The Importance Of Breaking The Social Norm Of Small Talk In Public Restrooms

Experiment Description: Being a college student I am aware of just how asocial and isolated college students tend to be while on campus. My experiment consisted of sitting next to people, more specifically, searching for those who were sitting by themselves at a table with empty chairs surrounding them. After finding the best subjects I would then walk right up to their table without speaking and sit down right by them rather than on any of the several available chairs around them. I executed this experiment at the library located at Cal state Long Beach during lunch hours (12:15pm-1:00pm) meaning the library was usually crowded. I would look for someone sitting alone at a big table and would then go ahead and make

I conducted a few “experiments” to see how people would react if I displayed deviant behavior in regards to the social norms. I started out small by cutting in line, once at the bank and another in line to get Costco food. Banks are typically quiet so when I did no one said anything, in fact, the lady I passed cleared her throat and when I looked at her she just gave me a confused look and then smiled when I just kept looking at her without reacting. She was surprisingly nice about it. When I got to the teller though he asked me if I knew that I just passed someone and I just said “yes” and went on with my day. At first, he was giving me a bit of attitude when I was getting money out of my account. Before I left I finally explained why I did that and his whole demeanor changed. At first, he was a little shocked and didn’t know how to react and finally, he asked me how that made me feel being called out on passing someone in line and that he misjudged me due to the deviant behavior. When I cut in line to get food at Costco I was rudely put in my place. At first, the lady

The objective of my experiment was to see how people reacted to a violation in the social norms of elevator etiquette. Generally in elevators, people are expected to fill in starting from the back, facing the elevator doors, rarely making verbal contact, with the possible exception of finding out which floor people are heading to. Unless the passengers of the elevator know each other, conversation is sparse and often limited to small-talk. As a result of this, my goal in the experiment was to introduce a foreign behavior to the elevator, something that nobody would expect while going about their day. Thus, I entered a situation where a certain set of expectations were in place, such as the informal rule that individuals should stand (rather than sit) in an elevator, and violated those unspoken rules without actually doing anything that would not be perfectly acceptable in another social setting.

It is actually a great deal of fun to behave outside of the socially excepted norm when you are with people that are unwilling to follow suit. I was able to get away with my behavior because no one was willing to say anything for fear of “causing a scene.” There is great power in having no shame. I eventually explained the reason for my behavior and all is well with my new friend.  During my second trial, I made the same approach with a female subject. I treated her gesture with more contempt than in my first trial. I did not feel as embarrassed or out of place as I did with the young man. I credit this comfort level to the fact that I had practiced this behavior once before and with practice comes confidence. This particular young lady was clearly an extroverted personality type and did not take my offense as gracefully as had the young man. This may have been because my offense was bolder than the first trial. She showed her offense by looking me up and down and with one hand on her hip, stated, “Anyways…” She proceeded to ignore my presence and continued her conversation with our mutual friend. This experiment obviously had a specific angle and expected result. The typical result will be discomfort and even mild hostility. I really enjoyed watching people struggle in between responding how they “ought” to instead of how the instinctively wanted to. For me, the most valuable lesson learned is the advantage

It is a known fact that both men and women use the restroom. What many are not aware of, is that using the toilet in public areas reinforces the differences between male and female. For instance, the very first thing any individual sees when entering a public restroom is the little dolls of a man or a woman as an indication of a female restrooms and or the male restrooms. This simple sign reaffirms the sexual differences of gender and also unconsciously the individual’s identity for that matter. The concept of gender neutral bathrooms is to break the imaginary wall of gender separation thus allowing either sex to use one single restroom. If we think about it, in our home we share one restroom, and are pretty much accepting of the fact that we all use the toilet. The book states that gender salience is the relation of gender across activities and spaces. The book further discusses that when teachers would place children alphabetically versus by gender the importance of gender reduced. Gender is a persistent element in any school. The concept is simple when it boils down to education the main purpose is to place the students together by groups of the ones that are getting the material and are able to proceed to the next or placing them in a group of students that need more time grasping the given material and curriculum. Although gender salience is like a roller coaster in different parts of the elementary school experience the flow of gender is a persistent element in education. Gendered bathrooms, as previously discussed reinforces the differences between male and female. Back in the Victorian era, they created restrooms for women with a special room that had a resting area before entering the section in which the restrooms were located. This was primary because back then it was not lady like to dispose bodily fluids. They believe that women should keep such matters private, and it was pretty much unheard of for women to even use the restrooms the way it is indented. Till this day many women restrooms still have a resting area before entering the restroom section. Bathrooms are designed with an assumption that everyone is heterosexual. Thus not allowing the possibility of that many individuals don’t

