Violation of Social Norms
My mother always told me that there are things that you just don't do. For example, horsing around in Church, being loud and yelling at the table or in public, picking your nose, etc. While your mother may have simply called this "behaving," sociologists call these things social norms. Social norms are defined as "the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members." In layman's terms, social norms are like an everyday code of conduct that determines how you behave in certain situations. Social norms are often very strictly enforced and offenders are often ostracized or outright rebuked for their conduct. Also, such norms are more rigorously held to in certain situations than in others. For example, it is a social norm that people should be decently covered in public, but a woman wearing a swimsuit and shorts into McDonald's is less likely to be ostracized than a woman wearing the same outfit in a Church service or at
As I did these things, I feel different, very weird, as if I was doing something totally against the natural order. Such a feeling is useful because it helps to keep us from violating the ways of polite society. Social norms are not just something Martha Stewart or one of her contemporaries set up to make us all polite, well-mannered people, but they serve a useful purpose. They keep hostility levels down and things flowing smoothly. When they are violated, the wheel of progress often grinds to a sickening halt. Personal space helps promote productivity because people just work better when they aren't cramped or crowded. Also, privacy is important in American society and personal space helps to secure that privacy. Not all cultures are the same. For example, had I done many of these things in another country, a more collectivist and crowded country such as China, my invasion of space might have been less reprehensible, indeed, even standard. Social norms are cultural products, and as such we should always be aw
Some common words found in the essay are:
Social Norms, Martha Stewart, social norms, personal space, personal space helps, space violations, woman wearing, space helps,
Approximate Word count = 687
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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