Breaching Experiment: The Three Social Norms

Breaching Experiment The three social norms I violated were sitting with my own “clique” during lunch, brushing my teeth at home, and not interacting with others as I walk down the street. I chose to do these because once I learned that they’re considered social norms, I wanted to learn how big of a role they play in regards to social control. I conducted the first part of the experiment in the larger cafeteria of Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, as it is my assigned cafeteria. Every table holds six people and is put into sections of four. The room is almost always packed because it’s a mixed period that includes grades ten through 12. Differences in school districts were present as well since majority of schools within the Lehigh County …show more content…
This social norm limits the amount of places it’s deemed acceptable to carry out the task. It would make people uncomfortable otherwise. The person doing it would also stand out in a negative way and attract unwanted attention. To violate the norm, I brushed my teeth in a public bathroom. I imagined that the people would be grossed out as a natural reaction. This would include grimacing and keeping their distance. I even prepared myself for snarky and disgusted comments. The reaction I expected the most was laughter. If I was on the other end, watching it happen, I have no doubt that I’d either joke about them after they’re out of earshot. My observers were mainly women since I was in the women’s bathroom. The only exception was a little boy probably no older than two years old. The rest of the witnesses were relatively young. There were college students and a surprisingly large amount of elderly women as well. I only kept it going long enough to have encountered about ten …show more content…
Ethnomethodology “addresses the methods that people within a given linguistic community use to establish and maintain intersubjective understanding” (Stahl). Observation is key in this case. What an individual takes in their surroundings and has their own conclusion on the situation based on what they’re used to in their social structure. This puts their perspective not only on their own society, but on other cultures as well. (Stahl). In my family, we’re taught to mind our own. This is why I found interacting with strangers so hard to do. However, on my dad’s side they have a heavy African culture. My cousins from that side find it rude to not smile or wave hello to someone they’re passing. I always knew there was a difference, now it makes more sense