Caroline Christy

Round Table Essay

Rough Draft 1

Do you say the word awesome? Do you like Uggs or a certain sports team? Have
you ever wondered about why you like the things you do? Or why certain kids are bullied
because they are different? What is different and who decides different? These are just
a few of the questions I wonder about and hope by writing this paper can answer or at
least understand human nature to have social norms.
Psychologists have been studying social norms for years, the reason they research
these things is to help figure out what makes certain things socially cool so they can
help promote health and reduce prejudice. Psychologists stance is that norms serve as a
basic human function, but other than that little is known about how or why social norms
are set. The big question researchers ask is whether there is always a leader or if social
norms are made organically over time. The past couple of years research has picked up in
the subject of social norms, however this is something that is very hard to experiment and
to observe because no one ever really knows what other people are thinking. Normative
beliefs are habitually accompanied by the expectation that other people will follow the
prescribed behavior and avoid the proscribed one. (Social Norms, Turnbull 1972)
Scientist and psychologists have this viewpoint of wanting to know more because they
have questions about why social norms are seen and acquired like they are. They dont
view them as good or bad but whether a way of life that is natural and unavoidable.
Another voice that I thought would be interesting is that of teenagers and how
they feel about social norms. Also along with how teenagers feel I thought it would be
good to talk about how adults feel towards teenagers and their social norms. In a USA
Today article entitled Are Social Norms Steadily unraveling U.S teens are viewed as
sloppy, self-obsessed, and disrespectful compared to previous generations. San Diego
Caroline Christy
Round Table Essay
Rough Draft 1

State University compared surveys from 1958 to 2001 and it revealed that teens are less
with living up to societys expectations. However the National Social Norms Research
Center did not agree.
I am still considered a teen and I think I have to agree with the National Social
Norms Research Center because I know I was concerned with fitting into society and
being cool and so was everyone at my high school. In college it is a little less
noticeable because everyone is all off in their own groups but I know that we are still
concerned with fitting in, within the group we are in. I think the reason that older
generations view us teens as disrespect and sloppy is because our norms in society
are completely different, now it is cool to have piercings and tattoos, which in other
generations if you had piercings and tattoos you were viewed as a lowlife, or with the
bad crowd. To me the comparison between the two surveys is irrelevant because the
times have changed and are completely different.
According to this article the main problem is not the actual social norms but the
perceived social norms. Which brings up a very good point, according to Resource
Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention most teens think that everyone else is
having sex but they really arent, and most think that all their peers are doing drugs but
they really arent. This arises another problem, due to these perceived social norms some
teens may make bad decisions or do things they wouldnt normally do because they think
that everyone is doing the same thing as well.
The Othering is pretty much everyone left in society. The othering is an action
that we as humans do. If someone is not like us then we automatically group them into an
other group. The other have a viewpoint of if your not with us then your against us.
Caroline Christy
Round Table Essay
Rough Draft 1

Which isnt they way it should be. They have this view point because their human nature
is to group someone not like us, and to someone feel threated by them. However
according to a new study being done grouping someone in the other group can be broken
up into two different categories, exclusionary and inclusionary. Exclusionary is looking
for power over the other group, whereas the inclusionary is looking to make amends
and to use all the power together.
These are just a few different viewpoints looking at social norms from all
different sides. Social norms are something that is always going to happen but they dont
need to be viewed as bad when someone else doesnt conform to a certain social norm.
From doing this research especially about the teenagers point of view if everyone just
started being himself or herself then there would be no confusion about who you are or
the group of friends you hang out with. It would be what you see is what you get. I really
gained a lot of information by looking at these voices and also gained new perspectives
and opinions about my line of inquiry. By looking at these voices it was an eye opener to
why social norms are made, it is basic human nature.








Caroline Christy
Round Table Essay
Rough Draft 1

Works Cited Page
Bicchieri, Cristina. "Social Norms." Stanford University. Stanford University, 01 Mar.
2011. Web. 05 May 2014.

"Social Norms in Teenagers." Everyday Life. Globalpost, n.d.
Web. 06 May 2014.

The Other (Revised) Blog, cchris27.weebly.com