Social Norms In Society And Culture

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In today's world, society and culture are formed by norms that many of us abide by. Many individuals follow these norms without opinion or realization of what they are doing on a daily basis. Norms are rules that are unwritten but traditionally supported by several people. Each society makes up its own standards for behavior and decides when those rules have been violated and what to do about it. These are ground rules that many people live by. If there were no rules, then society would not be able to be managed correctly. Individuals may have their freedom and liberty, but they know their limits. Having these social norms help us live comfortably in a society together. For example, when entering an elevator, it is proper to face the front, …show more content…

The reason I say it depends on the way one is raised is because some individuals handled the situation differently, some people were polite, and some were simply rude. I believe the reason people acted the way they did was because they were uncomfortable and it was out of the norm. We are accustomed to certain norms, and anything out of the ordinary is considered unacceptable. I also felt uncomfortable myself, I am a shy person, and so it took a lot will power to pursue this experiment. Their reaction unquestionably affected my behavior; I felt a rush of anxiety. A million thoughts were racing through my head and the suspense of wanting to know the results were killing me. I felt angry about the first reaction I got; they showed no sign of empathy. That is where I discontinued on breaking the norm and explained to them what I was doing. I also felt embarrassed with the old lady, I sensed that she feared me and thought that I was crazy and was going to hurt her. That made me further explain to her what was going on, after understanding what was going on she seemed more at ease with taking the elevator with me in