Breaking a Norm, Essay Example

Introduction

I have been thinking about several ways of breaking norms without breaking the law during the preparation stage of my assignment. I decided to complete an experiment that will give me an instant feedback on people’s reactions on breaking the norms of social behavior. The final decision came when I traveled on the train and saw people finishing their make-up while traveling. This gave me an idea of taking this (certainly annoying and anti-social) behavior even further. I decided to do the same in a different setting. I chose a busy McDonalds’ restaurant near my home, took a mane-up bag, and without ordering anything, I sat down next to people eating their food, spreading my make up bag’s content on the table, setting up my mirror and doing my make up. I was interested in the reaction of people when I do this. The results of my observation are found below.

Setting

I chose the setting of a busy fast food restaurant, McDonald’s in a weekday afternoon. This restaurant is located in a shopping center and is usually full of young people after 4 o’clock. People come in to meet with friends, eat a snack and chat with each other. Some people are alone, but there are many couples meeting up before the night here as well. I was interested in the reaction of young people, as well as regulars of the fast food restaurant. I chose to complete the experiment on two consecutive days: Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, between 4 and 5 PM.

Norms Associated with Location

The norms that are usually associated with fast food restaurants are related to not disturbing other people, letting them have their personal space, not talking to those we do not know. Many people come in to these places to meet with friends and share a drink, use the internet and socialize. I wanted to know what people’s reaction would be if I invaded their personal space and distracted their intimate conversations with their friends or loved ones. Another social norm that I intended to break was to do my makeup in the restaurant instead of the bathroom. Indeed, many people take the casual approach when visiting McDonald’s, and many of them do not wear make-up or just let their hair down. I wanted to see the reaction of guests when I turned up in my evening dress, sitting down and getting my make up set. Further, people usually order food before they sit down at the table and know that they will remain undisturbed as long as they have the tray.

The Task

I visited the McDonald’s restaurant just after 4 PM wearing an evening dress, shoes and accessories, in contrast with people’s casual looks. I immediately spotted a couple engaging in an intimate conversation in the corner. I sat myself down opposite of them without asking and got my make-up bag out, laying the mirror in front of me. Next, I found a mother with two children eating a Happy Meal and sat down next to them. The next day I continued with distracting three friends in their conversation and a group of four college kids discussing homework projects. By doing so, I did not break the law, but broke social norms and created a strong reaction.

Reaction

The reaction of people I distracted by breaking the social norm was mixed. Some of them moved away to an empty space. One couple confronted me directly, and the others tried to ignore me while talking much quieter than before. Overall, all of the people noticed me breaking the social norm of not doing makeup in restaurants, however, their reactions were different based on how they handled the situations. Younger people and couples were more likely to “put up with me”, while older people and mothers with children were less tolerant to my behavior. Most of the people were trying to sit somewhere else and talked about it. The majority, however, stayed.

Interview Results

After taking the experiment, of course, I explained all the people that I was not simply antisocial, but I was indeed completing an experiment. They told me that they were confused about how to handle the situation, and whether to accept my behavior as I had the same right to be there as them, or simply confront me. Indeed, none of the participants thought that I was doing anything wrong, illegal, or causing any harm for others, but they found my actions extremely disturbing. One couple that confronted me stated that they thought I was just a person who “went to far showing off” and they could get me to stop my behavior by reasoning with me. Most people talked about whether or not they would move away from me and decided to wait until I finished and left.

Conclusion

The most important finding of my experiment is that none of the people I interviewed after they were subjected to my intrusion liked people who did not allow them to have their personal space. Couples confessed that they were unable to talk about emotional or personal topics after I sat down. All of the people I met stated that my behavior was first very distracting, and secondly against the norms. Therefore, breaking the norms is not only about behaving in an unexpected manner, but also creating discomfort in others. This is an important revelation I took away from the project.