1. My original inquiry for this research project was one that i did not end up liking so i changed it to conformity on college campuses because it is something that i think people use as a way to not have to step out of their comfort zones. My original question dealt with advertising and controversial ad campaigns but I found that i was not finding any ad that was compelling enough to me to have to write 10-12 pages on the topic. after changing to this topic, though, I really found that I was much more interested in writing and researching about this. Especially since a part of what brought me to think of this topic was the Human vs. Zombie game that was happening on Syracuse Campus. After watching the game and hearing people talk about why they were playing or why they were not, it made me really think about how people act in social settings and how people mainly tend to not step outside of their comfort zones into unknown areas.
2. Based off the interviews that I did with people around Syracuse Campus, there was not much that I found out that I did not already have some idea about. It was interesting to find out that a lot of the people who played the game very easily came together as a team, even without having any idea who most of the other players were. The research I did through this game helped to open up my eyes to the fact that there are many things on campus that make it possible for people to expand their horizons, it is simply that most people do not take advantage of these opportunities. This knowledge helped to give me more direction on what I could find for my secondary research.
3. At this point I still need to know more about what exactly it is that may cause someone to limit themselves in social atmospheres and what opportunities there are for people to expand themselves. I plan on searching for sources that foster peoples need to avoid change and others that are more geared towards people who are looking/open to meeting new people and having new experiences.
4. So far I have not found gaps in my research, although I have not done that much research yet. Through finding my secondary sources and connecting them with my primary interviews, I think I was successful in finding an idea that is original to me and my inquiry. There are some sources that say that activities that some people may view as ways that they are expanding themselves is in fact, not that at all and simply reinforces specific qualities that people already have and continue to follow. From what I have concluded from my primary research, I agree with what I have discovered. The sources I have found have greatly supported my ideas of people thinking they are going outside their barriers but are really not. The example of facebook is my main one for that idea since many people on facebook are not looking for people they do not know and for the most part are only friends with people that they already know or have similarities with.
5. Original ideas that are starting to brew in my head are basically that most people think they are stepping outside of their comfort zones when in fact they are not. People do not normally tend to look for things that are different from what they are used to or people who are different from them. If I had to make an argument right now it would probably be that many people do not take the opportunity to expand what they know and have new experiences because of the comfort stigma that many people fall into. My justifications for working this hypothesis are sources that discuss this idea with facebook and other social networking sites.
6. People use sites such as Facebook for social networking. However, such sites do not force people to break their barriers. Other opportunities do exist where people can expand themselves and become a more dynamic person.
