Norm Violation

By Author: Sherry Roberts
Total Articles: 81
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Introduction
A norm refers to the expectations or rules of behavior that develop out of values. Norms tend to be a critical code of conduct since they stipulate what the society sees as being acceptable code and unacceptable because they influence the interaction of people. Norms normally uphold the social order through guiding behavior without having the force of law. Those behaviors that violate a norm pose a threat to societies. Norms usually operate as a form of social control in encouraging conformity to particular behaviors.
Norm violated
Dressing so as to stay warm is a must whenever there is snow. However, I decided to violate this norm by wearing shorts and sandals. During snow, people tend to cover themselves with layers and layers of clothes with snow boots so as to stay warm. Most people tend to stay in the house while others enjoy the time and go skiing. I decided to take my sister and mother skiing, and as they dressed for the weather, I just considered dressing light as if it was summer period. I chose to violate this norm because I knew that I would get a lot of reaction from people who were ...
... also skiing. I chose the skiing location because when there is snow, most people tend to have fun because that tends to be the only thing that people can do. It was a place that hosted a lot of people; thus, I was sure that I would observe the reaction of many people. I also chose to accompany my mother and sister because that would attract a lot of attention when people saw people who accompanied me were in the right clothes for the occasion. It is normal to wear heavy clothes when you go skiing and also a safety issue when people fail to wear heavy clothes when in the snow.
Feeling before, during, and after
I dressed in a heavy coat and gloves and then put on a pair of short and sandals. My mother on the other hand was dressed to ensure they were warm. My mother asked me why I was not completely dressed in trousers and snow boots, and I told her I was doing an assignment on norm violation. While we were driving to the destination, I felt nervous wondering how people would react to my dressing. I also wondered how I would handle the cold from my heat. However, I decided to go ahead with my assignment so as to observe what people consider of the society norms.
As my sister and mother were preparing to go ski, I watched around and saw how people were reacting to the incident. Most stared at me while having conversations with them. What happened was what I was expecting from people. My choice to wear a short and sandals while going skiing was a violation of the norm that caused much of a stir. None of the people around the place said anything to me directly because they knew I was with my mother. However, I could tell from the facial expression that they were wondering what I was doing there dressed in such a way. Most people looked at me with a confused expression while others were just shaking their heads. When my mother came to where I was standing, one woman asked her why she allowed me to dress like that knowing that I would get sick from the cold weather. My mother told her I was completing an assignment, and I would not stay like that for long. One lady passed by and asking if I was sane and where I came from because that is not the right dress code during snow. She looked shocked and even asked me to go home and dress in the proper attire. I did not respond to her question and as she went she said I would get sick if I did not change to the right clothing. An hour later, I went back to the car because it was getting extremely cold, and my mother and sister joined and we went home.
Conclusion
When completing this assignment, I learned that not wearing in warms clothes to keep you warm during snow is indeed a violation of the norm. Despite not having any written rules stating that people should wear heavy clothes from top to bottom when there is snow, it tend to be an expected behavior. The reaction of people at the time did not move me strongly because I was expecting them to react in that manner. From the reaction of people, I realized that breaking a norm is hard, and it attracts a lot of attention. I believe people reacted the way they did because that is the way the society tend to react when something out of the normal happens. The social structure requires us to conform to certain aspects of the society and norms are important in the society since they provide guidelines and directions that people should follow.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in 24 hour college papers. If you need a similar paper you can place your order for a custom research paper from medicine essay writing services.