VIOLATING A SOCIAL NORM
A social norm can be defined as a pattern of behavior in a particular group, community, or
culture, accepted as normal and to which an individual is expected to conform. As Dr.
Sherri Lantinga of Dordt College states, “when we violate the unwritten rules for appropriate
behavior, we quickly learn the surprising power of even relatively minor and usually invisible
social norms.”
The purpose of this assignment is to make you conscious of how these subtle norms shape our
everyday behavior and the consequences of violating these norms.
Your task:
1. Choose any THREE of the behaviors listed on the next page.
2. Before, during and after your THREE different norm violations, mentally observe:
a. Your own reactions (thoughts, feelings, physical responses, behavior).
b. The reactions of the people around you.
3. After you violate the social norms, you may tell the people around you why you were
acting this way.
4. Once you have violated the social norms and have reflected on the experience,
answer the following questions.
a. Describe what three social norms you violated and how you went about
doing so. Clearly identify what factors made it particularly easy or difficult
for you to violate the norms
b. Describe your own and others’ reactions before, during and after each
violation. Describe how the fundamental attribution error played a role in
your situations.
c. What did the experience of violating the norms teach you about the power of
the situation? What did it teach you about the experiences of people who
don’t “fit in” because they are new to our culture or are handicapped in some
way?
d. If you were required to violate norms on a daily basis, how do you think that
would change your reactions to violations as the “actor” or as an
“observer” of violations?
Norm Violating Behaviors (Choose THREE)
1.
Cut in the middle of a line by yourself. Stay in line for at least two minutes.
2. Ask someone you don’t know for his/her seat in a public place. Sit down.
3. Surprise three of your same-sex friends with a kiss on the cheek.
4. Applaud at the end of a class after the teacher is done teaching.
5. Before one of your classes begins, go around the classroom and shake hands with at
least eight people and say “good morning/afternoon” to them.
6. Wear unusual clothing to class or another public place.
7. Eat off other people’s plates.
8. Use overly formal eating etiquette when eating with friends or family.
9. Be rude to a waiter and then apologize. Then be rude again. Then apologize.
10. Bring your own cheese to a restaurant and ask them to put in on your hamburger.
11. Walk through a drive-thru.
12. Drive backwards through a drive-thru.
13. Order food that is not on the menu.
14. Answer the phone and wait for the other person to speak first.
15. Watch a blank TV, cheer when your team “scores”.
16. Ask a stranger for money.
17. Go to a fast-food restaurant and pay with pennies.
18. Eat with your hands in public (with food that’s normally eaten with utensils). This might
be especially fun at an Italian restaurant!
19. Wear clothes backwards.
20. Take groceries from other peoples shopping carts and put them in yours.
21. Go to a coffee shop and sit down with random people and talk to them about a personal
issue or problem.
22. Stand while eating in a restaurant. Or eat on the floor.
23. Walk around the mall with an open umbrella.
24. Sing loudly in a public place.
25. Position yourself six inches from an acquaintance's nose during a conversation.
26. Stand on your chair in a restaurant and recite the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
27. Continuously jump up and down while waiting in a check-out line at a grocery store.
28. Get into an elevator that is crowded with strangers and after the doors close, turn
around and face everyone. If you’d like, introduce yourself to the group.
29. Walk through the mall and greet every stranger who passes you.
30. While waiting for an elevator, say you’ll “wait for the next one” when only one person is
on it.
PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING: Be sure nothing you do risks harming yourself or others.
You should not do anything that breaks a law, disrupts a class or public event, hurts or
threatens others, or includes taking or damaging other people’s personal property.