Norm Violation paper for Sociology
Norms are defined as the expectations, or rules of behavior, that develop out of values. For this project, I was required to violate a norm. The norm that I chose to violate was to push my sister Nicole through the Wal-Mart store in a children's ambulance buggy. By doing this activity, my sister and I deviated from the norms that are expected of a customer in a department store. The status of "customer" normally includes the activities of pushing around a buggy, gathering the items that you would like to purchase, purchasing the items, and then leaving the store. My sister and I did this, but we had a little fun with it... We arrived at the Wal-Mart store around 10:00 PM, just to pull up next to a large shopping buggy that was designed to look like an ambulance. The ambulance was designed with a seat for two children inside, which also turned out to be just enough space for my 19-year-old sister. It was a little bit late, but at 10 o'clock there are still quite a few customers at Wal-Mart. Nicole climbed into the ambulance while we were still out in the parking lot. The hardest part was for the two of us to look as if we were shopping, while keeping a straight face. A few people that passed by us on their way out of the
The next reaction we received was from a large African-American woman who was shopping by herself. We passed by her in the frozen foods section of the grocery area in Wal-Mart. She was picking from the selection of frozen pizzas and, at first, just glanced up to see who was next to her. Of course, she had to look back to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She stared at us and grinned. I tried to keep a straight face, but I could not see my sister who was below in the ambulance. The woman broke the silence by asking Nicole if she "felt a little cramped." Nicole casually replied, "Nope, I'm fine. How about you?" The woman said, "I'm fine, thanks", and walked by us, looking like she was about to explode. Once she had gotten to the end of the isle, she did explode, with laughter that is. By laughing extremely loudly, she herself violated a norm expected of a customer. Several others walked by and stared at her, confused by her outburst. I think she was the friendliest of the people to which I had studied. After receiving mostly stares and grins, I figured it was about time to finish up. I grabbed a few items that I needed, and then I headed up to the checkout. On the way there, we walked past a woman with a young boy who exploded with laughter upon the sight of my sister in the little ambulance, much like the previous woman had done in the frozen foods section. The woman, who was most likely the mother of the child, fulfilled her role as a mother by scolding the boy
Some common words found in the essay are:
Wal-Mart Nicole, Nope I'm, Nicole Wal-Mart, , sister little, nicole buggy, violated norm, frozen foods section, i'm fine, expected customer, wal-mart store, frozen foods, stares grins, foods section, pushed buggy,
Approximate Word count = 1013
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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