Social Norms Experiment

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Hello Everybody,

I haven't been on in a while. I guess life is taking over...

For my online Deviance course I have to break a social norm as long as it's not illegal. I know what a social norm is but does anyone have any ideas. I always seem to break social norms anyway but I'm looking for something a bit more creative.

An obvious social norm is how people face the doors of an elevator while it is in transit ... in abject silence. Breaking the norm would involve facing away from the doors.

How would you know?
If we don't know social norms, how would we know it we broke it "inappropriately" for the experiment?
How would we know if people responded correctly or confused?


LOL, just a thought.

If you google breaking social norms you can find a lot of ideas.

Talk to yourself out loud in public.

Stare at the other people in the elevator. Or, worse yet, start a conversation.

Or do what I do: Meow in the subways. That'll qualify.

But it's fun to answer the question so:

- Dont reply when people talk to you.
- Repeat everything someone says to you.
- Mimick every movement someone makes.
- Tell people who walk their dog that you need to borrow the the dog, and assume that they are ok with it.
- Start playing tag with strangers.
- Lie on the sidewalk to enjoy the sun.
- Train people with a clicker and chocolate (like Sheldon does in the big bang theory)
- Go to a shop wearing clothes that make obvious that you don't work there and ask the customers if you can help them.
- React to every word someone says as if it was a swear word and forbid them to say that word.
- Assume everybody wants your autograph and give everyone your autograph.
- Ask people/ strangers why they don't like you.
- Walk behind strangers and give them directions like your their navigation.
- Don't use (much) non verbal communication but instead tell people your smiling or frowning.
- Switch very rapidly from non verbal communication for different emotions.
- Ask people questions and then answer the questions for them.
- Tell strangers that they are your best friend (now) and order them to follow you.
- Ask strangers for their dna to test if you're siblings.
- Use the public toilets of the other gender.
- Ask stangers for a few dollars and tell them that it's none of their bussines when they ask what the money is for.
- Talk very loudly asif you're arguing with voices in your head.
- Keep walking in circles around someone your talking to.
- Eat dinner with your hands.
- Go outside when it's raining and shelter a stranger from the rain with an umbrella without saying anything.
- Tell someone you really like her clothes and ask if you can trade them for yours.
- Prentend that someone asked you a question and start a conversion with an answer.
- Ask someone who isn't crying why he's crying and tell him it's okay to cry and that he doesn't have to be ashamed of it when he denies that he's crying, then ask him again why he's crying.
- When you see someone walking a dog start barking (or talking) to the dog, pretending that you're having a converation with the dog.

Last edited by RemiBeaker on 05 Sep 2014, 3:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I find wearing sunglasses indoors in many places to be against social norms. I also know places where they will throw you out of the building and force you to pay fines if you wear sunglasses indoors, i.e. my college.

- Walk into a crouwded room en keep repeating " You can't see me, You can't see me, You can't see me" loudly and start doing a solo activity, that requires you to walk past people everey now and then.
- Walk to someone and start praying for him without asking if it's okay.
- When someone ask something reply with an answer that is totally off topic and has nothing to do with the question (for example answer the question "How are you?' with: "A white umbrella.")
- Inform people who smoke of the health concers of smoking and tell them they should quit smoking.
- Treat random people on the street because it's your birthday.

Seems a silly thing.
I remember back at Uni one girl I was in classes with had some photosensitive disorder. Everyone would tell her to take her sunglasses off, and she would pull out an explanatory letter from her doctor. Poor girl. She was always allowed to keep them on. (don't know if it was different as night classes than it would have had we been there during the day with younger students)

I know we're not allowed to wear two headphones in at the same time in the office, just one (which doesn't help for my purposes).
And I don't see anything specific about sunglasses, but, I know it's frowned upon and my boss urges me to take them off. I just try to wear mine when the bosses aren't around.

Daria would look "way cool" with sunglasses!