SUBJECT: Observation of norms

LENGTH: 3-4 pages

DUE: September 27

One of the most basic, but important, skills that may be required of the social scientist is perceptive observation. When we informally examine the social world, we bring to our observations many preconceptions that result from our culture, background experiences, education, and even language. Often such preconceptions blind us to the obvious, and one skill social scientists try to master is being able to see the world that is often hidden behind cultural blinders. Being a good social scientist may involve paying attention to things you have never even noticed before.

The social world we live in is composed of, among other things, thousands of rules, norms, and laws. Some of these are perfectly explicit (in America we drive on the right hand side of the street by custom and law), others are so implicit that we rarely articulate them (we shake hands with the right hand). Some norms are explicitly taught (various rules of politeness) whereas others are probably not taught explicitly at all but are simply passed along through observation (generally applauding at the end of a musical piece, except that we do not applaud hymns in church services). Some norms apply almost universally (say hello -- or something equivalent -- when you answer the phone), while others may apply only to individual social groups (Jane washes dishes on the nights she doesn't cook).

Norms can be defined in at least two ways. The first is the pressure we feel to behave in certain ways; you know, for example, that you would be criticized if you spit on someone at dinner. Second, however, even when there is no such explicit knowledge of pressures, norms may exist when there are regularities of behavior; for example, students tend to sit in the same seats in a given class even though they may not feel any particular social pressure to do so.

Your assignment has two parts.

First, describe several norms that seem to govern social behavior. Think about some of the subtle pressures that lead you and others to behave one way versus another. Be sure to list some norms that have a general or universal focus and others that apply more specifically to Rice students or to segments of the Rice community.

Second, pick at least three quite different locations on campus, and observe regularities in behavior of the people in that situation. It will be useful to you to take some notes (although they need not be turned in). In making your observations you will need to focus on what level of behavior you are using. For example, one very strong norm that governs our behavior is that greetings should be returned. If person A says "hi" to person B, person B is supposed to (and usually does) respond in some way. That is a regularity, but there may not be regularity at the level of the actual response (some people may say "hi" back, while others may nod and smile). On the other hand, maybe nods are responded to by nods and a "hi" with a "hi".

The paper should not be longer than 3-4 pages. Try to be clever in your observations by looking for the non-obvious.