Social Norms Observation

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Social Norms Observation Marquet L. Johnson 23 June 2013 American Military University Sociology 111 Instructor Collins Dictionary.com defines Social norms as the explicit or implicit rules specifying what behaviors are acceptable within a society or group. The most common social norm that I observe every day is traveling to work wearing the military uniform.. We all have to commute to and from our daily destinations. For community safety we should take the time to fully observe what is going on around us to ensure each other’s safety and well-being. As I travel to my place of employment I observe the line of congested traffic that leads to the main gate of the Barksdale Air Force Base. The sociology experiment I conducted involved me violating a social norm of wearing my military cap backwards to various locations around the base. I observed the reactions to an activity that my coworkers and I execute several times a day five days a week. I studied the reactions of four different groups throughout the experiment to get the best results. I left my building four times different times each time I wore my military cap backwards in public. The public’s reactions ranged from laughing to stopping and eyeing me as I made my way to my place of business. Many of the junior ranking Airmen that I encountered were afraid to approach me. The social norm is to walk with your cap placed firmly on your head with the visor in the front, not the back as I was doing; I was clearly violating that norm considerably in my own way. This observation project proved much about social norms and how society reacts when people break them. It identified how social norms become foundations in society and how people cling to the social foundations that are set. Wearing my military issued cap backwards not
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