SA 21 A- Gonzales, San Diego, Yulo

1.  What norm did you violate?
• Usually when people go out they would be accompanied by another person or they would be by themselves. We decided to break the norm of who can accompany you in public places by carrying around a pillow with a cutout of a celebrity’s face attached to it. 
• Link to videos:  https://drive.google.com/openid=0B0737MLxT6WXRnU4Q2JmQ1AzMTQ
2.  Describe the Breaching Experiment. What was the activity? Where did you do it? 
• We began the experiment in Jollibee Katipunan. Reiko, the actor, would walk in and order and have a “meal” with the pillow or “Justin Bieber”. Afterwards, the group decided to walk around UP Town Center. Reiko was walking around hugging “Justin Bieber” and even entered a store. After walking around, Reiko asked the guard for directions on how to get to a certain place. The rest of the group also asked a stranger if he could take their picture with Reiko and “Justin Bieber” 
3. What were the different reactions of people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted that way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act reaffirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions? 

   Some people would stare or have a double take, but generally there were no extreme reactions such as obvious laughter and pointing. The most extreme reaction we had gotten was when a woman was face to face with “Justin Bieber” and it shocked her causing her to take a step back and say “Hala Siya!” Below are the responses we obtained throughout the experimentation

   
   
   At Jollibee:
   40-60 YEARS OLD
   -       Old Ladies seated next to Reiko
   o   Was indifferent to the scene in front of them
   -       Old Man
   o   Stared at the pillow and Reiko and eventually just smiles and walks away
   WORKERS AT JOLLIBEE
   -       Manager of Jollibee
   o   Looks at Reiko and “Justin Bieber” numerous times and just smiles in confusion.
   -       Security Guard
   o   Taken aback by what he was seeing but smiles anyway and greets goodbye
   -       Cashier
   o   Was trying hard to hold in her laughter. She would take quick glances at Reiko whilst taking other people’s orders. Her smile seemed extra bright as she was accommodating the customers after Reiko
   STUDENTS
   -       Looks and laughs and decided to take out their phones to take pictures. A student who was alone was sitting right next to Reiko and he looked confused and uncomfortable at the situation happening next to him. Others would look and make expressions showing that they were judging what was happening.
   At UP Town Center
   -       LADY GUARD
   o   Upon entrance into the mall, the lady guard who was checking bags laughed and said “May pillow pa si Ma’am!”. She was clearly amused with what was happening in front of her.
   -       SALES LADIES AT BAZAAR SELLING CLOTHES ( Teenagers to early 20s)
   o   They laughed out loud as Reiko was passing by and even nudged their friends to see what was happening. Even as Reiko walked away, the continued to stare at her.
   -       SALES MEN AT BAZAAR SELLING PHONE CASES
   o   We’re unaware of what was happening as they were focused on using their cellphones so they did not take note of what was happening.
   -       OLDER PEOPLE
   o   They would usually stare blankly at Reiko and “Justin Bieber”. They were trying to understand why Reiko was walking around with a pillow. Would continue staring even is Reiko caught them staring.
   -       MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE
   o   Asking the security Guard for Directions
   §  While interacting with Reiko, he remained neutral but friendly. However, as Reiko walked away he stared after and had a huge grin on his face
   o   Mallgoers
   §  They would stare at what was happening. Some would smile and laugh while others looked like they were just weirded out.
   o   Shopper in Uniqlo
   §  Reiko was walking around Uniqlo when she met a woman who was also shopping. The woman was surprised by what she saw that she took a step back and uttered the words “ Hala Siya!”. She then decides to call on her companion to also look at what was happening.
   o   Salesperson in Uniqlo
   §  Once they took notice of the pillow and the cutout, they would have a shocked expression and went on to tell their co-workers. They would avoid interacting with Reiko and stayed a little far away.
   -       RANDOM GUY WHO TOOK OUR PICTURE
   o   The guy seemed to be in his early 20s. As he was walking towards us, he was already staring at the pillow trying to hide a smile. We decided to ask him to take our picture and he did so willingly. Whilst, taking our picture it was obvious that he was trying to hold in his laughter
   -       CHILDREN
   o   At the initial encounter, the children would look scared and stare at what was happening, but they would eventually forget about it and act like nothing was there. 
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, social class, values/beliefs of institutions?
• The reactions of the people we have encountered just show that people find it weird if you carry around an inanimate object as if it were alive. Most of the reactions were tamed and controlled IF we were to analyze it base on the age group , we can see that the younger ones were more boisterous about it. . The older people seemed to stare more and did not mind if they were caught staring. The middle-aged people on the other hand, would silently laugh to themselves and would just smile and show an amused expression. The teenager and the early 20s group proved to be the one who would laugh out loud. They would cause a scene by taking pictures and point out what was happening to their friends. Children were afraid at first, but eventually became indifferent to what was happening. The social class also plays a role in how the results came about. The workers in both Jollibee-Katipunan as well as in UP Town Center tried to hold in their laughter as they were dealing with a customer as opposed to the others who would stare out right and others who would even laugh out loud. 
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, Reiko was hesitant to do the experiment. She was thinking that if she saw someone else do what she was about to do, she would find it extremely weird. However, the experience proved to be a great one as we allowed ourselves to immerse in a different world. It was fun watching how people would try to hide their laughter and when they would take a second glance. All in all, it was a fun experience. It was a pretty tamed experiment, but it was an experience that allowed us to see the world more and to have a greater understanding of the people around us. 
• It felt weird carrying around a pillow in a mall and to be staring at Justin Bieber’s face while munching on some fries. It made us feel a little bad when the children were a little afraid. It also felt nerve-wracking to go against the usual. There was this fear that people would laugh out loud and point, but it wasn’t really like that in the end. It felt good to somehow bring a smile to people’s face even if we looked a little foolish. 
6. Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.
• Another concept that can be applied to this experiment is Dramaturgy or the difference between your backstage self and front stage self. The workers of both the mall and the fast food chain tried to hold in their laughter and reaction to show respect to the customer. This was their front stage selves. They could not express their true emotions because of fear that they would be disrespectful to the customer.
• It would have been interesting if we tried this experiment using a local celebrity such as James Reid and see if the reaction would be different. To see a more diverse outcome, it would be nice to explore “higher-end” malls or other places that are more crowded just to see if social class has a grand effect on this. 
7.     PHOTOS