Lesson Plan: Social Norms
By Madeleine P.
Class time: 75 minutes
This lesson plan focuses on social norms
Prior to class, students will have watched the TEDx Talk “The Secret Life of Social Norms” by Michele Gelfand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqkzp9C2VyI&t=13s , and answered the following guiding questions
Course Learning Objective:
LO1: Describe the major theories of Social Psychology and apply them to real-world situations.
LO3: Reflect on personal assumptions about human behavior and evaluate how these beliefs influence interpretations of social psychological concepts.
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Define and identify social norms and their functions.
- Analyze the impact of breaking social norms on individuals and group dynamics.
- Reflect on their own behaviors in relation to group expectations.
- Critically evaluate the usefulness and harm of different social norms.
Materials
Role Card Handouts for role-play activity
Writing utensils and paper
Lesson Outline
1. Introduction & Group Dynamics Icebreaker (5 minutes)
Warm-up: Think-Pair-Share
Ask: What are some unwritten rules you follow daily? (e.g., saying “thank you,” standing in line).
Transition: Tell students you will be exploring how people interact in everyday conversations, without yet revealing the topic of social norms.
2. Role-Play Activity (15 minutes total)
Instructions & Pairing (5 minutes)
Explain main activity:
“Your goal is to effectively communicate the benefits of the project associated with your assigned role and to persuade your partner to agree with your preferred choice”
Pair students randomly.
Secretly assign one student to be the norm breaker in each pair – they will be instructed on their role handout to subtly break the assigned social norm.
Emphasize: Do not let your partner (witness) see your special instruction.
3. Distribute Role Cards and Instructions (2 minutes)
Everyone receives a role handout. There are 3 different handouts: 1) Norm breaker 1; 2) Norm breaker 2; and 3) Witness
When passing out the handouts, alternate norm-breaking handouts across the pairs (i.e., one pair receives norm breaking handout #1 and witness handout, the next pairing receives norm breaking handout #2 and witness handout)
Role-breakers are asked to engage in one of two subtle norm-breaking behaviors: either yawning while partner is speaking [Handout#1]) or looking away while partner is speaking [Handout #2]
4, Preparation for Dialogue (3 minutes)
Each student prepares short talking points by themselves advocating for their position.
5. Role-Play Conversation (5 minutes)
Students engage in conversation, advocating for their given roles and carrying out their task.
Walk around room to listen to conversations and answer any questions
6. Reveal Topic & Group Debrief Discussion (15 minutes)
Transition into the main topic:
“You just participated in an activity designed to explore social norms, the unspoken rules that guide our behavior.”
Facilitated whole-class discussion:
“Did you notice anything odd or disruptive?”
“How did you feel during the interaction?”
“For those who broke a norm: what was it like? Was it hard? Why?”
“For others: what was your reaction to your partner breaking the norm? Why?”
If discussion is dominated by only a few students, call on others to balance the conversation
Key questions:
Why do social norms exist?
Can breaking them be useful or harmful?
Does context matter (e.g., culture, setting, intent)?
7. Group Analysis Activity (30 minutes)
Small Groups (3-4 students) discuss (10 minutes):
One example of a social norm in their culture or context
Whether breaking it would be viewed positively, negatively, or mixed
What this says about their group/society
Walk around room to listen to conversations and answer any questions
Each group gives 4-5 minute informal presentation that answers the above questions
Ask group-specific follow-up questions to deepen student reflection
8. Final Reflection & Wrap-up (10 minutes)
Prompt students to write a brief reflection:
What did I learn about myself in relation to social norms?
How can understanding social norms help in real-life situations (e.g., leadership, conflict, inclusion)?
Discuss some responses.
Collect responses as exit ticket.
