Anticipated Sanctions (cont)
Sanction Anticipation
A sanction is an expression of either approval given to people for upholding norms, or an expression of disapproval to people for violating norms.
Experiment
I predicted these sanctions because they enforce norms, which are created to enforce values. In this case, a value would be privacy.
Reflection
Setting: Public Restroom
Reason for stopping experiment:
Test subject said she couldn't use the restroom with me talking to her, so I felt guilty and apologized.
- Norms being followed in public restrooms were weak to moderate. They aren't enforced strongly because they are not threatening core values.
- The strongest way somebody expressed a negative sanction was by expressing verbal disapproval politely.
- Internal sanctions have a bigger effect on me than external sanctions because I had to fight my internal sanctions in order to break a social norm
Norms:
- Use women's restroom
- Entering restroom by opening door
- Walking in forward
- If there is a line, wait your turn
- Enter a stall not next to somebody else if possible
- Using seat cover
- Aiming INSIDE the toilet
- Use toilet paper
- Discard used toilet paper IN the toilet
- Not talking to person next to you
- Flush toilet
- Exiting stall by opening stall door
- Waiting in line for an open sink
- Washing your hands with water soap
- Drying hands with paper towel or air dryer
- Throwing paper towel in trash can
- Open restroom door
- Leave by walking forward
Status & Role
Status: Museum Visitor
Role: Paying for entrance, looking at art, keeping hands off of the art, use public facilities (restroom)
- I will be violating the norm of not speaking to anybody while using the restroom. I will start up a conversation with the person in the stall next to mine.
Breaching Experiment
by Nimmi Bhakta