Social Experiment: Breaking Norms in Everyday Life
i. For this assignment, you will break a folkway or social norm in front of 3 different groups of people (they can be family, friends, and/or strangers). It is important that you perform this norm-breaking exercise at 3 different times and/or in front of 3 different groups of people. Take notes of how others respond to your behavior (you can just take mental notes or write them down on a pad of paper). The goal is to examine the different responses you get from different audiences in different social contexts. The more different the audience or the locale, the more varied the responses. Plan your experiment with an eye towards assessing the impact of different social contexts and different social audiences in the responses you observe to your deviance. Do not engage in any act which is widely seen as immoral, illegal, or could potentially get you arrested!
ii. You will then write-up your findings in a short essay. Your essay should be in 3 parts:
1. Explanation of your behavior, the norm broken, and social context where you broke the norm/folkway,
2. Recollection of how others responded to your behavior,
3. Significance for the study of deviance and connections to course material.
iii. Your paper should be 3 pages, double-space, and should include at least 3 citations.
iiii. Here are some suggestions: order dessert first at a restaurant, bring your own food to a restaurant, treat casual acquaintances like intimates (or vicaversa), wear inappropriate clothing, initiate conversations with strangers, sit next to strangers when there are other seats available, or ask someone if they would like to join a cult youve created. You dont have to be super creative. If you are still having trouble coming up with some ideas please come speak with me.
v. Must cite according to ASA or APA guidelines
