Reflection

Week 7: Norm Violation and Everyday Obedience

Even though I was unable to violate any social norms in this project. Looking at different

forms of norm violations; my opinions as an observer changed. It’s okay to conform, and it’s

okay to not follow the unwritten rules of society as long as you’re not harming or breaking

physical laws. Things like personal space and gender clothing are social constructs, those who

defy it will stand out in society. I learned a lot from searching for norm violations in the media.

Often the media portrays a lot of unusual things that are not normally seen in society, but these

concepts from the chapter were easy to apply. I learned that the word “obedience” holds a very

negative connotation in individualistic countries, but they are not all bad. However, obedience

can be good or bad.

This project helped me learn the material. When I was searching for different norm

violations in the media, I was not just stating that it was a norm violation. I had to define why it

was a norm violation by including evidence from the textbook. This made it an active rather than

a passive learning style. Often when I read, I will have to revisit the text because I forgot what I

had read previously. But this project made it easier to apply the concepts to the media and make

a stronger connection. Also, applying the concepts about obedience to the things going on in my

life strengthened my knowledge and understanding of the material. I could visualize the concepts

and this helped with my visual learning process.

The feedback I received was positive and encouraging. Dr. Stansbury acknowledged my

perspective of social norms and the incorporation of the text. This feedback supported the work I

put into the project and indicated that this was the level of effort I need to put into all my

projects. From this project, I learned how to incorporate YouTube clips from different shows and
how to edit them to show only certain clips on PowerPoint. I can use this in other courses and in

my professional career.