If you want to add a visual dimension to your students’ understanding of norms the Can of Worms YouTube Channel has a selection of short films you can use as illustrative material. There are quite a few films from which to choose, so it probably pays to be selective.
The focus, as ever, is on using norm-breaking behaviour (“breeching experiments”) to illustrate the existence, importance and effects of norms on our everyday lives.
Taking things a little further, some of the clips can be used to illustrate concepts like the definition of a situation (how people become confused when they define a situation as one thing but other people define as something else) and Merton’s use of anomie (how people respond to situations in which norms clearly apply but which they can’t, for whatever reason, understand or follow).
If you’re looking for a more-general introduction to sociology and sociological thinking, have a look at our Introducing Sociology films – What is Sociology? is now available for digital download.
