Jack Roy Sociology 101: Exercise # 1: Breaking a Folkway When the folkway of personal space is broken, what follows is a mixture of verbal and nonverbal reactions and messages sent by both the person breaking the norm as well as those around them, which aim to stop the actions. The type of messages sent vary according to many factors, but chiefly the relationship between those in the area. Personal space is the acceptable distance kept between one person and another’s objects, areas, and selves. A folkway is a social convention, not grounded in moral principle, which becomes a traditional mode of conduct (Sumner 1906). When these folkways are broken, what ensues is a spoken or implied desire to return to the norm. In the context of personal space, this means restoring distance to ease the parties involved. In this exercise, the usual norm was broken, and the subject’s personal spaces were challenged by an outside presence. Four subjects were included. Subject 1, a close friend, would enter his room and find me sitting on his bed. Subject 2 would be conversing with a friend, when I would talk to him too closely. Subject 3, of Korean descent, would experience the same as Subject 2, but he would consider me a distant friend. Subject 4, an acquaintance on the club baseball team, would have his water drank without permission. This subject was surrounded by several other teammates he considered to be his friends. Subjects 1, 2, and 4 were all White. The basis of “friendship” (or “experience”) was decided based on how much time the involved people had spent with each other. The experiment was conducted to observe the reactions of each person as their personal space was violated, paying close attention to the relationship with the person violating the norm and others in the area. When the norm was broken, the spoken and 1 implied feelings of the parties directly involved would be said or shown in order to return to the habitual norm. A folkway is a habitual action that becomes grounded in a society. Personal space is a folkway in that people habitually carry out the action of distancing themselves and their possessions from others, so much that the action becomes a traditional mode of conduct (Sumner 1906). However, personal space is not a more, because it has no moral significance. The invasion of the boundaries created by the individual, shaped by society, is seen as less severe than a violation of a more. One example of a folkway is children's values. Children learn at an early age not to touch others’ toys or to poke others, and are punished when they do. Kluckholm (2006:77) explained, “A human infant is born with fewer instincts and greater plasticity. [...] Once he has learned the formulas supplied by the culture of his group, most of his behavior becomes automatic [...] as if it were instinctual.” Thus, the children are socialized on how to act according to others’ boundaries, that is, the notion is instilled that another person’s space is not to be meddled with. Socialization is the method by which a social and cultural unity is reached (Parsons 1951). When this socialization happens, personal space becomes a folkway because it transforms into a habitual act which has no moral obligations but eventually becomes a standard mode of conduct. The subjects in the test would have this standard broken, and the result would be a desire to return to the norm. Personal space is a norm that controls the behavior of people, as they begin to react once they feel that their space is being violated. A clear example is in greetings within cultures. A modern American man will shake the hand of his friend, while a European man will greet with a kiss. Americans live within a culture that values materials and individuals more than others, so 2 the boundary of personal space is far greater. However, a Spaniard, Frenchman, or Italian does not feel their personal space threatened, and feels comfortable greeting with a kiss. However, threatening their own boundaries will result in an intent to return to the folkway. People have become socialized to the boundaries that are kept between each other, and when someone gets far beyond this territory, they begin to become uncomfortable. This folkway of personal space controls behavior by habitually becoming a value in society, that when broken, makes those involved uncomfortable and desire the return to the norm. The violation of the folkway gave more results than were expected. Instead of the usual one­sided reaction that a scientist would see, this experiment gave reactions on multiple sides, from observers to the tester to the subject. For Subjects 1­3, my initial reaction was not to laugh. I thought that it was funny to essentially be “messing with” my friends. But, as the trial went on I began to feel guilty and uncomfortable myself for making the subject more uncomfortable. I was angering the subjects, and I believed that I was coming off as someone who I myself would not like. I did not like my own actions because I have become socialized into the folkway of personal space (Kluckholm 2006). For Subject 4, I was more afraid than I was of the other subjects because it is the natural desire of people to be liked by others. “It will be in” an individual's “interests to control the conduct of the others, especially their respective treatment of him” (Goffman 1959:3). If I have power over how others feel about me, I will choose acceptance every time. I am socialized by my infantile learning and teaching from authority figures that acceptance, like personal space, is ideal (Kelman and Hamilton 2009). My behavior showed some correlation with the subjects’. Subjects 1­3 all laughed at me to begin with, but once their laughs and small jabs were ineffectual, they got mad, even getting slightly physical with a nudge. 3 Subject 1 even began threatening me in a half­serious manner. There was a minor difference in Subjects 2 and 3, where the American made his uncomfortableness known earlier than the Korean. For these trials, the bystander also felt uncomfortable, confessing that he was afraid “he would be next.” Subject 4 was less comfortable with me, and therefore let me get away with far greater. Not once did he complain about my invasion, mainly because those around him did not notice. The teammates, a generally friendly group, were focused on the game and not on my specific actions. Because complaining would focus all attention negatively on the subject, he refrained. In order to comply with his environment, the subject kept quiet (Goffman 1959). In carrying out my assignment I found that it was hard to press on through my discomfort in breaking the norm. I found that it was scary to risk a person’s entire opinion on me, that I made the intentions completely clear to the person after the trial was over (Goffman 1959). I learned that a norm can completely shape a person’s everyday life, as well as their relationships with others. In this case, by breaking the folkway of personal space, I was seen as “odd” by those around me and completely put my own relationships at risk. Personal space controls how we see and act towards others each day. Sources: Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York:Anchor Books. Kelman, Herbert and Hamilton, V. Lee. 2009. “The My Lai Massacre: A Crime of Obedience?” Readings for Sociology, 6th edition, edited by Massey, Garth. New York: W. W. Norton. Kluckholm, Clyde. 2006. “Queer Customs.” Reading for Sociology, 5th edition, edited by Garth Massey. New York: W. W. Norton. Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. London: Routledge. Sumner, William Graham. 1906. Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals. Boston: Ginn and Co. 4