Culture is the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that
are passed from one generation to the next (Henslin 2017:40). Norms are expectations of “right”
behavior (Henslin 2017:50). Mores are norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought
essential to core values of the wellbeing of the group (Henslin 2017:52). Folkways are norms
that are not strictly enforced (Henslin 2017:52). For the folkways that I plan on breaking, I want
to do things that will obviously strike out of the ordinary for me according to the people observe
ring what I am doing. The folkways that I am choosing to break are saying someone’s name after
every response that I have back to them, calling my parents and asking them to do everything
even though I live in my own apartment and lastly I am going to eat with my hands when I am
out at dinner with my family. When you go beyond the boundaries of cultural and social norms
there are negative sanctions that could be an effect for going beyond. Some negative sanctions
even include going to court and paying a fine.
The first folkway that I broke was in conversation with a few of my friends. I let the
conversation carry on for a while before I started to break the folkway. Every time I would
respond to something that they would say, I would say their full name after my response to them.
Even if I was just responding to them saying “okay”, I would say “okay Kari”. My three friends
that I was with were Sabrina who is a female and twenty years old, Alyx who is a female and
white and Kari who is a female and is twenty-two. At first the three of them were not paying
attention to what I was doing. After about ten minutes had passed, Kari and Alyx asked why I
always addressed their name when I was talking to them. Sabrina even made a point to say that
she always things it is weird to constantly say someone’s name when you are talking directly to
them. I told them that I just thought it was a more personal thing to do to show that you are
engaged in the conversation.
