SA21 - A | Adventures of a Kanto Girl

SA21 - A

Pat Abaquita

Krisa Alcoriza

Johndel Armada

Nikki Bonuel

Ina De Luna

Sofia Gaticales

Vivi Uy

1) What norm did you violate?

Demeanor of acting ‘normal’ in a high-end mall. “Normal” meaning having a reserved, prim and proper attitude.

2) Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?

• We went to Zara in Shangri-la Plaza first.
• My groupmates and I went in by 2s, leaving Sofia to go in alone.
• When Sofia entered, she acted very “kanto”
• She then got a pile of clothes, went in front of a mirror, and dropped the pile of clothes on the floor.
• Then we went to Rustan’s.
• My groupmates and I scattered, leaving Sofia alone.
• She got piles of clothes, and pairs of shoes on display and put it on the floor to try them on over her clothes

• Krisa, Pat, Nikki, and Vivi entered Coffee Bean first, followed by Johndel and Ina who were acting as a couple
• Ina and Johndel ordered food
• While they were waiting for their food to arrive, Sofia bursts into the shop
• She accuses Johndel of cheating and shouts, “Akala ko ba nasa family lunch ka?!”
• She then storms out of the shop and Johndel follows her, leaving Ina alone
• Johndel then returns after a few minutes, ate their order, and then left
• We then went to Starbucks. Krisa, Pat, Nikki, and Vivi entered first again followed by Johndel and Ina
• Ina and Johndel ordered drinks
• While they were standing up waiting for their drinks, Sofia bumps into them
• She accuses Johndel of cheating and shouts, “Akala ko ba nasa family lunch ka?!”
• She then storms out of the shop and Johndel follows her, leaving Ina to get their drinks
• Ina then grabs a chair and sits there awkwardly
• Johndel returns after a few minutes and sits with her

3) 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 re-affirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?

• In Zara, when Sofia dropped the pile of clothes, her mom (who was not aware that we were conducting an experiment) called her out and told her to stop what she was doing “Honey, itigil mo ‘yan. Ibahin mo ‘yang ginagawa mo”. Also, the moment Sofia dropped the clothes, the customers near her turned their heads with judging eyes.
• In Rustan’s, when Sofia dropped the clothes and shoes on the floor in front of the mirror to start trying them on over her clothes the salesladies were visibly shocked. As Rustan’s isn’t as crowded as Zara, there weren’t as much other customers to witness the experiment except for an affluent looking woman in her late 50s who looked disapprovingly. A saleslady  then approached Sofia, to offer her assistance and picked up the clothes and tried to usher her towards a dressing room.
• In Coffee Bean, when Sofia was confronting Johndel, a chinita girl in her mid-20’s, who was at the table next to them, stared at the three of them. However, the father and son to the left of Ina’s table did not mind them. The table situated diagonally to theirs kept on glancing and smirking at the commotion. A dad carrying his child passed by while they were “fighting” appeared really amused and interested by the commotion. When Johndel rushed after Sofia, the cashier and the waiters tried to hold back their smiles and laughter. After the whole drama, when Johndel paid for his order, his change was a pile of 1 pesos coins worth around 40 pesos. Whereas, our separated group got bills and barely any coins.
• In Starbucks, which was less spacious and more crowded than Coffee Bean, the experiment was more attention-grabbing as Sofia’s voice could be clearly heard by more customers who all instantly looked in their direction. The baristas at the cashier looked shocked and the security guard  tensed up. As soon as Sofia and Johndel leave, the customers (albeit more subtly) and baristas continue to look at Ina and gauge her reaction. The baristas take her order professionally although when Johndel returns some customers as well as baristas continue to take glances at them.

4) 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.).

Zara

• Social class, values/beliefs of institutions
• If Sofia weren’t in Zara in Shangri-La, her attitude, demeanor, what she did would probably be (slightly) more acceptable, because both Zara and Shangri-La are considered high class brands, places, and symbols
• Being in a public place already forces you to act appropriately, more so if you’re in Zara/Shangri-La, places that people of high social classes frequent. There are expectations for people who go to “sosyal” places, and looking and acting decent (and certainly not being kanto) is one of them.

