Observing Social Behavior at the National Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art (NGA) is home to some of the most prolific works of art in the world. Approximately four million people visit the NGA each year to view the collection of nearly 130,000 objects on display, making it the sixth most popular art museum in the world (Lowe, 2013). The amount of foot traffic the museum experiences provides the perfect setting for observing people as they move through the museum. The purpose of this article is to observe human behavior in a social context. A location in the NGA West Building was chosen for its vantage point to observe people as they transition through the museum. People were studied for twenty-five minutes and observations were conducted to examine their behavior, reactions, and interactions with other individuals. The observation period of twenty-five minutes established the behavior of the individuals at the NGA. The second part of this observation involved breaking a social norm and observing how people reacted when the norm was violated. This article is a detailed account of observations made at the NGA and examines these interactions using sociological concepts. The NGA has three distinct areas, the West Building, the East Building and the Sculpture Garden. Gallery 83 of the West Building was used for people watching for twenty-five minutes. This particular gallery was used because of the artwork it contained. The room contains twenty-one pieces by artists such as Van Gogh, Degas and Gauguin. The notoriety of these artists made it a very busy venue. There are three doors that people can use as entrance or exit. The size of the room allowed for discreet observation of individuals watching... middle of paper ... as it breaks the social norm. That's why people were initially surprised by this interaction. In this case, this could be considered a positive action of deviance. The results of forcing this interaction left the interacted individuals smiling and visibly happier. Social controls can be formal or informal and are those that enforce standards. Social controls indicate that a museum is a quiet place and that little interaction between people should take place there. However, this deviant action resulted in a positive sanction. Positive sanctions are a positive reaction to compliance with a social norm. It was an interesting and unexpected observation when it came to breaking a social norm. The observations in this article provided a unique perspective regarding how culture and socialization dictate behavior in society. Works Citeddfasdf asdf sdfasdf sd f