Confession: I am a people watcher. Not only do I like to watch what people do, I like to do little tests to see how people react in certain situations. First though, before I tell you of my scheming ways, I need to give you a bit of background information on social norms.
Social norms are unwritten "rules" that people tend to do without really knowing that they're doing them. Let me give you an example, I'm pretty sure you've all been in an elevator before (if not, you're missing out). Now, ever notice that when people get into an elevator they turn around to face the door? I guess the only time someone wouldn't face the door would be if there was a mirror on the back wall or another door, but that's a different story.
Anyway, for the most part, people turn around, and it would feel wierd not to. I dare you to try it. Walk into an elevator and just stay with your back to the door. You'll probably feel uncomfortable and people might look at you as if you just took off your pants. No joke. There is one exception though, and that would be the Elevator Psychology Experiment which deals with conformity. Highly entertaining and quite funny, I recommend you watch it. If you want to read more about elevator behavior, click here, and if that doesn't satiate your quench for more, there are plenty of other experiments and things, but sadly I can't link them all here ...but maybe I'll put another one here just for fun and another that relates to that one if you're really interested.
Another common one is the "buffer chair". Ever notice that when you're sitting in a theater, there's always that seat that separates the different parties from each other? I mean if the movie is sold out, then of course it's not weird, but if it wasn't, could you imagine sitting right next to someone in a relatively empty theater? They would be deathly afraid then, and you will feel out of place.
So now that you get the general gist of what I'm saying, here it goes...
Similar to the whole "buffer" idea, I decided to violate a social norm by sitting next to someone in the library. Allow me to explain. The campus library is lined with study desks. Though the desks are all connected, they are separated by wooden dividers and the desk itself is about 3 feet wide so every student gets ample space to work in. Thing is, people do the whole "buffer chair" norm and there is at least one desk in between each person. The chairs are fairly far apart so it's not like you would be sitting right next to the person like in a theater! So I decided to try it for myself to see what would happen if I sat in the desk next to someone and act like it's totally normal.
It was hilarious.
The minute I set my stuff down on the table, he looked up at me and I just smiled wanly and went back to unpacking my study materials. I rummaged around my bag, getting out my laptop and my books before taking a seat. He was still staring at me a bit, but when I turned around to face him he looked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look over a few times, probably making sure I wasn't going to kill him or anything. I was biting my lip to keep myself from laughing, but I busied my time on the computer, just to see how long he would sit there. I gave him about ten minutes and sure enough, he packed up and left, the tension leaving with his receding footsteps.
Isn't it strange how people do that though? Why is it such a big deal to sit next to someone, even though they're four feet away from each other? I know for a fact that I would be weirded out too, but why are we humans like that?
