The administration of norms in the society is commonly met with a varied degree of acceptance, and certain behaviors might create a jilt among the members of the society. In the view of social norms, folkways are normally easy to violate and does not bear serious sanctions compared to the mores (Helbing, 2012). In the case of the experiment, I opted to violate norms and the test the social behavior of wearing my cloth backward and walking to a wedding.
Wearing cloth backwards and trouser inside-out
The societal reaction to certain folkways is amazing. The social experiments are aimed at providing evidence for the human perception and their body language towards the tested folkway (Wieland, 2012). I decided to walk on the street with my shirt and trouser wore backward and inside-out respectively to see how people reacted. It is important to note that the reactions were natural and feelings elicited were out of norms that the society is used. The following were the reactions to the folkway;
Laughing
As observed, different people reacted variedly to the dressing styles. The sample public reaction was mesmerizing. Among the several reactions was laughter. The view of the society does not expect any person to wear clothes inside-out or backward. It is paramount to understand that the society favors the norm of wearing the clothes the usual way, and any contrary behavior is often met with amusement (Jensen, 2012). Many people seemed surprised at the behavior and reacted with amusement. Some smiled while others broke into loud laughter. It is typical of people to regularly find amusement even in bizarre behavior. While that might vary with the social environment, many would find it funny to see a grown up wear clothes unusually and walk in the public. The most laughable aspect of the dressing was the trouser worn inside out. It elicited loud laughter from several people who could not hold their excitement.
Disgust and anger
While wedding places are normally a preserve of decently dressed people and dignitaries, it is uncharacteristic of the guests to meet people dressed such bizarrely (Jensen, 2012). The organizers normally attempt to have people in their best form of dressing, and any contrary behavior might not be taken lightly by the organizers. It was clearly evident that certain people did not find fun what I was doing and instead reacted angrily and ordered that I should be thrown out for bringing the image of the wedding into disrepute. Though I had officially been invited, my presence was not illegal, but the clothes did not go well with many in the wedding. An official at the wedding sent the security to ask to leave and come back decently dressed. While I pretended that there was nothing wrong with my clothes, another person came and ejected me from the place coercively.
Disappointment
Every wedding individual usually invites friends and expect them to put up their best clothing and portray a good image (Jensen, 2012). However, any dressing considered indecent elicited a feeling of disappointment from my friend who had invited me. Everyone who knew me in person had a frowned face as an expression of disappointment. Upon realizing that I was the one, he came over in person and asked what had happened to me and why I was dressed that way. The disappointment was rightly written all over his face and requested consider dressing appropriately before coming to the wedding.
In conclusion, the feelings observed from the folkway showed that society reacts differently to various behaviors and hold certain beliefs that govern their emotions. Therefore, the social experiments are designed to unravel society’s reaction to behaviors considered abnormal and against the norms.
References
Helbing, D. (2012). Social Experiments and Computing. Understanding Complex Systems Social Self-Organization, 201-209.
Wieland, S. (2012). Stateways cannot change Folkways – Weichenstellung für gleiche Chancen. Der (Mehr-) Wert Der Zwei-Elternteil-Familie, 217-220. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
Jensen, K. (2012). Social preference experiments in Humansg the case for human preferences. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Behav Brain Sci, 35(01), 30-31. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
