People who break societal norms are rarely welcomed and often perceived with suspicion. The folkway that I decided to challenge is not interfering in strangers’ conversations. I chose three locations to test the reaction of various groups of people to this behavior: the student cafeteria, the Michael Kors store in the outlet, and the local park. I selected these places to check how individuals of different age groups respond when a stranger suddenly intervenes in their discussions. Before starting to talk to randomly selected groups in the chosen sites, I spent one-minute listening to them in an adjacent spot. The first target for the social norm violation was a group of four students whom I did not know and who were discussing the last episode of Euphoria in the cafeteria during lunch. Secondly, I joined the conversation of two women in their forties in the store. Thirdly, I started talking to four old individuals who had a picnic in a park, discussing their grandchildren. In all three cases, I could observe substantial variation in the attitude to breaking norms between individuals of different ages.
Students’ reaction to my experiment was positive during and after the folkway violation. Before I joined their discussions, neither of the three groups expressed their interest in me even if I was in the proximity. When I entered their conversations without introducing myself or asking permission, the student group seemed to be briefly shocked by my remarks about the last episode of Euphoria they were discussing but still responded to me. In fact, they asked my name and major only after we finished talking about this television show. Notably, when I revealed to them that it was an experiment, they laughed and said they suspected I had a scientific purpose.
My encounter with two middle-aged women in the Michael Kors store was not as successful. Indeed, when I joined their dialogue about which purse is better, they tried to ignore me initially. However, since I continued to make comments, they decided to call the manager; thus, I had to disclose the truth. Unfortunately, they did not seem to be pleased to learn that they participated in an experiment without their consent.
My last violation of the social norm occurred in a park where I entered the conversation of the elderly people, having a picnic. They were concerned that one of their granddaughters decided not to have children and devote her life to becoming an oncologic surgeon. Like the previous two cases, I joined their discussion without asking permission or introducing myself. I argued that the girl that was being discussed had an absolute right to her choice, but I was almost immediately stopped by one of them, who asked my name, age, and background. Notably, they were not hostile to me, but they suggested that I should have received their approval for interfering. Furthermore, they said that the young generation does not understand the value of good manners and the importance of family. I apologized and revealed that I was conducting a social experiment, making these four older adults laugh.
The first sociological concept that is applicable to my experiment is Cooley’s looking glass self-theory. It is a psychosomatic theory that claims that self-perception is shaped by an individual’s interaction with other people and their cultural norms (Anjum et al., 2020). Specifically, the Cooley concept suggests that “one interprets and mirrors of himself or herself with the judgments and views of the general public in the society” (Anjum et al., 2020, p. 139). I always viewed myself as an intelligent, polite, and trustworthy person, but my experiment showed that not everyone views me this way. For example, when the two women in the Michael Kors store wanted to call the manager demonstrated that my overly casual dressing style sometimes suggests that I am a homeless individual. Therefore, it made me reconsider the apparel I purchased because this situation negatively affected my self-image.
The second sociological theory that applies to breaking established folkways is Goffman’s dramaturgical theory. It states that “people’s life is a big theatre,” where individuals play various roles (Zhang & Zhao, 2021). At the same time, everyone strives to present themselves in a way as others expect them to behave in particular circumstances based on the recognized social values, beliefs, and norms (Zhang & Zhao, 2021). In my experiment, most participants expected that I would not interfere in their conversation because it is considered impolite for a stranger to join someone’s discussion. Thus, some reacted negatively and openly expressed their dissatisfaction with my actions.
In summary, this sociological experiment demonstrated the salience of social norms that exist in our culture. From people’s responses like shock, anger, or desire to teach the violator, I learned that the established rules are considered to be social facts that not only serve as guidance for individuals’ behavior but also define cultural identity. I realized that the one thing that was disrupting for the participants of my experiment could be joining their discussions without asking for approval, which appeared to violate personal boundaries. In fact, the dissatisfaction with violation of this norm was more prominent among older adults than among youth.
References
Anjum, N., Ahmed, M., Khan, Z., Akbar, A., & Najam, K. (2020). “Call me Malcolm” a true design of looking glass self-theory in western culture. Epistemology, 7(1), 138-144.
Zhang, X., & Zhao, Y. (2021). Analysis of interactive behavior in social networking – Based on Goffman’s dramaturgical theory. Advances in Social Science, Education, and Humanities Research, 571, 1063-1066.