When thinking about deviance one tends to associate the concept with something that is out of the ordinary, like breaking the law, and it is usually associated with a negative connotation. From a sociological perspective, deviant behavior is something that strives away from the norm and can be both in positive or negative manner. What we consider deviant behavior can vary across cultures and places since normative behaviors are molded by society. Any action or behavior that strides away from what is considered conventional in that society will almost always receive a hostile, negative reaction from other people, as it is not common to see such an unordinary behavior in a person amongst the conforming majority.
The norm violation I chose for this project was to position myself about six inches away from an acquaintance’s nose during a conversation. I had my sister film the reactions from a distance as I acted out the norm violation on one person that I am fairly acquittanced with I met up with my acquaintance to ask for notes for a common class. When it came time to act outside the norm I immediately felt nervous and uneasy because I did not know what sort of reactions to expect from the people I was having these close conversations with. Especially since I am a person who does not usually draw any sort of unordinary attention, it took me a bit of practice and concentration to be able to carry out this sort of behavior. The reaction to the norm violation from the first person was very subtle, she did not show any sort of obvious uneasiness in her voice but I could clearly tell she was uncomfortable as she continued to back away from me the closer I got.
