Breaking Social Norms Essay

Social norms be the customary rules that govern manner in certain group of individuals. These rules ready how one should behave, and it clarifies what may be considered normal or acceptable to partnership. The casing of norm that I have decided to violate for this denomination is a folk direction. Folkways atomic number 18 unaffixed, unstated rules that govern society, unlike laws, which argon formal pen rules. Folkways be a behavioral adaptation that developed to make amicable life possible. They ar considered less essential to the stability of society since it applies to unremarkable people.For instance Ameri open fires shake great deals when meeting, while members of some other cultures bow, or kiss. For this assignment I decided to stand outside the m all(prenominal) and evanesce shake individuals as they walk in and out of the mall. Since norms consist of preferences, rather than demands the utensil of social control results in sanctions. Whether informal posi tive or informal prejudicial, these sanctions may result in a simile, or a stinky look. This essay will explore the chemical reaction of individuals when greeted by a grotesque and the subsequent actions that resulted.For this assignment I decided to go to South chute core Mall in Costa Mesa. South Coast Plaza is a place where a concierge will check your bags when your arms are too tired, where personal shoppers are at your service, and where your electric jaguar digest get serviced while you shop or dine. Around the fancy ball of shops are Prada, Burberry, Armani, and Tiffany & Co. At the same time you can also bump a local McDonalds, Beackworks, and a Sears at the other end of the mall. due to its Cultural Diversity I decided to take on the challenge.Considering this, I arrived the location around 1000am (opening time) on Sunday September 30th. The mint of individuals roaming the mall were mostly women in different age groups, varying surrounded by 20-60 years of age. A bout 10 people who are walking in and out of the mall are observing me, my intuition is that being a female will prevent these women from feeling harassed and accept my hand shake. As I stood outside the second level Macys military man Entrance I approached the first individual, I ext cease my hand and smiled at this 20 something year-old Persian woman who pulled out of a white Escalade.She asked if I orked there and if I could guide her to the concierge desk, but she never welcomed my hand move. I immediately removed my arm feeling very uncomfortable and control the way. Breaking this social norm in this case caused a negative informal sanction, and as a result the woman disregarded my hand shake and left me feeling disapproval. The second individual I approached was a Hispanic woman in her mid 30s with a stroller in hand, and a 5 year-old boy who seemed very much interested in greeting me. To my surprise, she pretended to have her hands tied up, and asked her son to postponeme nt her hand so he would not get lost.Being unattended is a negative informal sanction and it made me feel existence ridicule along with rejection. However, a few minutes later an time-worn Caucasian woman walking out with her granddaughter acknowledged my greeting. When her grand-daughter did not resolve to my hand gesture she exclaimed, Honey dont be unmannerly Where are your manners? and the grand-daughter finally welcomed my hand gesture. The cultivated lady started public lecture to me about customs and traditions, and how people are not as polite as they used to be. She exclaimed that individuals are too focused on other things and forget their manners.Aside from the previous experiences, breaking this social norm ended in positive formal sanctions as a result of my gesture the lady smiled and complemented my actions. Correspondingly there were a few other individuals who reliable my greetings, while others looked the other way and pretended I was not there. Individual s who sleep with accordingly to these norms often Theis?.. Almost every single thing we do in life is judged by a certain set of guidelines. When we are growing up, we are taught by our parents of what to do and what not to do.Of course, every theatre lives by a different set of ideals and beliefs. It can be influenced by religion, the environment they live in, and what kind of government they abide by. However, the one never-ending which holds true in all households and societies are norms. Norms are established standards of behavior maintained by a society. Norms are important to a society because it pretty much keeps every citizen in a society in check with themselves and their behavior. Laws are not sufficient enough to keep a society at peace.The two types of norms that exist are ormal and informal. Formal norms are pretty much what we call laws in our society, while informal norms are pretty much norms in which there is a mutual conformity among everyone in a society to fo llow. Norms can be viewed as all the petty things and the serious things combined in which all citizens should abide by. It can be more important than laws in their judgment on looks, whether it is the twist of ones skin, the clothes that one wears and even the way a person carries himself or herself, individuals make instant judgments based on these social prejudices.This perception based on appearance determines the behavior towards the person. A pseud lightly In our textbook, Sociology A Down-to-Earth Approach, Henslin defines social control as a groups formal and informal means of enforcing its norms. two prime examples of social control are positive and negative sanctions. A positive sanction is a reward or positive reaction for following norms. A positive sanction could possibly be tending(p) to someone who tries to break and change norms in society for the advancement of the community. A good example of this would be Dr. Martin Luther Kings movement for genteel rights.A negative sanction is the opposite, an expression of disapproval for breaking a norm. These reactions can be severe and formal, or they can be fruity and informal. How do these ideas of social control apply in the society created by Vonnegut in Player Piano? In the book Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut, there are many examples of positive and negative sanctions. A perfect example of sanctions affecting lives in a dramatic way was the aptitude test taken by all citizens. If you do peaked(predicate) on it, then you have to live the rest of your life in the Army or in the Reeks and Wrecks.