-151.
Nyborg, K., Anderies, J. M., Dannenberg, A., Lindahl, T., Schill, C., Schlüter, M., ... & Chapin, F. S. (2016). Social norms as solutions. Science , 354 (6308), 42-43.
Tankard, M. E., & Paluck, E. L. (2016). Norm perception as a vehicle for social change. Social Issues and Policy Review , 10 (1), 181-211.
