Help me out here...

[LostInWonderland]

I need to do a project for my social psychology class, and for it I have to break a cultural norm and see the reactions. Examples are like, wearing a costume to a fancy restaurant, sitting down to lunch with friends and eating a bug, etc. Not doing the bug thing, gross. I'd do the costume no problem, but it's almost Halloween so it wouldn't work right.

Can anyone think of a cultural norm that I could break?
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"You left me for a TREE!?"
"I'm environmentally friendly, get over it."

"A watcher scoffs at gravity."

[MidNightBlue]

You can just be dressed really casually in a fancy restaurant.

Although no one complained or gave me any indication that I looked out of place, I myself felt out of place in that fancy Italian restaurant where they were trying to serve me wine while I was in jeans and a raggedy t-shirt along with my bookbag, my homework notes piled on a very pretty table cloth and delicate doilies. Everybody else there was really dressed up.

But that food, let me tell you, was divine.

[GrinfilledCelt]

I think she's looking for more of a wtf sort of thing. Unfortunately, I'm really tired right now and my mind is shutting down so I can't think of any suggestions at the moment. I'll get back to you, Dark.
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Songs for the flash frozen.

[LostInWonderland]

I am indeed looking for a wtf kind of thing. Also, if 'Dark' was referring to me, your mind is indeed shutting down.
_________________
"You left me for a TREE!?"
"I'm environmentally friendly, get over it."

"A watcher scoffs at gravity."

[MidNightBlue]

Lost in the Dark

Sounds okay to me.

[GrinfilledCelt]

[Hungry Mongoose]

I've been trying to think of an idea, but I've had little luck coming up with something that won't get you injured or arrested.
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PARTY TIME.

[GrinfilledCelt]

How about doing a survey with outrageous questions? Ask about cannibalism or something.

I saw a video where someone on a campus was circulating a petition to end woman's suffrage. It was real funny how many dumb asses (and dumb assettes) were eagerly signing the thing.
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Songs for the flash frozen.

[swollenlymphnodes]

I would say drive on the left side of the road, thinking you're from Japan or Britain.

Have polar reactions in a movie theater. Like Scream in horror during romantic scenes, and laugh during tense serious moments... or have uncomfortably long delayed reactions. Like imitate the audience's reaction... only 10 to 15 seconds delayed.

Have a picnic on a traffic island.

Take in your face photos of random people in public.

Walk backwards down a sidewalk.

Ask people in a food court if you could taste their food.

Sit in an elevator. On the floor, or bring a chair and just stay there.

Narrate peoples actions in public out loud.
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nodes aka GTBaka
eh?
*Eternally Lurking*

[jjjynx]

Nodes have it, just grab a chair, sit in the middle of somewhere where you shouldn't be with a home chair, office chair, or whatever chair, and stay there being yourself. You could be singing, dancing or just simply watching anime on a video cam. Well better yet you could video the peopl around you while sitting on the chair.

[Dread_Knight^Samurai]

THE SWORD!!! IT'S ALL IN THE SWORD!!! BWAhHAhAHhAhaHAha...
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The mark of my divinity shalt scar thy DNA.

[jjjynx]

There you have it, you should bring a roundback chair, sit in an elavator and hold on to a sword while singing.

[MidNightBlue]

[swollenlymphnodes]

I don't know... some kind of off humor that me and my friends have.

But if I must put some science to it. You basically take cultural norms and go against it. Or take norms from other cultures and introduce them into an environment or society where it has little or no exposure.

Like in some Asian cultures it's considered polite to burp after a meal showing appreciation for the food. Introduce that into a westernized society that find it rude and the results are amusing.

Or like in Korean society, it's normal to be blunt, especially in matters of physical appearance. Imagine telling someone, 'you're getting so fat!' or, your complexion is ugly, so many zits!'

The asking to taste food bit, comes from very hospitable cultures where people offer food, and share freely. Not so in the US.

Even things like how close you stand to people make a difference. In Europe people can be right in your grill. Lost can try that. Approach people to have conversation, but invade their 'bubble' by standing 4-6" from them.

Man I can think of so many, I'm just trying to restrain them to both PG levels, and things that Lost wouldn't be caught dead doing.

Try, bringing a water bottle in a brown paper bag to class, and act like a drunk.

Go to a pet store, and ask people what the animals taste like.

Go to a cash register in a restaurant or convenience store and try to pay for free stuff, like condiments or napkins. Act extremely surprised when they say it's free, and then horde the rest of them. Exclaim to other customers on the way out with glee, "these are free!"
_________________
nodes aka GTBaka
eh?
*Eternally Lurking*

[MidNightBlue]

The only one I can think of has already been done before and it seems a little too tame.

It's the one where they did that study on if there was a group of people in the elevator facing the back wall, and you let your test subject in and see if the test subject will also turn to face the back wall. I think in the same set of experiments they also did a thing where they had a group of people in the room who were told to all make guesses on a question to one extreme and the one test subject was being tested as to whether or not he would follow the majority.

I'm sure there was a clearer way to explain that, but I don't feel un-lazy enough to think of a better way.