Jimmy Ray
Dr. Petts
SOC 100
October 12, 2017
Norm Violation Exercise
1. What social setting did you observe? What are the social norms within that setting?
The social setting that I observed was my time playing basketball on a Thursday night, in the Ball State
Recreational Center. The social norms include keeping a shirt on, engaging in some type of sport, and
participating in that sport the right way. A norm is someone sweating or someone drinking water, or someone
shooting a basket for their team.
2. Describe the social norm that you violated and how you actually violated that norm.
The social norm that I violated was how to play a normal basketball game and when is the right time to play in
the game. During the basketball game I decided to score on my own basket, guard my own teammates, talk
trash to my own teammates, not play defense when I was supposed to, and I also came into a game that I wasn’t
even playing in. All of these violated a social norm.
3. How did others react to you when you violated this norm? Were the reactions positive or negative?
When I did all of these things, I could tell that it was about a 50/50 split on positive and negative. Some people
thought it was kind of funny and laughed, then moved on, while other people started to get a little annoyed and
upset with me that I wasn’t doing things the right way.
4. How did you feel when violating this norm? Why did you feel this way?