Human behavior is rooted in how we act as a collective species around a set of common expectations amongst us. These can be societal norms, legal constraints, financial rules etc. At the core of these categories, lies the concept of norms. The idea of norms can be defined as unwritten rules that guide human behavior in shared or common environments. Norms are typically formed through repeated observation of those around us leading to a fluid set of shared expectations. For example, repeatedly seeing others take off their shoes before entering someone’s house shows how norms are constantly forming around us through this continuous observation. The premise of norms serve the purpose of ideally reducing social awkwardness. As humans, we strive to have a sense of uniformity in our lives and norms play a perfect role as they are powerful tools in crafting predictability amongst ourselves. By sticking to certain guidelines we are able to have pleasant and common experiences in shared spaces. Norms essentially empower people to blend in and to an extent reduce awkward social interaction.
Norm followers present with a sense of socioemotional awareness and distinct form of subtle observation of those around us. Those who follow norms tend to continue to do so as it is less mentally taxing and often something we do not even think about. By blending in and following norms, we reinforce conformity. At times, people may correct behavior to ensure we stick to the norms that are somewhat engrained around us. Norm violators however, have heightened self-awareness and become more visible to those around them. Typically, these groups of people may experience discomfort as they have more attention drawn on them when violating a certain norm. Oftentimes, those who violate norms may only do so for a short duration as it may be more mentally taxing or increase emotional discomfort. In general, the emotional nature of a norm violation is two-sided. For some at the receiving end of such violations they may initially feel that it is funny or laugh it off while others may distance themselves due to increased social discomfort. However, norm violators may feel bold and decisive initially but with time passing on, they can potentially alter their behavior as they may feel distressed or uncomfortable with increased social attention in a shared space.
On a college campus, it is common for individuals to exercise at the gym or athletic center throughout the day. One of the norms inside a gym is that people face the mirrors when lifting weights or performing dumbbell exercises. The norm violation I conducted occurred in the weightlifting room at the JHU Recreational Center during an evening time period after classes had finished for most people. My norm violation behavior consisted of performing the exercises facing the room and with my back to the mirror, instead of following the traditional norm of lifting while facing the mirror. This violation was done for one exercise set which lasted approximately 15 minutes. My intended audience was the individuals exercising nearby in the weightroom, especially those also performing dumbbell exercises in a proximal distance.
When observing those witnessing my norm violation in the gym, I noticed several non-verbal and overall behavioral responses around visual attention, spatial adjustment and avoidance behavior. During the course of facing opposite to the mirrors, I noticed brief glances towards my direction as people entered the weightroom. Those nearby me gave subtle repeated looks while they conducted their own exercises. I observed that people would have more frequent adjustments of position instead of staying in place during the 15 minutes. At the behavioral level, while no one confronted me directly, I did notice people choosing spaces relatively more distant from my bench than normal. In general, these responses to my norm violation can be characterized as an increased awareness of my presence rather than blending in the shared environment. Overall, the pattern of behavior revolved around avoiding confrontation and rather increased social distancing.
During the planning phase for my norm violation, I walked myself through in my head on conducting this norm violation in the gym. Some thoughts that arose included a mild apprehension about standing out in front of my peers and especially if any of my friends would be present around the duration of my norm violation. I felt some apprehension as I thought that my anticipated behavior might be noticeable to those around me and end up drawing more attention. Right before I performed my norm violation, I felt an increased awareness of my surroundings, especially within the shared space of the weightroom. During the 15 minute execution period of my norm violation, I experienced heightened self consciousness and felt more visible to those around me. I noticed that I would be constantly monitoring the expressions and reactions of those nearby to me. I could sense that people were being very deliberate in their positioning and how they would exchange glances with me. Immediately after the conclusion of my norm violation, I felt relieved as the experience was taxing to an extent where I was paying more attention to how others were perceiving me rather than focusing on my actual exercise. After returning to facing the mirror, I felt a sense of normality in the rest of my exercises.
The emotions I experienced stemmed from the discomfort from violating a specific norm. In this case it was the internalized norms present in the gym, which led to sudden feelings of hesitation right before the violation and heightened social awareness during the action. When individuals follow norms, they tend to be adhering to a sense of uniformity which gives them comfort as it does not draw unwanted social attention. Overall, norms help people blend in and reduce how they are self conscious of the environment around them. However, if we violate norms we can often experience emotional discomfort as we are straying away from what we are already used to experiencing. In general, norm violation can often be mentally taxing and encourage emotions like social distancing or deflecting such discomfort through humor.
In the gym, norms typically regulate movement, use of equipment and in turn body positioning. While many of these actions have safety as a reason, at its psychological core it is to produce an atmosphere of uniformity. When we look to stay standardized, we reduce chaos and can increase our coexistence. My specific norm violation experience informed me that norms are critical tools that can guide our behavior without explicitly outlining any formal rules. Based on my experience, I was able to understand that while norms are not required, they are widely followed as it often requires less cognitive effort and allows us to mind our business without any unwanted social attention. With my experience as an example, it outlines how norm violations while they do break unwritten boundaries, they are not so salient to be confronted on the spot by other individuals. Norm violations can be subtle to those around us, but it does end up producing noticeable social responses to the individual violating the norm. Norms allow us to stay grounded in how we act on a day to day basis in actions that we oftentimes do not put any thought into. At the core, norms persist as we fear social visibility to those around us, especially if we do not know them and this internal discomfort continues to reinforce the norms present.
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