Social Psych Project

Part I
Social norms
Look someone in the eye when you speak to them
Shake hands with someone when meeting them for the first time
Avoid standing close enough to someone to touch arms while in queue
Don't curse in polite conversation
Don't pick your nose
Eat food using proper eating utensils
Say please and thank you
Go to the back of a queue when entering
When at someone else's home first ask for permission before doing something
Avoid flatulence in public
Flush the toilet after using it
Say "hello" when answering the phone and "goodbye" when ending the call
Leave a tip for your server at a restaurant
Do not talk with food in your mouth
When on a lift, only push the button for the floor you wish to go
Refer to your teachers by last name
Fully clothe oneself when going out in public (e.g. not wearing shirt and/or trousers)
At the cinema avoid sitting directly next to someone unless it otherwise full
Knock before entering a room where the door is closed
When two people are talking, wait for them to finish or acknowledge you
Face forward in a lift
Raise your hand and then speak in class
Order an appetizer first at a restaurant
When someone rings you with the wrong number simply tell them that they have the wrong number
When someone says "How are you?" respond with a generic one-word answer
Part II
Social norm
Anticipated consequence
Not picking your nose in public
Mockery. People will view you with a feeling of disgust as this action is considered unsanitary. This can produce feelings of contempt towards the person performing the action.
Fully clothe oneself when going out in public

People will feel embarrassed to be seen with you or so much as associate themselves with you. Depending upon the location (e.g. restaurants) you may be asked to leave.
Avoid standing close enough to someone to touch arms while in queue

People with feel uncomfortable with being in such close proximity. People will see it as an invasion of personal space and attempt to distance themselves.
When someone says "How are you?" respond with a generic one-word answer

If a person were to answer the question honestly, the other person may respond with a feeling of annoyance. The phrase "How are you" is often just a formality in order to be polite. A person not in fact care, and so to go into detail about how your life is actually going could be viewed as irritating.
Don't curse in polite conversation
People may feel insulted by the use of what may be considered vulgar language. You may be considered rude and inconsiderate, especially if the person is not a peer (e.g. a teacher or parent), and perhaps scolded.

Part III
Social norm violated: Fully clothe oneself when going out in public

Manner of violation: Went out without wearing a shirt

Groups:
1st Peers (classmates)
Similar in age
Acquainted
Mixed gender
2nd Parents of students
Much older
Semi-acquainted/not acquainted
Mixed gender
3rd Restaurant employees
Mixed age
No acquaintance
Mixed gender

Part IV
My own reaction to the social norm violation was that I felt slightly more self-conscious. This was largely due to the fact that I was concerned with whether people were actually taking notice and would make an observable response, because otherwise my efforts would have been for nought which is what I felt during. At the same time, before I actually did it I was worried about how people would judge me given they had no idea why I was doing this. Afterwards I did not feel self-conscious at all. It began to feel more natural and became less concerned with it. By the third violation the feelings I felt before and during in first two violations, I did not feel in the third. By the third violation I felt completely calm. With regards to the first and second violation, during the course of the violation, no one directly addressed me about it. I observed there were people looking at me but they did not actually say anything to me. I credited this response to what I felt to be our society's naturally introverted nature. After the fact however, when I questioned my peers and the parents, I got mixed responses. Some of my peers were initially taken back but simply accepted it and did not press the issue. They had this "to each his own" type of attitude. Some of my other peers however, felt that I looked ridiculous and told me as such. The parents felt uncomfortable and were embarrassed to be talking to me. One even admitted to being embarrassed even being seen with me. In the third violation I witnessed the same phenomenon in my third violation. The employees at first merely observed, but I could see that they were staring at me. They eventually delegated someone to inform me that I needed to wear a shirt otherwise I would have to leave. It would seem that due to the need to uphold set rules, they were able to break the introverted nature I witness.
The reactions were largely what I had anticipated. The parents' response of embarrassment was exactly as I had expected. My peers' reaction of being okay with it, was hardly a surprise either considering my association with them. The restaurant employees' reaction I knew was inevitable due to the setting.
The parents seemed more effected than my peers (the students). I attribute this difference in response to the level of acquaintance with the two groups. The students were people who I knew well and had a personal relationship with therefore they were more inclined to accept it. In terms of the case with the restaurant, that simply comes down to nature of the setting. The policy dictated that customers wear a shirt. So the request that I put on a shirt was to be expected.
Part V
The spotlight effect is when you think people take notice of something about you more than they actually do. This relates to my experience because as I was violating the social norm I began to think greater about whether people were taking notice of me. More than usual, I was under the impression that people were looking at me, given that I was intentionally trying to stand out by violating said norm.
This exercise taught me that those do not "fit in" can very easily feel isolated because they possess some characteristic different from what a particular considers "normal." This is particularly true when society chooses to isolate said people for difference.
Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, and Justin Bieber. People choose to social deviants for a variety of different reasons. In some cases in may be a learned behaviour. A child observes their parents violating social norms so naturally it grows learn to violate those same norms. Other may do it on purpose as a means of getting noticed, because for whatever reason they don't believe society is given them the attention they need or deserve.
Part VI
The last time I purchased something it was at a restaurant. My choice of meal I would credit to my emotional state. Occasionally I get this feeling of adventurous and thus feel compelled to try something I have not done before or something aside from my usual routine. In this particular case, it amounted to ordering something off the menu that I had not done before. I would say that my decision was entirely under my control. I felt no outside in making my choice. I used FITD by first asking for a single cup of coffee then I asked if I could simply have an entire pot. Using FITD I felt satisfied with my ability to persuade with significant being required on my part. Others did not seem to be effected or even take notice of what had happened. I found that my ability to persuade was stronger than I thought.
For no particular reason I decided to buy a gift for my best friend in the form of game that I knew he would like. The act made me feel good about myself because I felt as though I was directly responsible for making someone else feel cheerful. As expected the friend whom I gave the gift responded with gratitude and was glad to have gotten it. I don't consider this to be a violation of a social norm because in this particular instance I was close friends with this person. Random acts of kindness can potentially be a violation of a social norm but it mostly depends on our relation to said person. The closer the relation, the less abnormal it seems.