In society people are expected to follow many unwritten rules that are thought to be the “norm”. When one decides to break one of societies unwritten rules it puts not only the rule breaker but everyone around in positions where they are forced out of their comfort zones and must adjust to the abnormal. For this assignment the task was to choose multiple norms to break in front of various audiences then analyze the experience both as the norm breaker and reactions of the unknowing audience. This paper will discuss breaking of an interpersonal behavior norm by standing too close to others while browsing various stores in a mall. Also a social etiquette norm will be evaluated by choosing to sit on the floor at a food service establishment to

My social norm that I broke consisted of me going into the bathroom stall and talking to the person next to me. This social norm was particularly easily

On July 04 2017, at approximately 6:34PM I, Sgt. Bowring was investigating criminal mischief that had taken place at Lake Holbrook near the point. While myself and Deputy George where speaking to two individuals possibly involved in the criminal mischief an unknown female advised Deputy George that there was a fight in the Men’s Restroom that was located approximately 20 yrds away from our location.

My first test of my experiment was in a convenience store. I walked in; whispering hello and proceeded to grab a cup of coffee. In my whispering voice I asked a female employee about the coffee lids and interacted with the lady at the register. I observed that in both instances the females would lean

In this week reading, “Calling All Restroom Revolutionaries”, by Simone Chess, Alison Kafer, Jessi Quizar, and Mattie Udora Richardson they expressed three main points throughout the article. The first main point in this article is that “ bathrooms are easier to access for some of us than for others.” This is an issue that some people don’t know about or don’t even think is a problem. Recently this has been a hotbed topic, within the media but I have been aware of this problem for sometime now. Many of my close friends have expressed their concerns about the bathroom situation well before this became a newsworthy topic. In addition, this topic has always bothered me because it is a bathroom and people mostly use the bathroom for two purposes.

walking to some random guy in a public bathroom. People will talk to you and not try to ignore you when you are not in a public bathroom. Having more people in the bathroom doesn’t make much of a difference, like I said before. The reason I think this is because they both gave me short answers. They didn’t ask me

My experiment consisted of me asking strangers, on the streets of Downtown Grand Rapids, for directions to Rosa Park’s Circle, and invading their personal space. To start, I would approach a stranger; tell them that I am lost, and that I am in need of directions to the Rosa Park’s Circle. As strangers began giving directions to me, I inched closer and closer to them. In addition to invading their personal space, I also held intense eye contact with them, trying my best not to blink. The whole time, although it was difficult, I kept a straight face while I performed my experiment. To make sure that I gathered enough information, and a variety of results, I tested my

We’ve all engaged in some sort of small talk either in the office, on campus, at a party, or other places where you find yourself in the company of others. For some of us, participating in small talk may come easily, while for others it may be quite difficult. Some individuals may find small talk to be irritating while others find it a necessity. In this paper I am going to explore what exactly defines small talk as such; the reasons why people find the need to engage in small talk; the benefits, and disadvantages of small talk; is there an ethical approach to small talk; and provide tips on how to participate in small talk—without it creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Etiquette. Generally, the upper class social interactions are peaceful and formal. The lower class individuals from the interior have mutual respect for their elders and each other, and the women are given special attention and treated respectfully (Advameg, 2016). Personal space is highly regarded and its violation is considered hostile and disrespectful.

People often dread small talk but it is what binds us together socially. Almost every day, either with people we know or with strangers, you will have to engage in some kind of small talk. It breaks the ice, leads people to gain their first impressions of us and even begins to build a relationship if that is what you want to do. But what other uses are there for small talk?