Breaking an accepted norm can create a significant conflict. As a hypothesis, for example, suppose a 40-year-old female went to the gas station, pumped a full tank of gas, and then paid with quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. The people behind her would naturally become very irritated with her. At her age, she should know better than to do such a thing. Furthermore, the size of the sale dictatesùaccording to the normùthat it be paid with bills or credit card. Paying for a $2.00 item with nothing but change would not elicit the same response.
I tested this hypothesis at three different gas stations. At the first, I bought 15 gallons of gas and paid with all change from a jar of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. The gas station counter at the time was rather busy but not lined up out into the parking lot. The two people immediately behind me said nothing, but I heard someone farther back say, ôYouÆve got to be kidding me!ö I also heard a couple of people muttering, but I could not make out what they were saying. The clerk was trying to be considerate of everyone and asked me to step to the side while he counted out my change. Another cashier handled the other customers while he was doing that. This seemed to defuse the anger of the other customers somewhat, and no one said anything directly to me about the situation.
At the next gas station a few days later, I bought 12 gallons of gas and pulled out my jar of change. In this station, there was no second counter where the clerk could put me aside to count out my change, and there was no second cashier, either. Also, the gas station itself was much smaller inside, with barely enough room to stand at the counter and space for about 3 people behind me. While the attendant counted out my change, the space behind me filled up and soon there were people in line out the door. I did not hear anyone say anything, which kind of surprised me. I turned a
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