Social Norms Essay

Akers, R. (2006). Parental and peer influences on adolescent drug use in Korea. Asian Journal of Criminology.

In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. For example, it is proper to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humor, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means, a standard or representative value for a group. The norm that is more common to people is a social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

This two-part experiment leads me to realize that norms are very important in society. It keeps us in check in terms of how we act, behave, and interact with people. I did not expect to receive such remarks from my friends and peers. I didn’t think anyone would notice me eating with my mouth open, since many people keep to themselves and ignore most of the things going on around them. Many people stared at me as if something was wrong with me and felt uncomfortable with me. Socialization is the process by which one learns how to become a functioning member of society. I was not establishing that concept when I was eating with my mouth open, because I acted as a way that was not proper in

I decided to break a social norm in my house by asking my parents for their permission before doing anything in my own house, for example I would ask to use the restroom or if it was okay for me to get a drink. I only asked for permission to preform those two tasks. After a day it was very obvious to everyone in my home that something was going on with me, but when confronted about what I was doing by my family I refused to conform to their group pressure and inform them. Everyone in my household urged me to conform and stop asking such ridiculous questions; conformity is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. Examples of conformity can be found everyday in life from the way we dress to the way we talk, a specific example is when one persons’ clapping

In our society we have a number of norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. It is “proper” to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humour, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about simply being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means a standard or representative value for a group. A social norm is some sort of an expectation that our society has that is deemed normal by that society; they tell us which behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given

I chose to order a salad and an entrée that normally required silverware to eat. This way I could be sure that I was blatantly violating the social norm. Once I got my salad and started eating it with my hands I instantly drew quizzical glances from many people in the restaurant, and even harsher reactions from my peers I was sitting with. My peers, who were horrified that I would ever embarrass them in this kind of public setting gave me harsh words of criticism and told me to act my age. Other diners had changed their quizzical looks to scorns. Along with the initial berating, I also had my plate taken away from me by my peers since I could apparently not be trusted to behave appropriately. The meal continued and I was served my entrée, which was fish and rice. After eating my appetizer with my hands our table had gathered the attention of several customers and staff at the restaurant. Once I started to eat with my hands for the second time the reaction from those around me was much swifter and harsher. Not only did my peers scorn me, but I also received criticism by other people dinning near our table. The third time I tried to eat with my hands I was approached by a management member of the staff and told that I would need to leave if I continued

Human beings are defined as ''social animals'' because in every aspects of life they live together, they form a variety of groups and improve relationships with each other. Interaction with others is a natural result of living in society. In the process of interaction, society and its rules has a social impact on each individual. If people face with any kind of social impact such as group pressure, great part of them show conformity by changing their behaviors, ideas, decisions in expected way. A person conforms if he or she chooses a course of action that a majority favors or that is socially acceptable. Some kind of conformity is natural and socially healthy but obeying all the norms, ideas, and decisions without thinking or accepting

Social psychology, as defined by the Microsoft Bookshelf, is the branch of human psychology that deals with the behavior of groups and the influence of social factors on the individual. Social roles are one of the many sub - categories of social psychology. I believe social roles to be the way we, as individuals, act in certain situations; such as home life, educational and economic statue, peer groups, etc. The Prison Simulation by Haney, Banks & Zimbardo is just one of the vast studies in this area. In this study we will see how people take roles in life, and in simulated life situations. Social roles are not fictitious, it is in fact a very real occurrence that many people deal with ever day, whether it be

The social norm experiment that I performed consisted of me violating a social norm and observing people’s reactions for doing so. I did something that is deemed “not normal,” based off from societal standards. The norm I broke was an interesting one. Instead of respecting strangers’ personal space, I invaded their space. I stood in front of them as close as I could possibly get, without touching them. I choose to break this social norm because of how I am with people. Strangers or friends, it does not matter, I do not like when people stand close to me. I feel as if they are invading my personal space. When people stand too close to me, I tense up and feel very uncomfortable. In my eyes, this social norm is necessary, especially for people who are similar to me and need to have their distance from others.

A norm is defined as expectations, or rules of behavior that reflect and enforce behavior.(Henslin, 2009) When people are in public settings we expect individuals to behave in a certain way. For example when standing in line to see a show or to purchase an item we expect everyone to stand in a single file line. We expect individuals to wait their turn as they proceed to the front of the line. Another expectation or norm is we expect individuals to have dinning etiquette when eating in restaurants. We expect people to dine using the proper utensils. I thought about this example as I was pondering for an observation to perform. I decided that I would take a chance and visit a well respected restaurant in my area and break the norm

To and extent I agree with Sharon Jayson and what she has to say about millennials not conforming to society's standards as well as their approval. It is true that our social norms are unraveling, however I choose to see it as unraveling to create something new. The social norms are adapting to fit the new society that is changing the normal and becoming something different. The world is changing, people no longer care to please others and achieve their approval. We wear what we want to wear, we say what we want to say, we do what we want to do, and we do it all with pride posting it on social media to share with anyone who chooses to view it. Of course not all what people say or do is for the best, but there’s a difference between the last

Real Lives of Most Men." He says to a friend of his "This must be a

In today's day and age contemporary society's are built upon the thought of citizen conformity to a prescribed set of values and norms to. This idea of complies to social standards makes one think as to how these norms of fact society as a whole and an individual. The main driving component which draws people too conformity are the desire to be excepted in certain status groups. People fear that if they do not conformity is norms that they will be breaking the social contract therefore been shunned by society at not being able to achieve their personal goals. Further analysis of these forces for conformity in contemporary society it will be shown that these forces produced negative ethical conduct and

One central and important study of sociology is the study of everyday social life. Everyday life and sociology are definitely two distinct terms and situations, but they hold a close relationship. While sociology studies human interaction, everyday life consists of everyday human interaction. Everyday life is filled by human beings interacting with one another, institutions, ideas, and emotions. Sociology studies the interactions with all of these and shows how mere interaction resulted in things like ideas and institutions.

bar was not busy, as most of the staff was male except for a lone,