Stalking a Stranger in a Shopping Mall

a) Norm.

Social norms are customary rules that guide behavior among members of the society (Hechter, 2001). Societies impose some form of social control through sanctions imposed on members of the society who violate norms. For the norm violation assignment, I chose to follow (stalk) a person shopping in a mall from one section to the other, picking the items that she picked, and observed her reaction. I decided to shop at a section of the supermarket that has clothing items for ladies. I walked into a shopping mall identified a lady customer shopping in an isolated section of the mall. I picked a shopping basket and walked directly to the shelf next to which she was standing and picked the same item that she picked. I, immediately, followed her to the next shelf, staring on the clothing items and pick the same product that she picks again. I again moved to her next stopover shelf, observing her reaction as I pick the things that she picks. I repeated the process with a second shopper, in order to get a different response. I chose this norm violation because people hate stalking. People often express a noticeable reaction when they realize or feel they are being tracked. They often ask why you are following them or find a way to disappear from you.

b) Setting.

I chose a mega shopping mall located in a central, populous area, in town. It is a general store offering to customers many products, in a spacious shopping environment. The location is next to a business school campus, and so is a favorite store for college students. The students form the main customer base for the shopping mall. In relation to the norm violation exercise, the shopping mall is a perfect place to meet strangers. Young are particularly sensitive to stalking, and so would notice anyone following them easier and earlier than old people.The chosen shopping mall is has spacious shopping ground, and so people are able to spot and respond to the out of the norm behavior. It is possible to notice people and events in such spacious shopping spaces. Therefore, there is a high chance for the success of the assignment. In addition, it is easy to conduct several simulations of norm violations. This is because the profile of the people in a shopping mall changes after every few minutes, so you are able to repeat the act with different persons and observe reactions. A setting such as a shopping mall is suitable because, in addition to meeting different people, the shoppers are strangers you may never meet again soon, in case the violation harms their attitude towards you.

c) Feeling.

The assignment evokes a wide range of feelings before, during, and after conducting it. In the process of violating the norm, the initial feeling at the time before performing the exercise was that of anxiety. I knew that it was a violation that has the potential to generate violent reactions. It was a new environment, and I never knew the nature of response to expect from the people involved. Those involved are persons I had never met before, and I did not know the nature of their emotional reaction. During the violation period, I was calm because I wanted the exercise to be as real as possible. However, I was a bit scared and uncomfortable but tried not to reveal my emotions to observers because it would give a hint that the exercise was some sort of game. In order to avoid violent reactions, I performed the exercise with only two shoppers. After the norm violation, I felt sorry for the victims of norm violation. One shopper upon realizing that I was stalking her got scared and uncomfortable and left the mall abandoning her shopping items.Some of the items that the persons picked were personal items. It was embarrassing when they realized that I picked the same items. Though I felt a sense of relief from the accomplishment of the norm violation exercise, I had guilt and regret for my actions. It felt like breaking a law by following people around and causing them to abandon their shopping. After the second experience with a shopper, I disappeared from the shopping mall because I felt like a crime suspect sought after by the authorities.

d) Response.

I conducted the violation assignment on two shoppers on the side of the mall that contain female wear. I followed each shopper from shelf to shelf picking the exact items they picked as I observed their reaction. Shopper 1, on realizing I was following her round the shelves, stared at me and then escaped to the crowded shelves, where she could feel safe. She realized that I was shopping female personal stuff, the items she also had. She got surprised of the stuff I had in my shopping basket, and scared I was following her. Afraid to continue shopping at the same area of the shopping mall, she left to the section for general items, which had many shoppers.After she had left, I picked another female shopper who did not suspect me at first. Again, I followed her from one section to the other. In the first shelf, the shopper noticed that I picked a personal ladies’ item. She looks at me surprised and embarrassed, but chooses to ignore it and continue. However, after following her to the next two shelves she becomes aware that I am following her, and so she drops her basket, abandons her shopping, asks me to stop following her, and storms out of the mall. Obviously, the two experiences are excellent, observable reactions to a violation of the norm. The norm is that it is unacceptable to stalk a person because it violates privacy, and, in some cases, may be a security concern.

e) Conclusion.

Social norms comprise expectations, beliefs, and group knowledge. These are standards of behavior enforced through social sanctions that ensure members of a group observe social norms to be able to live together. A violation of any societal norm by an individual member creates a disharmony. Norms are very useful in regulating behavior. In order for the norms to exist, the social group must have the capacity to enforce the rules. No enforcement is essential to the extent that individual interest is consistent with normative rules. In a case where individual interest conflict with group interests, enforcement of the norm is vital. Social control, therefore, is the mechanism of enforcing normative rules i.e. translating rules into action.The society is a complex unit of relationships that support the existence of individuals. This implies that human beings are social creatures guided by normative rules. I learnt that I am a social being and that my peaceful existence is subject to the observation of the social norms by other persons. The same is true that I must conform to the expectations of society for the peaceful existence of the society. It is because of the societal norms than people live together under certain normative values and practices. Actions and values expressed by an individual must be in congruence with the general, popular practice.The assignment, involving the simulation of a violation of social norm, is an effective way of learning social norms. It is a method to experience through observation and feelings how social norms operate. By violating a social norm, you induce the reaction from the immediate members of society. You see how people react to anomalous behavior. You experience how it feels, and you become aware of regret that comes after knowingly violating a social regulation. The simulation is a way of learning by doing. However, there must be a limitation in the extent to which one performs the simulation. One should be careful in choosing a norm to violate because other violations are serious social misconducts and may elicit violent or harmful reaction from the members of society observing the violation. Others violations may be punishable by legal measures. The assignment, when conducted according to the rules, is an effective way to learn social norms and how they function, in real life situation.

Reference

Hechter, M. (2001). “Social Norms”. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

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