Social Norm Experiment: Scenario 6 -- Facing the Wrong Way in an Elevator Solomon Asch's Conformity Experiments during the 1950s demonstrated how much individual opinion and even perception of reality can be influenced by others (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2009, 577-579). In the original series of experiments, Asch tested subjects by presenting with a perceptual question that should have been very easy to identify the correct answer but within a group situation

A busy coffee shop I visit has a self-bussing policy. Most people dutifully clean up after themselves and I do not think I have noticed any time where someone left their dirty dishes behind. For this exercise, i decided to violate the norm by leaving my dirty dishes on the table. Because I did not want to make a bad impression on the staff of a place I enjoy visiting, I

Violating Social Norm People like to keep to themselves whenever they can, especially when they are in a situation where they have the option of being to themselves, by themselves. This implicit social norm applies when one goes onto an empty bus. If there are other seats available, one goes to the empty seat; one does not go and sit next to someone who is already there sitting down. It is

Dining alone is unusual at a higher-end restaurant. Immediately, my jeans, sneakers and faded t-shirt drew whispered comment and stares from some diners. I was afraid I would not be admitted, but I had gone on a night when there were few diners, so I suppose the front-of-house staff though that a filled table was better than an empty table. Again, I ordered a burger, fries, and shake. When the

He seems to suggest that treating strangers like extended members of the same social group, which, in a modern society they are, will help erase the feeling of cultural disconnect that many people in modern society experience. Perhaps Forni's most important sociological contribution comes in his chapter about asserting oneself. The competitive nature of modern society has created a scenario in which people feel as if asserting oneself and being

Finally, he offered me the lunch menu if I did not like anything that was listed on the dinner menu. I assume the lunch menu had some burgers and sandwiches. Again, it was difficult to tell if my clothing was the reason, or if it was my age. Of course, the two are difficult to separate -- within reason, a person can look much older if he or she is