Psychology
Ethnomethodology and the Breaching Experiments of Harold Garfinkel
Quick fact
In Garfinkel's breaching experiments, students who acted as if they were boarders in their own homes were met with confusion, anger, and accusations of rudeness—demonstrating how deeply we rely on unspoken expectations.
Why this is interesting
Imagine asking a friend, 'How are you?' and they respond with a minute-by-minute breakdown of their digestive health. Suddenly, you're not sure how to respond. Why does such a simple exchange feel so awkward?
Read the full explanation
Understanding Ethnomethodology and the Breaching Experiments of Harold Garfinkel
Ethnomethodology is the study of the 'methods' people use to make sense of everyday life. The term literally means 'people's methods of sense-making'. It was developed by Harold Garfinkel in the 1960s. The core idea is that social order is not imposed from above; instead, it's created moment by moment through shared understandings and practices. Garfinkel argued that we all act like amateur sociologists, constantly interpreting and producing our social world based on implicit rules. To reveal these hidden rules, he designed 'breaching experiments' where common social norms are intentionally violated. For example, he asked students to act as if they were strangers (boarders) in their own homes—not greeting their parents warmly, but instead asking for permission to enter, saying 'thank you' for meals, and being overly polite. The result: family members were perplexed, angry, and demanded an explanation. This reaction shows that we take for granted a set of shared expectations that sustain our social reality. By breaking the rules, Garfinkel made these invisible rules visible.
A deeper explanation
The mechanism behind ethnomethodology lies in the concepts of indexicality, reflexivity, and accountability. Indexicality means that the meaning of words and actions depends on the context; they 'point to' a shared background. For instance, saying 'I'll come later' only makes sense if you know the context of when 'later' is. Reflexivity, in this context, means that our descriptions of social reality are not just about reality but actually help create it—when you describe a situation, you are also reinforcing the norms that define it. Accountability is the idea that people continuously produce 'accounts'—explanations or justifications—to make their actions sensible to others. In breaching experiments, when a norm is violated, the actor is held 'accountable' and asked to provide a reason. The reaction of anger and confusion occurs because the breach challenges the shared understanding of the situation. Garfinkel showed that social order is an ongoing practical accomplishment, not a fixed structure. This has a profound implication: the world is not a given; we are constantly 'doing' it. This insight grounds later social constructionist theories and emphasizes the agency of individuals in shaping their social lives.