Breaking Social Norms

Social norms are patterns of behavior that society accepts as normal and expects each individual to follow. 

 

These include rules for how we treat one another and respect  property ownership and personal space. For example, there are norms regarding how far away a person stands when talking face-to-face with someone else or how far away two people should stand when walking next to each other. There are expectations regarding eating one's own food on one's own plate, using one's own clothes, and showing respect in general for another person's property. 

 

There are also rules for how we conduct ourselves in society, to which everyone is expected to conform. For example, as people walk into an elevator or a public bus, they position themselves far away from others until it fills up. Then, there are rules governing how much space you can take up with your body and your belongings and how loud you can be when in such close proximity with other people. I decided to challenge this social norm. 

 

I got onto a C-1 bus in the early evening, sat down, put my headphones in, and proceeded to sing loudly at the top of my lungs. I observed a few things. First, the people closest to me consciously or unconsciously moved away from me either by relocating altogether or just shifting their posture. Next, there was silence on the bus while I was "performing." Everyone was staring at me and didn't seem to know what to say. Some had looks of amusement and confusion on their faces, like the bus driver, while others looked noticeably uncomfortable. When I was done, some people clapped, while others looked at me with disdain. 

 

These reactions make me wonder about how societal norms are encoded into our brains and what physiological and psychological reactions they trigger in response to someone breaking these societal rules. What are the emotions that people experience in a situation like this - surprise or disgust? Also, what are the physiological and psychological responses of someone attempting to break societal norms? I know that I experienced an increase in heart rate, sweaty palms, and a feeling of fear and dread right before hand. I'll be interested to read the literature on this particular topic.