57: Christine Horne studied COVID social norms

The very kind academic Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson answered questions about teenagers in society last year on this podcast. At the time, she told me she was a helping hand in research done right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, say, March 2020.  

The research had to do with social norms, Dr. Kirkpatrick Johnson told me, and her colleague—Washington State University sociology professor Dr. Christine Horne—could tell me more. 

Well, she did.

Dr. Horne and I discuss sociology, American culture, a little about her biggest bit of research (bridewealth, paid from groom's family to bride's family, in Ghana), and a lot about the research she did about brand-new social norms that developed, in real time, during the pandemic in 2020. 

What are social norms? Are they good or bad … enervating or oppressive … both? And how did Democrats and Republicans judge each other for their choices about mask-wearing, vaccine-taking, shopping and store-closing during the pandemic? 

You’re not done with COVID until you’ve done a little reflection and processing with us … 

To feed further curiosity: 

• Read one of Dr. Horne's co-written bridewealth research papers here. 
• Read the abstract for Dr. Horne’s COVID paper here. 

Note: There’s some weird crinkling on some of this audio. I think, maybe, a camera was focusing in and out, and you could hear it on the mic. Honestly, I am becoming increasingly fascinated by the live sound artifacts that get captured electronically. Sorry about that. But, y’know, this podcast is free, so beggars can’t be choosers. And Dr. Horne is so interesting, I’d listen to her thoughts on society and sociology through a loud wind storm. YMMV.