SA21 C - Breaking the Norm in Jeeps: Hindi Pag-aabot ng Bayad (Not Passing the Fare in Jeepneys)

Video Link: 
Breaking the Norm in Jeeps: Hindi Pag-aabot ng Bayad (Not Passing the Fare in Jeepneys)

Group Members:

ISIP, Pamela

QUEJADA, Nina

SANTOS, Pauline

TURGA, Amethyst

What norm did you violate?

 The passing on of change to the driver in the jeep was violated.

Describe the Breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity?Where did you do it?

The group rode a jeepney from the  Miriam College jeepney stop in Katipunan Avenue to the jeep stop by the entrance of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Pam and Amethyst (the two experimenters) sat on the same side nearest to the driver while Nina sat on the opposite side near the entrance/ exit of the jeepney. It is expected of jeepney passengers to pass the fare from one another until it reaches the driver or the conductor. Pam and Amethyst only conversed with each other. They ignored other passengers even those who requested them to pass the fare and also the driver who requested them to pass it to him. Nina filmed the passengers' reactions discreetly with a cellphone.

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 or reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?

 

The different reactions varied from ignorance to the happenings to extremely violent verbal indignation. There were Mirriam students who were annoyed when their change was not passed on, however they remained quiet. The driver kept looking back through the mirror and displayed a face of irritation during the experiment. Most shockingly there was a woman who was extremely vocal about her thoughts and continuously spouted insults towards Pam and Amethyst for not passing the fare to the driver, insults included phrases such as but not limited to- “Ano kayo mga mayayaman?””Feeling niyo ang gaganda ninyo!”” Dapat sa inyo mga nagtataxi!” On the other hand, people who were near the entrance and saw the camera were amused however tried their best not to show it. It is important to note that they did not try to say this to the woman who was extremely annoyed.

 

These actions were most probably caused by the breaking of the norm, a violation that gave a negative tone to the event. Nevertheless the possibility of the violent woman just having a bad day and the breaching experiment made it worse, cannot be ruled out. The deviant act reinforces people to follow the norms, especially if it meant young people like us were to be subjected to insults bordering verbal abuse.

Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for the people to react in a certain way?

In this breaching experiment, we considered how throughout our childhood we are told to not talk with strangers. This “talk” basically refers to have no interaction with strangers. Despite this idea being taught to us ever since, we are always breaking this every time we ride the jeep. We interact with everyone through the norm of passing the fare until it reaches the driver. Somehow, we can even consider it as a custom already because it has been there throughout the years and it is already embedded in our system. In breaking this norm, we have experienced being looked at as if breaking or disrespecting a law.

Sociological Themes

The dominant themes found in the experiment were the following: expectations, stereotypes, and intolerance. In terms of expectations, the woman had the expectation of femininity upon her. Women are generally not expected to be aggressive or impolite. The reaction of the woman in the jeepney thus came as a surprise not only to the group but also to the other passengers. Second, in terms of stereotypes, the woman's manner fulfilled the stereotype of someone from the lower class - crass, loud, and rude. It may be inferred that she is from the lower class not only from her manner but also from her attire, as well as the fact that the woman got off the jeepney in a lower-income neighborhood,  It is important to note why these stereotypes come to be. Stereotypes are a product of socialization, taken from a generalization of multiple interactions with the stereotyped group. Lastly, the woman's apparent resentment for the upper classes ("magtaxi na lang kayo" "akala niyo kung sinong mayayaman," etc.) is an implicit showing of class conflict, and by extension, intolerance. She showed intolerance because the group did not perform according to the norms of riding the jeepney, a space populated mostly by the working class.

All the passengers in the jeep were obviously annoyed. The driver has even showed signs of pleading -pleading for the two (Pam and Amethyst) to just pass the fare to dissolve the tension evidently present inside the jeep. One of the passengers, the mother who sat beside Amethyst, is observed to have felt annoyed but instead of voicing out her feelings she just made her way to reach for the driver’s hand. The other passengers did not voice out their annoyance or anger except for this one woman. It may be inferred that this is also brought out by the different social locations of the passengers as majority of those in the end were students and some were workers (as seen through their uniform).

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?

This experiment really tested the researchers’ patience and moral. Pam who indeed commutes and always rides the jeep because of the cheaper fare was really affected. In the video, her guilt is really seen as she really tries to act casual and as if only talking to Amethyst and not hearing any complain. Pam felt really guilty and bad. She saw her act as something really irresponsible and something that must not be done in a public transport. It somehow violates her own set of values. She did felt hesitant at some point and had a hard time stopping herself from actually passing the fare. In her own words, the experience was “scarring.” It is something that she will never actually do.

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

People lighten up immensely when it was revealed to the driver and the remaining passengers on the last stop. Laughter ensued after the intense and heavy atmosphere when the violent lady was yelling in the jeep.

It was noted that the woman with her child did not seem to laugh or rather there was no significant change of expression after the explanation that what happened was just an experiment. The last guy who went down at the last stop (UP Gate) was laughing. This guy was seated at the end of the jeep. He saw how the experiment has been caught on camera but seemingly he just enjoyed the ride.

Deviance is indeed something hard to do in general knowing that people will judge you or classify you as one type of person. Also, many do not openly speak out their irritation in public to certain actions of others, which include the breaking of norms. Just like what was seen in this experiment, out of all the people in the jeep, only one woman expressed her annoyance openly.