For
this week’s blog I want to talk about Garfunkel’s breaching experiments. In
society there are certain things that are almost universally agreed upon to be
wrong such as genocide, rape and murder, with these acts and many others being outlawed and punished
by law. However there are other things that society considers wrong although
they are not officially illegal. Countless unwritten rules determine the right
course of actions for particular situations and events, these social norms
guide everyday interaction and behaviour.
Breaching
experiments highlight how people take for granted unwritten social norms that
are generally assumed by members of society. Proper breaches target a specific
social norm such as social etiquette, table manners, and conventional roles.
Funnily enough a couple of
weeks ago I experienced a breaching experiment at Uni. I was going about my day
as of normal and was talking to a friend when all of a sudden around 20 people
start to scream at proceed to run full speed in a line weaving in and around
other students all the way along the library. I gave a textbook reaction which
included awkward laughter, bewilderment and general confusion. I also felt the
need to label a reason as to why this display took place and attributed the scene
to the latest task set out by the drama department, by doing this I was
attempting to make sense of my social world, maintaining social order.
I
thought I would also include a couple of funny examples of individuals
breaching social norms and etiquette at fast food drive-throughs. About a year
ago we were introduced to the idea of ‘Cone-ing’. After
watching this video again I discovered that this maker has actually made a
whole range of similar videos the two I have included are titled ‘Fruit-ing’
and ‘Goldfish-ing’. They are so funny, watching the reactions of the poor
workers as they try to find normality and a reason behind why he is doing this
is classic.
Cone-ing
'Fruit-ing'
'Goldfish-ing'
It is really interesting when we look closely at the unwritten rules that guide us during everyday interactions, and we take it for granted until someone breaches it. I know I don't even realise that I follow these scripts in my interactions until someone deviates from the expected response. For example there has been times when I was driving in my car, I'd let someone in front of me and the expected response from my courtesy should be a wave or acknowledgement. When I didn't get this response I'd definitely be the one making excuses for why that person was so rude in not showing their appreciation without even realising it
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