Sociology Essay

 

 

For this assignment, you must choose a low-level norm (folkway) and break it (or have a friend break it) and record your observations. DO NOT BREAK LAWS OR VIOLATE TRAFFIC RULES! The power of norms is especially revealing when we see the effects of not following the lower level norms – those that influence most of our behaviors/feelings/attitudes. This is a personal response paper, so you can be informal and use first-person in writing it. However, part of your grade is based on the quality of the writing, so please make sure to proofread for grammar/spelling and refrain from using texting language.

 

 

In this 2-3 page paper, you need to:

 

1. Describe the normative behavior – what’s the expected pattern of behavior or interactions? What’s the social setting where this norm usually takes place? Who and what’s involved in maintaining it?

 

 

2. Explain how you broke or breeched the norm – how did you violate the expectation?

 

 

3. Describe the social responses – what happened? How did others react – social sanctions? Take note of your own reactions as well – how did it feel to break the norm and receive sanctions (or lack thereof)?

 

 

4. Apply one (not all) of the theoretical paradigms (structural-functionalism, conflict theory, or symbolic interactionism) – how would one of these theories help explain this norm, why we have it, or why we follow it? An example using SF, how is following the norm functional for society and its members? An example based on conflict theory, how does power impact the social situation? In other words, do certain people/groups have more/less power in maintaining/changing this norm, and would some people/groups get more of a social reaction than others for breaking this norm (men/women, young/old)? An example of looking at it from symbolic interactionism, what verbal/nonverbal communication is used to teach this norm or encourage people to follow it (or discourage people from breaking it)?