The social norms of shopping mall food court were examined and studied in this research study. In order to understand the intent of my research, social norms can be defined as “social norms of behavior and/or thinking that (a) indicate what people should or should not do or think in certain circumstances and ( b) are at least partly imposed on individuals by external pressures” (Dequech 2006: 473). My interest in this study was to analyze whether demographics associated with norms constrain how people interact with family and friends and to what extent social control exists. Additionally, I wanted to investigate the specific norms of the mall food court and highlight acts of deviance, which can be formally defined as "nonconformity to a set of norms accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society” (Appelbaum, Carr, Duneier, Giddens 2009: 173). Essentially, the way people acted was based on the public place. The social norms that were followed were influenced by the place and people around them. Subsequently, it can be summarized as follows: “They consider a social norm as a rule governing the behavior of an individual that third parties other than state agents enforce in a diffuse manner by means of social sanctions. A person who violates a norm risks becoming the target of punishment..." (Ellickson 2001: 3). This specific topic was important for me to analyze because I normally do not spend long periods of time in the mall court I usually buy what I need and leave quickly after, it's very rare that I take my time to shop, sit and rest in the food court and grab something to eat. .For this reason, I was motivated to see how the standards applied.....middle of document......o break it down into specific groups to further analyze how the standards are. socially constructed Through my observations, I discovered that it was polite to minimize phone use at the table among friends, as well as that it was socially normal to sit next to each other. rather than sitting across the street On the second day, November 21, a group of six white friends sat next to each other having a meal after a day of shopping (assumed based on the many bags. shopping on the floor next to their chairs). When they sat down, they filled the table by sitting next to each other while the other three friends sat across from the other three. In this specific observation, I noticed that even though everyone at the table was talking and engaging in conversation, the two women in the group were talking more than the others. What could be considered deviant was the fact