Introduction
Let us start by saying that sociologists claim that “society without norms would be in chaos” and this assertion seems to be reasonable (Andersen and Taylor, 2005, p. 62). Norms govern all the situations that occur in our life every day and due to these norms people know how to behave and social interactions are made reasonable, logical and to a certain extent predictable.
Main Body
The definition of ‘norm’
According to Burton (2009), “Norms are written or unwritten rules that specify behavior appropriate to a particular situation. Norms are based on values, but they are more concrete and specific” (p. 41). Andersen and Taylor (2005) define norms as “specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a different situation” (p. 62). The same sociologist defines two types of norms: implicit and explicit norms. The first type is represented by such norms that do not need to be stated, people understand that they exist and accept them as they are. Though implicit rules may not be formal rules, their violation may sometimes cause serious troubles for the norm-breaker depending on the value of a violated norm (Andersen and Taylor, 2005, 62). The second type of norm, explicit norms, may be represented by formally registered rules, violation of which presupposes certain punishment and sanctions. Burton (2009) calls these two types of norms “mores” and “folkways” (p.41).
Types of norms
It should be taken into account that mores or taboos are very serious rules, because laws are considered to be formalized mores and their violation may abuse and harm other people and cause severe punishment for the violator, like, for instance, imprisonment or even death. The possible punishment for the violation of the folkways maybe ridicule in the majority of cases. The punitive factor was the major factor I used when I was choosing the norm to break, and, certainly, I decided to break a cultural folkway to avoid serious punishment. I decided to violate a rule of dress-code in educational establishment. Still, I must be mentioned that though violation of dress-code will never be punished by death, yet levels of violation of this norm differ. What I mean is that if I chose to come to college stark naked I would, certainly, be suspended from classes and, probably, fined or even imprisoned for some time for disorderly conduct. That is why I decided to come to classes wearing clothes but wearing only one sneaker, my left foot bare, thus violating the social norm of wearing clothes in official organizations.
The experiment
So, on September 18, 2009 I came to college without one sneaker, wearing only one on my right foot. I do not know, if I should prove that this is a violation of a social norm, because it is commonly known that usually students and professors come to college wearing footwear. What is more, I decided to walk like that during the whole day in order to observe reaction of different people that surrounded me.
The reaction of people
Speaking about sanctions for violation the rule of dress, it should be mentioned that, luckily, the experiment was conducted on the territory of the USA, and that is why the punishment for it was rather light. At the same time it should be mentioned that in some cultures “the rules of dress are strictly interpreted, such as among Islamic fundamentalists requiring women who appear in public to have their bodies cloaked and faces veiled” (Andersen and Taylor, 2005, 62). If I were, for example, an Islamic woman, the outcome of my experiment could have been deplorable. In fact, no punitive measures were taken against my violation of the rule of dress on the part of college authorities. The reason for that, as I think, was that my behavior could not be considered as disorderly conduct and it did not abuse anyone’s feelings. The violation of norm did not bring harm to anyone, and even positive outcome was observed by me. My barefoot attracted attention of people and aroused the feeling of sympathy; people wanted to get to know the destiny of my absent sneaker and asked if they could help me. At the same time there were people who responded to my violation of the norm in the negative way, I was ridiculed. We can consider this type of reaction a common reaction to the violation of folkways.
My reaction
Speaking about my attitude towards the reaction of people, I was glad to attract attention and desire of some people to help me and to get to know the reasons for the situation, though I preferred not to reveal the aims of my experiment, I chose to keep it in secret, replying that I had very serious reasons for wearing one sneaker. Still, some people appeared to be unable to agree with my contribution to the study of social norms and made fun of me, because my look was not natural. I preferred to ignore those people, but I must admit that their behavior was not pleasant for me, and maybe I was a little embarrassed.
Conclusion
By means of conclusion, I would like to say that the reaction of people, sanctions and the outcome of the violation of norm depends on the value of this norm in society. Light violations of norms will not cause serious changes in people’s attitude toward the violator, as it happened to me during my experiment, but they may be useful for the study of norms.
Reference List
Andersen, M.L. & Taylor H.F. (2005). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. USA: Cengage Learning.
Burton, C.E. (2009). Basic Sociology. Bloomington : AuthorHouse.