Jason Liebson

1. What two different rules did you break? Why did you choose these rules?
The first rule I chose was no staring. I chose this rule because I know how
uncomfortable I feel whenever someone else stares at me. The other rule I chose
was dont stand in someones bubble for pretty much the same reason; I hate it
when people stand too close to me, so I wanted to see how other people reacted.
2. Who were your victims? How did you go about choosing your victims?
My first victim (for the no staring rule) was another Young American, Amber.
She and I are friends, but arent very close, so I knew that prolonged eye contact
would feel awkward for her. I mainly chose her because she was sitting across the
table from me at lunchtime, so I figured it would be easy to stare at her. My other
victim was another Young American named Sasha. I chose her because at the
time, she and I were the only two people in a room together, so I figured it would
be a perfect time to break the rule.
3. Describe how difficult it was (or wasnt) for you to break the rules.
Breaking these rules was so easy. It was a little uncomfortable for myself to do
both, especially the personal bubble rule because after a while, Sasha would start
moving away, and so Id have to follow and chase her down to stay in the bubble.
4. How did you feel while rule-breaking?
As a self-titled juvenile delinquent, I did not feel any different while breaking
these rules. I did think it was funny, though, simply because of the relationships I
have with the people I broke the rules with.

5. How did your victims react to your rule-breaking? Were you surprised by their
reaction? Why or why not?
I was not at all surprised by the reactions I got. The victims reacted the same
way that I would have if someone broke those rules for me. At first, they thought
it was weird, and pretended not to notice it. Then they felt it was awkward and
started laughing. Eventually, they forgot about it, until I reminded them I was still
breaking the rules, so they laughed again and told me to stop.
6. What did you learn about nonverbal rules for interpersonal behavior during this
assignment?
We know that nonverbal messages are important for expressing emotions through
facial expression and even posture (142), so when I sat and stared without any
emotion and proper posture, it was strange, because I wasnt showing an emotion.
This helped solidify that nonverbal communication influences what emotion you
are conveying. I actively did not show any regulators by staying still and
listening passively (144). When I stood in my friends bubble, we have a personal
relationship, and I was forcing an intimate one on her (157), which was very
uncomfortable.