Nueve

Ethnomethodology is a study of the social norms and accepted behavior in society by means of breaking down those norms and observing people's reactions. A good example would be walking into an elevator and facing the other passengers as opposed to facing the doors like everyone else. I am a fan of this concept because it creates awkward situations.

I live in a dorm with community bathrooms. When it comes time to brush your teeth each night, you have five sinks from which to choose. I've noticed that there is some unspoken rule as to the process of teeth-brushing. If Person A begins brushing her teeth before Person B, Person B cannot complete her teeth-brushing until an acceptable period of time has passed after Person A has finished. In essence, you must start and stop in the same order. If you begin brushing your teeth after someone and then finish before them, your personal hygiene is called into question.

I enjoy pushing the social norms and seeing how people react. If I am the first person to start brushing my teeth, and someone else begins after me, I will brush my teeth for five minutes just to see if they'll stop first. They never do. And that's ridiculous, because at some point you're just scrubbing the enamel off of your teeth and there is no toothpaste left--it's just foam and saliva.

I have concluded that people are way too concerned with what others think. This very scientific qualitative field research study will serve as my evidence.