Paper Option 2: The Power of Norms (75 points)
Due Date: April 18th – in class (paper copy, no emailed papers)
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, obviously do not commit any taboos!) and
analyze people's reaction to you. For example, stand backwards in an elevator, visibly eat
an awkward food combination (such as peanut butter and tomato sandwiches) in the
presence of others, or wear a crazy outfit around campus or to the mall.
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?
Requirements:
1) Must be 2 – 3 pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt. font, and
include Spring Semester 2013 at the top of first page.
2) Papers are due on Thursday, April 18th at the beginning of class (12:15p). Only paper
copies will be accepted, no emailed papers. Also, do NOT submit your paper through the
Springboard dropbox.
3) If you miss the paper deadline, you must have a documented excuse as to why you
were unable to turn in your paper by the due date (serious illness, death in the family,
etc.). Excuses including printing problems, lost files, etc. will not be accepted.
4) You must address each of the five components listed above. A grading rubric can be
found at the end of this document.
5) You must use at least one empirical source for your paper. Either of your textbooks is
sufficient. No Wikipedia, Answers.com, etc. – those sites are not appropriate.
For organizational purposes, I would suggest using subheadings throughout the essay.
For example, to address the five required components, your paper may look something
like this:
Name
Date
Spring Semester 2013
Descriptive Title
Introduction
In this section you want to describe what norms are, what are the different types
(folkways, mores, taboos, etc.), what is their importance within society and how do they
relate to concepts like ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Description of the Experiment
In this section you want to describe the details of your experiment. Which norm
did you break, what category does it fall under (folkway, more, etc.), how did you do it,
when and where did you break the norm. Also in this section, you need to tell us how
other people reacted to your norm violation; did they look at you oddly or make
comments?
Analysis
For this section tell us about the meaning behind people’s reactions, how did their
reactions make you feel, did their reaction affect YOUR behavior (or would it have if you
honestly broke this norm, instead of for a class experiment)?
Conclusion
In this section you need to tie your findings into what you have learned about
norms and sanctions. Were the reactions as you expected? Why or why not?
Grading Rubric – Paper Option 2:
Term Paper
Below Avg.
Satisfactory
Excellent
1. Format, organization and structure
0 points_______________________10points
2. Writing mechanics- this includes grammar!
0 points_______________________10points
3. Grasped the assignment and successfully
executed the assignment/ Used an empirical
source/Addressed each of the five components
0 points_______________________30points
4. Evidenced critical thinking/writing
0 points_______________________10points
5. Demonstrates knowledge of core concepts of
norms and sanctions.
0 points_______________________15points
Total Score______________________
Each of you will receive a completed copy of this with your paper.