What is breaching experiment according to Harold Garfinkel?

One of Garfinkel’s research methods was known as a “breaching experiment,” in which the researcher behaves in a socially awkward manner in order to test the sociological concepts of social norms and conformity. To conduct his ethnomethodology, Garfinkel deliberately imposed strange behaviors on unknowing people.

What is the purpose of breaching experiments?

In the fields of sociology and social psychology, a breaching experiment is an experiment that seeks to examine people’s reactions to violations of commonly accepted social rules or norms. Breaching experiments are most commonly associated with ethnomethodology, and in particular the work of Harold Garfinkel.

What did Garfinkel do?

Harold Garfinkel (October 29, 1917 – April 21, 2011) was an American sociologist, ethnomethodologist, and a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is known for establishing and developing ethnomethodology as a field of inquiry in sociology.

Who is the father of ethnomethodology?

Harold Garfinkel
Harold Garfinkel, who has died aged 93, was professor emeritus in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was based from 1954 until his retirement in 1987. In the 1950s, he coined the term “ethnomethodology”, literally meaning “people’s methodology”.

What are breaching experiments examples?

Breaching Experiments

“One example is volunteering to pay more than the posted price for an item.
“[A] student cheerfully asked a McDonald’s clerk for a Whopper, a menu item at rival Burger King.

Are breaching experiments ethical?

Ethics. Some breaching experiments conducted in the past would be considered unethical today because of their intrusive nature. Such experiments have contributed to the rise of human subjects review of social science research, often based on the principle of informed consent.

When was ethnomethodology invented?

1950s
In the mid-1950s, Garfinkel invented the term ethnomethodology; however, it only became known in the mid-1960s (Lynch 1993). Between 1940s and 1960s, Garfinkel was drawn to social theory, the basic problems of social order, social action, intersubjectivity, and knowledge (Her- itage 1987).

What is the meaning ethnomethodology?

Ethnomethodology is the study of how social order is produced in and through processes of social interaction. It generally seeks to provide an alternative to mainstream sociological approaches.

Who coined the term ethnomethodology?

Harold Garfinkel coined the term ethnomethodology to designate the methods individuals use in daily life to construct their reality, primarily through intimate exchanges of meanings in conversation.

What happens when norms are breached?

Breaking norms can result in a formal punishment, such as being fined or imprisoned, or an informal punishment, such as being stared at or shunned by others. Some classroom norms involve how students are to speak in class.

What was the result of the breaching experiment?

Goffman draws on his earlier studies of individuals in mental asylums, as well as other stigmatized social groups, in order to highlight the often taken-for-granted rules of social interaction, as well as the results when rules are broken. He argues that the most common rule in all social situations is for the individual to “fit in”.

Who was the social psychologist who did the breaching experiment?

Two of the most well known studies of violation of social norms by a social psychologist were carried out by Stanley Milgram, well known for his infamous obedience experiments.

What did Erving Goffman do with the breaching experiment?

The work of sociologist Erving Goffman laid the theoretical foundation for ways to study the construction of everyday social meanings and behavioral norms, especially by breaking unstated but universally accepted rules. Garfinkel expanded on this idea by developing ethnomethodology as a qualitative research method for social scientists.

Why did Alvin Garfinkel do the breaching experiment?

Garfinkel instructed his students to treat such everyday, implicit understandings as problematic phenomena to be studied. Breaching experiments reveal the resilience of social reality, since the subjects respond immediately to normalize the breach.