Name of Group: A$AP SA
Group Members: Johann Jacinto, Alyanna Jordan, Georgette Macaalay, Nichol Muñoz, Francis Dy Pico, Kyra Ramos, Nikka Reyes, Aubrey Unana, Adrian Wong
Section: SA21-A (Ma'am Emily Roque)
- What norm did you violate?
We violated the norm of respecting the personal space of other people and the norm
of displaying a familiar gesture a close companion by randomly putting an arm
above a person’s shoulder while they were walking/standing.
- Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
We decided to conduct the breaching experiment in UP Town Center. Some
members from our group took part in the experiment by violating the norm of
respecting personal space by putting one’s arm above another person’s shoulder or
in Filipino, “pag-akbay.” The experiment was repeated several times in various areas
and was done to different people (gender, age-group, worker/passerby). Right after
the “akbay,” we would apologize right away and explain that it was an experiment
for a class and we would ask if it was okay for them if we show their video reactions
for our project.
- What were the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act reaffirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?
People had mixed reactions such as being shocked, confused, weirded or creeped
out, while a few others found the action quite amusing. The researchers believe that
they reacted that way since given more so, the local context, it’s unusual to
suddenly approach and put one’s arm above a stranger’s shoulder. Aside from the
changes in facial expression, the other nonverbal cues that we were able to notice
are the way how some people tried to distance themselves or jerk away from the
“akbay,” others were perhaps too perplexed with the gesture that they simply stared
at us, while some patiently waited for us to notice our “blunder,” believing that it was
just another case of “getting the wrong person.” It is quite interesting to note how
few people reacted verbally, except in a few cases such as that of Adrian’s when he
placed his arms above the shoulder of an old man, he immediately moved away with
a reprimanding tone saying, “Don’t touch me! You’re not my age.” Judging by this
wild reaction from the perspective of a senior aged Filipino, the old man perceived
the “akbay” as something intimate. To add to this, we can even recall some people
making side comments along the lines of, “Akala ko friend ko siya” or “Gulat ako!
Akala ko magka-close tayo.”
In general, the deviant act reinforced the existing norm of only limiting the “akbay” to
close family or friends. A possible explanation for this is how the Filipino culture can
be described to be more of “family-oriented,” meaning that, people find it much
more appropriate or have the tendency to display signs of familiarity and
affection/intimacy when they are with close companions. This is why the participants
were so surprised when a total stranger performed a relatively “personal” gesture
with them.
- Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for people to react in a certain way? Is it a function of gender (gender norms, roles), social class (norms of the rich & the poor), values/beliefs of institutions (religion, family, peer group, etc.)
In the Philippines, the values and beliefs that have the most impact on the common
Filipino would be that which comes from the family. As children, we were already
taught by our parents how to properly behave in the society. These lessons on
manners or casual interaction are otherwise classified as folkways where if violated,
other people will label you as “weird.” Aside from the simple instruction of not
talking to or accepting anything from strangers, we were taught whether directly or
indirectly, that we can only do the intimate gestures of hugging, kissing (or another
Filipino variant would be the act of “beso”), “akbay” etc. only as signs of familiarity
towards another close acquaintance or relative. It is the function of values or beliefs
which were dictated by institutions that we are able to practice the concept of social
control particularly, self-control. As we grow older, the basic lessons we received
when we were younger gradually becomes internalized into our own self-concepts
or personalities. This in effect, helps regulate the behaviors practiced in the society
whereas if a person does not know you and vice versa, it is very much “abnormal” or
strange to put one’s hand over that person’s shoulder.
Apart from this, the reaction of the participants may have something to do with their
(1) gender: same-sex interaction was seen to be more tolerable than opposite-sex
interaction since the female participants became more suspicious and possibly,
even scared of the action; (2) age: younger people seem to be much more
permissive and patient with our experiment than older people like senior citizens; (3)
social class: since UP Town Center is considered to be a high-end type of mall,
people don’t expect strangers to suddenly put their arms on their shoulders.
Perhaps, this idea can be attributed to the masses’ perception of the higher classes
who always exude images of exclusivity; and (4) social space: in doing personal
gestures towards strangers, the mall being a public place can deem this action as
inappropriate yet, it can be more acceptable in some more “intimate” places such as
bars or other social gatherings.
- How did you feel when you did this experiment? How does it feel to deviate from the norms? Were you hesitant to do the activity?
At first some of us were a bit hesitant to do the activity because placing our arm in
the shoulders of random people isn’t something that we would normally do. It was
also awkward since some people from the shops were looking because we stayed in
one area for some time before moving to a different area in the mall. The reactions
that the group got were expected already since if we were put in the same situation,
we would react just the same.
Purposely behaving in a socially unacceptable way feels weird and is quite an
abnormal thing to do, but it’s really interesting to see people’s reactions when they
are put in awkward situations, even though most of them were indifferent.
Some of us generally found it uncomfortable because there was a certain norm in
terms of morality that prevents them from deviating from such a norm. It’s essentially
very much dependent on which group members’ morals are and how it would affect
the experiment.
- Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.
Towards the latter part of the experiment, we informed the people we experimented
on that their reactions were caught on tape and asked them if it was alright if we
include their videos for the video compilation that we will be making. Most of them
willingly agreed to this and upon realizing that it was an experiment all along, some
felt neutral about it while others just laughed.
Deviating from the norms is not something that one would do on a regular basis, in
fact one would sometimes not dare to deviate because other people will judge them
based on their actions.
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