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Lesson Plan:
Breaking a Social Norm
I
Learning Objective(s)
|
Learning
to understand what social norms are and how they affect us. |
II
Rationale for Objectives
|
Hands-on
experience with social norms. |
III
Materials
|
|
IV
Procedures
|
|
(1)
Introduction |
|
(2)
Activity |
(1) Break a social norm
of dress/attire. (Caution: do not wear anything illegal, dangerous, or
extremely disruptive.) Try dressing in female clothes if you are male. Wear
formal attire to a casual get together. Wear a winter jacket in the summer.
Wear sandals in the snow. Wear stripes with polka dots. Wear an unstylish or
outdated outfit. (2) Next, interact with
others and observe their responses while wearing your norm-breaking outfit. |
(3)
Discussion
|
Did you experience
sanctions? Were there subtle punishments for breaking social norms? How does
conforming to and violating social norms fit into the lifelong process of
socialization? |
(4)
Summary |
Takes
30 minutes in class, about an hour outside of class. |
V
Evaluation/Assignment
|
Write a short report of
your experiences and interpretations.
|
VI
Supplementary |
Any
introductory textbook will have relevant readings on social norms, deviance
and labeling. |