SOCIAL NORMS VIOLATION PROJECT

SOCIAL NORM # 1
Social Norm entitled: The Batgirl

Wear an eye mask inside the mall.

Rationale:

Eye Masks are made to wear with a costume or in a party. They are designed to conceal ones
identity.

SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION #1

Wear Eye masks inside the mall wearing casual attire.

Occurred on Saturday at the Ayala Mall, Cebu from 3:30pm 4:00pm.

Walked around the mall. Walked inside the Penshoppe. Walked inside the Timezone. Walked
inside some establishments.

REACTIONS TO SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION#1

Others Reactions
Many people stared. Some were raising their eyebrows.

Own Reactions
Never did adjust to wearing clothes that way. We could not wait to take off the mask.
Extremely embarrassed by peoples looks and comments. Felt very uncomfortable physically
and mentally.

SOCIAL NORM # 2
Social Norm entitled: Where is the Sun?

Use an umbrella inside the mall.

Rationale:

Umbrellas are made to use during rainy days or sunny days. They are designed to shade you
from sunlight and from getting you wet.

SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION #2

Use an umbrella inside the mall together with an opposite sex.

Occurred on Saturday at the Ayala Mall, Cebu from 3:30pm 4:00pm.

Walked around the mall.

REACTIONS TO SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION#2

Others Reactions
Many people stared. Some were raising their eyebrows. A group of people were laughing. Some
were looking back even the subjects have passed already.

Own Reactions
We could not wait to retract the umbrella. Extremely embarrassed by peoples looks and
comments. Felt very uncomfortable physically and mentally.


SOCIAL NORM # 3
Social Norm entitled: About Face

Facing the side wall of an elevator opposite.

Rationale:

People are used to face the door of an elevator when you are inside.

SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION #3

Face the side wall opposite of what are people are used to.

Occurred on Saturday at the Ayala Mall, Cebu from 3:30pm 4:00pm.

Stayed in an elevator facing the wall.

REACTIONS TO SOCIAL NORM VIOLATION#3

Others Reactions
Many people raised their eyebrows.

Own Reactions
Extremely embarrassed by peoples looks and comments. Felt very uncomfortable physically
and mentally.


Doing such norm violation makes you in a position of being categorized by people. When a
group of people will see you doing such norm violation they will tend to be open about what
they felt like sharing their response, to a particular stimulus, to the members of the group,
verbally. In case if only one person or he/she is the only one who saw the norm violation,
his/her response would be in non-verbal. The norm violations teach us that if we do things not
normal to a society, they will react in some way. If a person is new to a particular culture and do
some behaviors, he/she will get the attention of people surrounding him. If we were to violate
a group norm on a daily basis, we will get used to it. If in the eyes of other people of what you
do is not right and normal, for us it would be a normal behavior because of getting used to it. If
you have done a norm violation previously and saw someone doing it, you will not pay
attention of it because it is normal within your perspective. It is beneficial for us student of
psychology because this experiment taught us of getting comments and reactions in the eyes of
other people.

The norm violations would also include:
Guilt. The violator feels bad about his violation as a result of his education and upbringing, quite
apart from external consequences. Probably most people in our society, though certainly not
all, would feel at least somewhat guilty about stealing even if they believed they were certain
not to be caught.

Shame. The violator feels that his action has lowered himself either in his own eyes or in the
eyes of other people. In its most common form, shame arises when other people find out about
the violation and think badly of the violator. The violator may also feel ashamed, however, even
if others do not discover the violation. He can imagine what they would think if they did
discover it, a moral sentiment that can operate even if he knows they never will discover it.
Also, he may feel lowered in his own eyes, a multiple self situation in which the individual is
both the actor and the observer of his actions. Because the focus is on the violators status
rather than on the violation, there can be shame even if there is no element of wrongdoing, no
breach of a moral code; so one can be ashamed of doing something stupid that harms nobody,
because behaving stupidly is failing to live up to ones self-image. This type of shame shades off
into simple embarrassment. One can also be shamed (though the better word here would be
humiliated) for conduct that violates a moral code not ones own, where there is no question
of guilt.