Kaonashi Ga Suki

Today I had to read a psychology journal article for a class assignment. The study deals with situational norms, the notion that the environment or situation can influence a person’s behavior. For example, people behave differently when they’re in church than when they’re at a baseball game. In church people are quiet and pray silently, while at a baseball game people constantly clap and cheer (or boo). Such situational norms are not inherent. Often we learn about situational norms by observing other people, how they behave in these situations. If I go to a fancy dinner party for the first time, I will look at other people and see how they’re behaving and adjust my own behavior accordingly. If I go to the ladies’ room and see a line of women waiting their turn, I take that as a cue to stand in line as well.

Unfortunately, it seems that some people don’t quite grasp the notion of situational norms.

I was at Borders bookstore today studying when I noticed several instances in which people defied the situational norm. Bookstores are for the most part, relatively quiet. It’s very similar to a library. People are often found reading books or studying, and when they speak it is in hushed tones. While most people behaved according to the situational norm, others were quite unaware of it. I tried my best to study while 3 people 10 feet away from me chattered in their normal voices. A few hours later, a woman answered her cell phone and chattered away in a very loud voice as she sat among people reading. But my favorite was the loudmouth mom. She walked around the store pushing her child in the stroller and spoke in a loud voice. At one point she started yelling at her child for some reason or the other, and her husband cautioned to keep her voice down.

Her response? “WE’RE NOT AT A LIBRARY. IT’S JUST A BOOKSTORE.”

Her husband replied in a soft voice that she should still keep her voice down.

It’s true…Borders isn’t a library, it’s a bookstore. However, the soft music playing in the background, the people reading and studying should have tipped her off that one shouldn’t speak so loudly. It’s a place where people come to relax, to enjoy their coffee, to read a magazine. It’s not a busy shopping mall, or a baseball game.

There are so many clueless people out there who think they can do what they want. They don’t respect others, and they don’t observe the situation. It can be really frustrating.