Week 9 Breaching Experiments PDF

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Breaching during experiments....

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WEEK 9 Researching Psychology Student Preparation: The breaching experiments Harold Garfinkel (1963, 1967) was interested in ordinary social interaction and how people made sense of the world around them. He was particularly interested in the methods that people use to construct their sense of reality and argued that language was the key tool by which this was achieved. He argued that without shared understandings (e.g. rules and routines), meaningful social interaction was not possible. He came up with a series of ‘breaching experiments’ which violated some of these social rules in order to reveal the underlying social order of these situations. You will be conducting your own breaching experiment, which we will discuss and reflect on in class in relation to ideas about discourse and social interaction. Before week 9 you will conduct your own breaching experiment. In groups of 2 or 3 you’ll need:  A considerable amount of courage (breaking social norms is probably harder than you think!)  Sensitivity and a consideration of ethics (essentially this is covert research, with no ‘informed consent’, so how will you handle this?)  Consideration of your own personal safety and welfare (ANY experiment should consider the degree to which it might negatively affect the participants but also the experimenters!) Here are some ideas (you can devise your own but you’ll need tutor approval beforehand):      

Hold the door open for people that are too far away Stand facing the ‘wrong way’ in a lif Sit down in a place where people are usually standing or walking (not to get in the way) Stand still in a place where people are walking (contravening the expectation of action) Disrupt ordinary greetings (e.g. say ‘hello’ as you’re leaving or ‘greet’ them in mid-conversation) Hold a conversation with a friend or someone you know and ask them to explain common terms that you usually take for granted. E.g. ‘What’s a flat tyre?’ ‘What do you mean by sunny day’?

1. Decide on the breach you’ll perform, who will complete the action (you can take turns) and how you will do it exactly (think ethics here!) 2. Attempt to complete at least one breach several times (4 or 5 minimum) 3. Observe and subsequently make a note of the reactions and behaviour of others 4. Talk and reflect about the process and the results a. How did you feel carrying out the experiments? Did this hinder the experiment in any way? How do you feel about the experiment now you’ve carried it out? b. Did you encounter any problems? How did you deal with these? c. What do both your feelings and the reactions of others tell us about the situation? What can we deduce about ordinary or regular interaction of this kind?

d. What problems are there with the experiments (e.g. the design, the process or the results)? Can you think of a different way to study the same phenomena?...