Folkway violations

  Paper Assignment

I want you to think about Socialization. Think about the things we get from teachers, family, television, movies, music, friends, religion, and even casual social interaction; that influence us to behave in a certain way. Not only in telling us what to buy, but telling us how to act, think, feel, and behave toward one another. These are the norms we are taught to follow. Norms are social rules, which we are taught by society to adhere. Some are laws, like killing and stealing, and some are just socially regulated. More severe norm violations have more severe consequences or sanctions. Norms that when violated have more severe sanctions are called mores (pronounced morays) and those with less severe sanctions are called folkways. An example of a more violation is stealing from someone. The social more is not to steal, and the law regulates the sanction. A folkway violation is less severe and therefore has softer sanctions. If I were to ask a stranger about the particulars ailment in the waiting room of a doctor’s office for example, this would be a folkway violation. People just don’t do that. The individual may look at me funny and give an uncomfortable response, or they may think I had some kind of imbalance and want to get out of the situation as soon as possible. Either way, their reaction is the sanction for my folkway violation. These norms differ among societies and they are formulated based on the beliefs and values of that society. In the United States, for example, the production and consumption of marijuana is illegal and enforced by legal sanctions where in Holland it isn’t a norm violation that is governed by laws.

Your charge is to go out and break one of these social norms, not the illegal ones, but one that has less severe consequences; a folkway. It could be talking loudly on a cell phone in a quiet restaurant, farting in an elevator…and then talking about it, talking to people at the bus stop, dancing in an isle at Vons while singing loudly to whatever is playing over the Musak, or anything that will make people look at you like you’re doing something different or out of the ordinary.

I want you to mentally note (or record) things about the experience. How did people react? What emotions did you feel? Were you uncomfortable? Were you amused? Were the people reacting the way you thought they would? Did anyone verbalize approval or disapproval of your behavior? Think about the norm you are violating and why we have been conditioned to feel that the behavior is inappropriate in our culture. What is the function of the rule or rules that are in place? Who, if anyone, is benefiting from the promotion or demotion of the behavior? Who might the promotion or demotion be affecting negatively? How do the norms you are addressing influence group interaction?

Use this experiment to write your first paper assignment. Relate the experience to the sociological concepts that present themselves. Focus on material from chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the text for your analysis. You should write this up as a research project and include how you incorporated the steps of the research process, as well as referencing material accordingly. The write up should be 4-6 pages, Typed, DOUBLE SPACED, 12 point Times New Roman font. You should describe the experiment, relate it to course material, and discuss the results. The Paper is worth 100 Points.

You will be graded on:

1: The Level of detail and Thick Description (Where were you? Who was there? How did you feel? Etc…) (40Points)

 2: How you relate your norm violation and the reactions it elicited to specific concepts from class discussion and the readings (30 Points)

 3: Organization and quality of writing (15 Points)

 4: The level of creativity and effort/enthusiasm you bring to the project. Originality will work in your favor. (15 Points)

PAPER FORMAT:

Introduction (Includes Thesis Statement)

Review of the literature (Outlining the theories of culture, socialization, and interaction that relate to you experiment. Refer to the text.)

Data (Outline your experiment: What you did, where you did it, how people reacted, etc…)

Analysis (Relate what you found to the theories you outlined (Culture and the Self/Socialization and Everyday Life)

Conclusion (Wrap it up-Tie it together)

*If you need more help go to the writing center or see the tutor*

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