SA 21 - L
Jose Anadia
Jose Anadia
Leivanne Delos Santos
Gian Glorioso
Marielle Impuerto
Michelle Malata
Kiara Sonza
1. What norm did you violate?
●
We deviated from the norm that everyone has personal
space and privacy. To be more specific, the norm is that we only high-five our
friends and people we agree with.
2. Describe the breaching experiment in
detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?
●
We high-fived strangers from different age groups and
genders, but we preferred to approach strangers . We did this by walking in UP
Town Center, approached 12 strangers and said “High-five!” while doing the
“Give me a high five” hand signal.
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 reaffirm/reinforce
the existing norms based on these reactions?
●
Some of them smiled and high-fived us but there were
also strangers who just high-fived us without smiling. The others just stared
at us and looked at us in a way that made us think that what we were doing was
really weird. We think that those who high-fived us are actually aware of what
a high-five is, whereas those who rejected our high-five probably don’t know
what it is.
●
Yes, the deviant act reaffirmed the existing norms
since not everyone high-fived us. Those who didn’t give us a high five probably
felt that we should not have crossed the boundary of their own personal space.
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 and poor), values/beliefs of institutions( religion, family, peer
group, etc.) You could design the
experiment based on these sociological themes. For example, you could compare
reactions according to gender, social class, etc. That would be more
interesting-- and might obtain a better grade! :)
●
Aside from the norms, we think that age is a
sociological theme that we should consider in this breaching experiment. Among
all the people whom we approached for “high-fives”, only two people rejected
us, and these two people are probably in their 20s. Considering their age, we
think that it has some effect on how open they were with regards to other
people suddenly occupying their personal space for a “high-five”. With kids and
younger teens (probably around 10 to 15 years old), they are a bit more
carefree and would probably find it funny if people suddenly ask them for a
“high-five”. Similarly, for not-so-old (30 to 40 years old) and really old
people (40 and above), they’re way of thinking is a bit more mature and hence,
would probably not mind if people suddenly invade their personal space for a
while for a “high-five”. However, for those who are still in college, new
graduates, and newly employed people (15 to 25 years old), they might be a bit
more guarded and hostile against strangers asking for “high-fives” for fear
that these people might be playing a prank or a power trip on them. This may be
attributed to the social context inside an educational institution (which they
were recently a part of), where bullies would prank other students for fun and
where conformity among peers is imminent and being different would reward one
with embarrassment. Due to this, people with ages 15 to 25 years old might be
on guard against opportunities where other people can invade their personal space,
such as random “high-fives” from strangers.
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?
●
At first, it felt like it would be so weird to do it.
The group was hesitant to do the activity. We actually spent a few minutes
walking around before having the courage to start the experiment. We decided
that only one person will do it and the others would document and observe.
During the experiment, it was difficult to just come up to the person and ask a
high-five from them. Usually, we would check the person out from afar before
approaching them to evaluate if the person’s hand was free, wasn’t distracted
by something else, or wasn’t with anyone. When approaching them, it was
nerve-wracking because we didn’t know the person and we don’t know how they
would respond. But the moment they respond, it was uplifting to get a high five
from them. The two however who didn’t respond felt really awkward because they
would just stare and ignore.
6. Other observations and analysis that you
may have on the activity and on deviance in general?
●
The difficulty we experienced during the breaching
experiment just goes to show that it takes a lot to challenge and break the
norms. Seeing what we did seemed like an easy and simple task. But given the
context, I think doing it was not at all comfortable. It is interesting to
think how light we think of not wearing an I.D., jaywalking, or throwing a
candy wrapper on the streets, when they are actual rules written to be
followed. It is interesting how deviance proves to be more powerful in terms of
capturing the people’s obedience. Although it is not said, it is still natural for
us to hesitate and doubt when disobeying the norms. I think this lies heavily
in the response we’ll get. Not following some rules and laws will lead to
simple warnings and sanctions. However, furthering away from norms would
automatically entail judgment and negative perceptions from others. Knowing
this would also explain which people prioritize, in general.
Here's a compilation of a few videos from our breaching experiment: https://youtu.be/zJ50EbS3_SA
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