You're in the backseat of a car. The front-seat passenger gets out. Convention has you move from the back to the front. But suppose you didn't?
The inspiration for my norm violation came from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David (a television show, moreover, that practically defines, or re-defines, what a norm violation is). Going into this past weekend, I was not sure if I could violate the norm because the situation had to be perfect. Fortunately, I found myself in a situation where I could violate the social expectancy. I choose the term “social expectancy” carefully because I believe it best defines what a “norm” actually is – a behavior that society, for whatever reason, expects its citizens to follow. This experiment attempts to define the reasoning behind society’s expectation.
I was in the backseat of a car on Friday night. In the passenger seat was a friend of mine who I met this summer (a recent graduate of the law school). The driver was someone I had just met that night - my friend’s friend. He was dropping us off at our respective homes after a night downtown. Because my friend, in the passenger seat, lived closer than I did, he was dropped off first. This is where the norm violation occurred.
I refused to get into the front seat. Typically, in such a situation, and especially when the driver is someone you hardly know, conventional wisdom tells you to get out of the car and sit in the front seat. Otherwise, you would be riding around as if you were a passenger in a taxi. I refused to follow this social expectancy. The driver asked me to get into the front seat. I politely declined, saying I was comfortable where I was. He asked me again, “dude, just get in the front seat.” Once again, I refused. The driver responded by mumbling some curse words under his breath. We rode the rest of the way, a good ten-fifteen minutes, in silence. I graciously thanked him when he dropped me off.
Why is this an uncomfortable situation? From the perspective of the driver, it may show a lack of respect; his car is neither a taxi nor is the passenger some sort of dignitary. Maybe it is politeness that causes the passenger to sit in the front seat, to avoid making the driver feel uncomfortable. But why go through all the movement of getting in the front seat? Why can’t I stay where I am the most comfortable? What societal force is making the passenger move?
In retrospect, I felt pretty bad about what I did. When I first thought of the idea, I thought it was amusing and that I could conduct the experiment without a problem. I went through with the experiment without a hitch, but I felt bad because I was essentially being both rude and lazy. I would be livid if the roles were reversed. The experiment got me thinking about why people chose to conform to societal expectations. In essence, we conform because it is easier than the alternative. In my situation, it is so much easier to just move into the front seat than feel bad about being rude and dealing with the repercussions.
The inspiration for my norm violation came from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David (a television show, moreover, that practically defines, or re-defines, what a norm violation is). Going into this past weekend, I was not sure if I could violate the norm because the situation had to be perfect. Fortunately, I found myself in a situation where I could violate the social expectancy. I choose the term “social expectancy” carefully because I believe it best defines what a “norm” actually is – a behavior that society, for whatever reason, expects its citizens to follow. This experiment attempts to define the reasoning behind society’s expectation.
I was in the backseat of a car on Friday night. In the passenger seat was a friend of mine who I met this summer (a recent graduate of the law school). The driver was someone I had just met that night - my friend’s friend. He was dropping us off at our respective homes after a night downtown. Because my friend, in the passenger seat, lived closer than I did, he was dropped off first. This is where the norm violation occurred.
I refused to get into the front seat. Typically, in such a situation, and especially when the driver is someone you hardly know, conventional wisdom tells you to get out of the car and sit in the front seat. Otherwise, you would be riding around as if you were a passenger in a taxi. I refused to follow this social expectancy. The driver asked me to get into the front seat. I politely declined, saying I was comfortable where I was. He asked me again, “dude, just get in the front seat.” Once again, I refused. The driver responded by mumbling some curse words under his breath. We rode the rest of the way, a good ten-fifteen minutes, in silence. I graciously thanked him when he dropped me off.
Why is this an uncomfortable situation? From the perspective of the driver, it may show a lack of respect; his car is neither a taxi nor is the passenger some sort of dignitary. Maybe it is politeness that causes the passenger to sit in the front seat, to avoid making the driver feel uncomfortable. But why go through all the movement of getting in the front seat? Why can’t I stay where I am the most comfortable? What societal force is making the passenger move?
In retrospect, I felt pretty bad about what I did. When I first thought of the idea, I thought it was amusing and that I could conduct the experiment without a problem. I went through with the experiment without a hitch, but I felt bad because I was essentially being both rude and lazy. I would be livid if the roles were reversed. The experiment got me thinking about why people chose to conform to societal expectations. In essence, we conform because it is easier than the alternative. In my situation, it is so much easier to just move into the front seat than feel bad about being rude and dealing with the repercussions.
1 comment:
Wow, I don't think I could of done that. Great job!
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