Typical Norms/Behaviors that Govern our Baseball Game
I observed all the game-day patterns of a baseball team with a view to subverting them for the purposes of this class. In particular, there are certain routines that teams and individuals execute prior to the game for the best chance of a winning outcome. Firstly, all team members are required to arrive at least an hour and a half before the game, kitted in the exercise gear and ready to hit the field. This allows the team coach to take the team through the pregame fitness drills. After thirty minutes, the team meets in the locker room and waits for the coach to show up and explain the in-game variations for the day. This includes the order and selection of the pitchers and hitters, as well as other instructions. This normally takes forty to fifty minutes, after which, as the team leader, I ensure the players have understood the coach’s instructions. As part of the locker-room norms, nobody cleans up between pre-game drills and the game itself. Additionally, I must lead the team out of the locker room at exactly two minutes before the game starts.
Norm Violations
On the day of the experiment, I decided to violate two norms of the team in the subtlest way possible. Firstly, in between the pre-game drills and the game itself, I used a very damp towel to wipe my face, neck, back and arms in the locker room, which was borderline cleaning up but not to the same extent as taking a shower. This action is against the long-standing traditions of our team’s locker room, whereby team members only clean up after the game. Secondly, I decided to lead the team out of the locker room prior to the designated time. It caused us to head to the field prior to the other team despite us being the home team. While this was a significant violation of the norm, my teammates could not reproach me for it immediately, as they had to focus on the game first.
From the perspective of labeling theory, my acts of deviance only qualify as such from a constructivist point of view. In particular, taking a shower between pregame practice and the game is not deviance. However, in the context of our locker room, it is not allowed and is against the routine, beliefs and traditions that the team adheres to. According to Cioban et al., (2021) labeling theory denotes deviance as subjective in nature whereby different acts are treated as such depending on prevailing circumstances. From another perspective of the labeling theory, as the captain I was not accustomed to being labelled as a trouble maker hence my deviance carried more weight than that of my teammates.
Reactions
I felt very conflicted about my deviance and had to talk myself into every act that was against the norm. Mainly, it was because I was the captain and was worried of what the rest of the team would think and whether it would affect the team dynamic going forward. According to conflict theory, people need a very strong motivator such as the need to assert their dominance over another class of society (Hirsch, 2018). Perhaps this is the reason I was at odds with my acts of deviance – I felt that I did not have a good enough reason to support my deviant actions.
Apart from being conflicted, my teammates were surprised as well. There were several quizzical looks on their faces as I cleaned up. One of my teammates joked that I was only cleaning up because my mom and girlfriend were in the crowd that day. Another reaction I observed is that as I sped into the field, the deputy captain who usually steps out after me was hesitant to follow. He was conflicted on whether to join me in deviating from the norm or to stay true to our team’s traditions. Fehr and Schurtenberger (2018) point out that norms are owned by the group and therefore cause members of the group to prioritize group behavior over individual behavior. This was perhaps the reason why the whole team decided to join me in violating the norm as opposed to standing their ground.
My norm violations were forgotten as soon as we stepped on the field. Everybody listened as keenly as ever during my on-field team talk knowing that this was a particularly important game for us. During the game, I played very well to the extent that I wondered if I was compensating for my earlier norm violation. We won the game after which everybody had forgotten my norm violations and only remembered the great plays I made. I believe that had we lost the game, I would have been subjected to grilling by my teammates who would have linked my deviance to our loss. This is in line with the assertion of Stamkou et al., (2018) that norm violators with perceived significance are more tolerated than other norm violators. I concluded that important contributors to society may get more leeway for their norm violations compared to other persons.
Learnings from doing a Systematic Observation
One thing I learned from doing a systematic observation is that one is a lot more mentally present than when they are doing an informal action. For instance, I could feel the sweat trickling down from my armpits as I prepared to walk out of the locker room. Moreover, doing a systematic observation meant I was always trying to decipher the meaning of events as they happened. On the other hand, during an informal action, I am simply moving from action to action without considering its motivations or impacts.
References
Cioban, S., Lazăr, A. R., Bacter, C., & Hatos, A. (2021). Adolescent Deviance and Cyber-Deviance. A Systematic Literature Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. Web.
Fehr, E., & Schurtenberger, I. (2018). Normative foundations of human cooperation. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(7), 458–468. Web.
Hirsch, M. (2018). Core sociological theories and international law. In Research handbook on the sociology of international law (pp. 389-422). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Stamkou, E., van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Gelfand, M. J., van de Vijver, F. J. R., van Egmond, M. C., Boer, D., Phiri, N., Ayub, N., Kinias, Z., Cantarero, K., Efrat Treister, D., Figueiredo, A., Hashimoto, H., Hofmann, E. B., Lima, R. P., & Lee, I-Ching. (2018). Cultural Collectivism and Tightness Moderate Responses to Norm Violators: Effects on Power Perception, Moral Emotions, and Leader Support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(6), 947–964. Web.