Week 3
Question 1
1). Are there group norms at SJSU? What are they? In the group of individuals that you spend time with, are there group norms? What are they? In both cases, how did you identify these norms? How did you adapt to these norms?
Although I haven't gone to San Jose State for very long, I have definitely noticed group norms. There seem to be a lot of cliques throughout campus, and they all seem to have their different quirks that are normal for them. For example, students who are a part of greek life on campus tend to wear a lot of clothing with their letters, or just clothing that promote their specific fraternity/sorority. I would consider this a norm for this group, which are students involved in greek life. Within my own group of friends, we have our norms too, in the sense that we all play a specific role in the group. Out of my closest friends, we all have different personality traits that make us different, yet allow us to all work together. Having different qualities that we all bring to the table is something that I would consider a norm for my friends and I, because none of us are very alike.
In order to identify these norms you simply need to observe them, some might not be as obvious to spot or point out. It may take time in order to figure out or realize what norms go with what groups. Adapting to these norms can be tricky, especially if they are out of your personal comfort zone, but adapting is a part of life, so even if you don't realize that you are doing it, you are constantly changing and adapting.
Hello Raya! Like you I pointed out the Greek life in my post. I found this post to be a bit challenging in the sense that at times I found myself stereotyping instead of classifying norms. In the Greek life, I looked a little further into it that they use specific category of norms like peripheral and explicit norms. Though I do not know the full details about sororities and fraternities I observed actions and behaviors from friends that I have in the Greek system. I like the group you picked for your group norm. Though none of our groups are the same, I feel like a lot of the time groups work well together because the individuals that make up the group aren't all alike. Your last sentence, "...adapting is a part of life, so even if you don't realize that you are doing it, you are constantly changing and adapting," makes such a great and strong point. I love it. Looking back at this past year, I have changed so much and so have my norms with every group I associate myself with. Great job on this post!
ReplyDeleteHi, Raya!
ReplyDeleteAdapting to a group's norms can definitely be tricky. I talked in one of my posts about having to adapt to my group of friends and how they always say that we are going to get together at a certain time, when in reality there is a 10 or 20 minute grace period. As someone that is used to being punctual and arriving on time, it was difficult to adjust to that norm. I like that you mentioned getting out of your personal comfort zone. By meeting new people and joining new groups, adjusting to the norms has forced me to get out of my comfort zone and get used to new things, which has helped me become more social and more comfortable in new situations with all kinds of people.