Norm-Breaking Research Paper Assignment

Norm-Breaking
Research Paper Assignment

To complete this assignment, you first
must break a norm–i.e. not conform to some social rule. It is up to you what
norm you break. Examples of a behavior that is non-normative are: 1) sitting at
your dinner table and ignoring the serving utensils and silverware by using
only your hands to serve and eat your meal; 2) refuse to “turn take” or listen
in a conversation and talk over anyone who begins to speak; 3) face the back
rather than front of an elevator when riding it; 4) haggle over the price of a
candy bar or soda in a store; and 5) wear your underwear on the outside of your
regular clothing.
If you pick an illegal or unethical behavior
as part of breaking your norm, you must live with the legal and moral
consequences (I accept NO responsibility and will not come bail you out
of jail!). There are plenty of norms you can break that will NOT cause legal
repercussions or harm to others. Try your best to avoid discomfort to other
people in performing this assignment. Remember, researchers must take ethics
into account when conducting research. You may find it helpful to explain to
anyone involved what you were doing after you are finished breaking the norm
(i.e. you might want to “debrief” those who saw you do the
assignment), and if they are your family members or friends, you may want to
reassure them so that you don’t lose their family support or friendship. During
the process of norm breaking they may decide you are temporarily crazy.

OBSERVATION OF YOUR NORM-BREAKING BEHAVIOR
On a daily basis, we as human beings continually observe social life
and draw inferences and conclusions from our observations. One of the goals of this assignment is to “fine-tune”
these natural observational skills, and as a result, heighten your awareness of
dimensions of social interaction that are often taken for granted. This
fieldwork assignment is also intended to sensitize you to the difference
between observation and interpretation so you will be able to evaluate more
critically what others present as “objective” evidence—a major skill in
utilizing critical thinking.

Use the following steps in conducting your norm breaking and
observation:

1) Observe and take mental notes (or hide a notebook for brief,
rough notes if possible) during your twenty minutes (or more) with a maximum of
30 minutes of norm-breaking activity.
You may also choose to break up your time into several smaller
observations. The size of your group should have at least two (2) people and up
to about fifteen (15). Groups larger than approximately fifteen may be too
difficult to observe. Pay attention to some of the following aspects of noted
reactions: questions, gestures, nonverbal cues, spatial behavior, emotions,
attributions and/or other dimensions of social reactions. A confederate
(observational assistant) may also be a part of your research. However, the
confederate is only a helpful tool in observation and may not help you
with the writing of your report.
.
2) As soon as the norm-breaking activity is over, be sure to make
rough notes on the spot describing the setting and what happens. Soon after you
return from the norm-breaking site write a full description of the physical setting,
the participants, and the events (so someone who was not there could picture
them). The description will take at least three times longer than the
observation. Avoid interpreting what you have witnessed in this descriptive
section.

3) Next, attempt to interpret the meaning of the activities, the
intentions of the actors, and their relations with each other and you as they
observed your social disruption. Link
your observations to course materials (lectures, texts, readings, videos,
handouts, etc.) when possible. Be aware of the difficulty of making
observations that are uncontaminated by assumptions or inferences.

REPORT YOUR FINDINGS IN A PAPER:
In your paper, you should cover (at least generally) all of the
major issues from each of the four points listed below, and be certain to
integrate point number five and include point number six. Incorporate relevant concepts and theories
from the readings and lecture when applicable (The points are numbered, but
your paper should not include these numbers or necessarily be broken up
according to the points–it should flow as an integrated whole). Do not use
subheadings.

1) Describe what you did to break the norm. Describe the situation,
and what is normallyexpected, and what you did that was not consistent with
those expectations. If your normis one that people outside a particular group
would be unfamiliar with (for example, youare a member of a sports team that
has a certain pre-game ritual that you broke), you mayhave to go into some
detail to set the stage so that people outside the group cancomprehend how what
you did constituted breaking a norm.

2) Describe other people’s reactions to what you did. Were there any
objects or symbols that gave you clues as to who they were? Consider
integrating the use of symbolic interactiontheory here. Did you think
they behaved the same way they would have if you had not broken the norm? Or
did they respond differently? Did they ignore you? Did they sanction you, and
if so, how–verbally? Non-verbally?

3) Describe how you felt. Did you “chicken out?” at some
point? Start laughing? Blush?Was it fun? Exhilarating? Mortifying? Did you feel
like your behavior looked natural orstaged and deliberate as you were breaking
the norm?

4) Describe anything else of note that occurred. Is it possible that your perceptions of what
other people were thinking were biased by the fact that you were
embarrassed? Did anyone else follow your
lead (i.e., did you set a NEW norm, by breaking an old one)?

5) Integrate well-defined sociological
theories and concepts in a seamless, relevant way throughout the paper.

6) Submit your original,
handwritten fieldnotes after lecture to your TA before uploading the completed
research paper on Monday,May 23, 2016 (on our Soc 2 SmartSite Assignment
Page before 11:50pm).

WRITING THE REPORT IN SUMMARY:
First, briefly define the setting in
which you took these notes and describe how you conducted your observation. Second,
describe the general characteristics and behaviors of the members of the group
you observed. What sorts of objects or symbols gave you clues as to who they
were? Third, based on information you have in your notes,
characterize the nature of the interaction in the group. How might the actions
that occurred have been interpreted? Give specific examples from your
observations to support these claims. Fourth, discuss how your findings
relate to course materials—lectures, texts, videos, reading, handouts, etc. Do these findings support, contradict, or
alter any of the various sociological theories and claims that we have been
studying? Make sure that you have integrated your application of symbolic
interactiontheory and other
supporting theories presented in this course such as (but not limited to) cognitive dissonance. dramaturgy,
attribution, deterrence, equity, frustration-aggression, implicit personality,
reactance, self-affirmation, self-awareness, self-perception, social
comparison, social exchange, social impact, social learning, social role,
appraisal of emotion, contingency of leadership, and planned behavior theories. Be certain the theories and concepts that you
use are well defined and indicate where they refute or substantiate your
analysis. Fifth, turn in
your original fieldnotes on Monday
May 23, 2016 after lecture.

PAPER FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION
1) The length of your paper should be 8-10
pages (plus citations) and the format

requires double-spacing on the pages and using a 12-point font. Do not use
subtitles.
2) You may write in the first person (i.e.
I observed….).
3) Put your name, ID#, TA name and
discussion section you attended in the top right corner of your first page.
4) Center your title in the middle of the
first page (no title page please).
5) Although you are only required to use
lectures, texts, course readings, videos,
handouts, etc. for resources, please
include a “references cited” page using the ASA
references style. See our Soc 2 SmartSite
Resources page for a ASA reference style
primer.