Coffee Bean

• values/beliefs of institutions (relationships)
• Breaking up in public is already a frowned upon thing by itself, but breaking up in public and catching your significant other cheating on you is a whole other thing. Discussing about infidelity is an uncomfortable thing, more so having to experience and witness it, which was probably the reason why the people in Coffee Bean reacted the way they did.
• Gender was also another sociological theme explored in this experiment, particularly the “double standard” that men and women experience differently when presented with the image or impression of infidelity. Infidelity committed by men, for example, is deemed more socially acceptable and “okay,” giving the impression that the man is virile and has strong appeal. If a woman knowingly commits infidelity, however, she is deemed a “slut” or “easy.” The experiment seeks to test this double standard through observing the reactions of other customers and noting the changes in their behavior towards the “cheating boyfriend” and “the other woman” upon the discovery of their “secret” relationship.

5) 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?

When we were simply discussing and planning out the various ways we were going to violate the norms in high-end stores and coffee shops, most of us did not feel a sense of hesitance yet. We were actually excited to perform the breaching experiment because we were genuinely interested in how the other people would react to our actions. When we actually got to the places where we were supposed to violate these norms, however, we suddenly felt a sense of shame or embarrassment because attention was drawn to us--and not necessarily in a good way.

When Sofia dropped all the clothes she was holding on the floor in public in Zara, for example, she felt self-conscious because people’s heads immediately turned to her. Although none of the sales people or other customers said anything, they were looking at Sofia judgmentally, as if hoping she would take notice of their attention and figure out that what she was doing was “wrong.” As she continued fitting the clothes in front of the public mirror, she felt furthermore self-aware that what she was doing was “different” and “strange” because other customers would stop and stare at her. Although Sofia eventually felt embarrassed by attracting too much attention to her, she said that it was okay because she is not a frequent visitor of this particular mall and she would not have to show her face in there again.

In Coffee Bean, Johndel and Ina noticed that the staff were very friendly and accommodating to them upon their first arrival, when it seemed like they were just a normal couple going on a date. The other customers around them, also, were minding their own business and not paying attention to them. During this time, both Johndel and Ina were at ease and did not feel self-conscious. After Sofia stormed in and “broke up” loudly and publicly with Johndel, accusing him of cheating, the three suddenly felt ashamed that they were causing a spectacle. This shame was further intensified by seeing the other customers stare and the waitresses laugh discreetly. When Johndel left Ina alone at the table to “chase” Sofia in order to act like he was apologizing to her, Ina felt even more embarrassed because the customers and staff were staring at her, purposely giving her judgemental looks, and whispering amongst themselves while looking at her.

6) Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general

• The experiment in Zara made us realize that even your own mom will judge you when she sees you violating a norm.
• People of higher social classes are perhaps pressured to more properly behave themselves in public because of the higher standard of education that they presumably receive, which usually gives importance to social etiquette and public image
• The fact that the sales people did not attempt to mediate shows that as long as a customer expresses a keen interest in buying their product, he or she is still worthy of serving and not interrupting or bothering.
• Upon further analysis, this suggests that we truly are a capitalist society that possesses a main interest of earning profit
• This experiment also made us realize that women appear to quickly and harshly judge other women. While the other customers and staff seemed to be entertained by Johndel’s “infidelity,” hiding laughs as he tried to interrupt Sofia and explain himself, once he was gone and Ina was alone the atmosphere perceptibly changed. Most notably, the women in the coffee shop were staring at her and giving her disapproving, judgemental looks. This implies that there really is a double standard when it comes to “cheating” in relationships; if a man does it, it's more acceptable, predictable, and less offensive. If a woman does it, however, she is treated with contempt and disdain, as if she is the prime one at fault.
• Despite the presence of a double standard, it is clear that society in general looks down upon infidelity and identifies the norm as being faithfully monogamous to someone
• Although the servers in the restaurant did not directly or outwardly condemn Johndel for his alleged infidelity, it is interesting to note that they still seemed to express a desire to show their disapproval passive-aggressively through giving him an unusually large amount of coins as change. Usually, people in general tend to use bills over coins for larger amounts of money because it is more convenient and physically easier to handle. The servers, it seemed, wanted to give Johndel a hard time.