OPTION #1: Norm Violation Assignment

as adapted from Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

The purpose of this assignment is to put the course material into action in daily contexts, applying social psychology language such as conformity, obedience, compliance, social influence, social norms, private acceptance, public compliance, internal and external attributions, conformity, informational social influence, normative social influence, and other terms that may applySuccessful completion of the assignment will add up to 20% to your final course grade.

Part I: Violate a Social Norm READ CAREFULLY

Your assignment is to violate one of the five norms listed below:

1. Sing loudly on a public bus, subway, or train.

I

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

First, start your paper with a brief introductionabout your topicand a discussion about the intent of your paper.

Next,address the following six questions in your analysis:

1. Briefly describe the social norm that you violated. How did you learn about this social norm? Where does this norm come from?
2. Describe your thoughts and feelings while violating this norm.
3. How did others respond to your behaviour? In your discussion:
   1. Consider the Attribution Theory - what attributions did people make for your behavior, and why do you think they made that attribution? If you know the people who witnessed your behaviours, you can ask them these questions after your day is over. If your witnesses were strangers, you can either tell them about your experiment and ask for feedback or make some assumptions about why they believe you were behaving the way you were. (sometimes body language or behaviours will give you a good idea of what they were thinking)
4. What are the psychological costs or benefits of behaving in a way that violates social norms? In your discussion:
   1. Describe the psychological costs of this experience to you, and expand your discussionto include perceived costs of others violating social norms in general. (ie: How are people treated when they violate social norms?)
   2. Identify any rewards or benefits you may have gained by violating social norms.
5. Would you be likely to violate social norms in the future?
   1. If yes, what norms might you violate, and why would you violate them?
   2. If not, why not?
6. How does this exercise impact how you view other people who violate social norms? Does it make a difference if you consider what norm they violate? In particular, you may wish to consider cultural implications, and / or individuals with physical or intellectual differences, or who lack awareness of western social norms.

Finally,include a conclusion that provides a summary of your KEY learning from this exercise.

In carrying out this assignment, try to go beyond superficial descriptive accounts and see if you can arrive at social psychological insights about yourself or others.