Positive Deviance

       Deviant behavior is different than the norm. Positive deviance means violating the norms of society by doing something positive. Random acts of kindness are the most common examples of positive deviance. It's doing something nice when you don't necessarily have to, or it is unexpected. Diaz's response to the mugger was an act of positive deviance because not only was he breaking a social norm, but he was doing it in a positive way. The last thing the mugger probably expected was a random act of kindness from the person he was mugging. Even though the mugger was doing a horrible thing to Diaz, Diaz was so generous in return. He looked past the social norm and looked out for the teen.

      My act of positive deviance was buying Jamba Juice for a cute elderly couple behind me. This qualifies as an act of positive deviance because it is unusual for a person to spend money on people they've never met before. Personally, I have never seen this happen. I expected whoever was behind me would feel awkward, but would appreciate it in the end.

     After paying for my Razzmatazz, I didn't move over to wait for my drink to be ready. I turned around and motioned for the elderly couple to come closer. My friends had no idea what I was doing, and stared at me with a weird look. The couple smiled awkwardly and asked if I needed anything, but I told them to order whatever they wanted and it would be on me. The elderly lady smiled awkwardly and her husband kindly denied my offer. But, I insisted. After 30 seconds of awkwardness the couple finally ordered a small mango-a-go-go and strawberries wild (small size because they probably felt bad for me paying for it). I paid for their drinks and while we were waiting for the drinks to be ready, the couple asked me why I did what I did. I told them that I was feeling generous that day, and a random act of kindness would do me good. After I left Jamba Juice my friends told me that what I did was so random, but nice. This assignment made me feel awkward at first but when the elderly couple smiled back at me it made it all worth while. People in this generation don't expect random acts of kindness, so when they happen it seems like a bigger deal than it should be. Spending about 5 extra dollars on strangers shouldn't be unusual.