Social, Political, and Cultural Behavior and Phenomena

Norms
◦Also known as Social Norms, these are rules or standards of behavior shared by
members of a social group.
◦These are more specific than values or ideals. (e.g. Honesty is a general value,
but the rules of defining what is honest behavior in a particular situation are
norms.)
◦They serve as guide or models of behavior that influence how people behave.

Why do people conform to NORMS?

◦Functionalist School
-Norms reflect a consensus.
-Norms contribute to the functioning of the social system and are said to
develop to meet certain assumed “needs” of the system.
◦Conflict School
-Norms are a mechanism for dealing with recurring social problems.
-They reflect the power of one section of a society over the other sections
and that coercion and sanctions maintain these rules.
-They are thought to originate as a means by which one class or caste
dominates or exploits others.

Norms of Decency
◦These are known as Norms of Appropriateness.
◦This includes manners and behaviors that show a person’s refinement and civility
(like how to treat guests).
◦This may include the use of appropriate words and gestures that convey
politeness and courtesy.

Norms of Conventionality
◦These are beliefs and practices that are acceptable to certain cultures but can be
inimical to other cultures.
◦They exert more sanctions in society as it is tantamount to public approval and
recognition.

Conformity
◦This is the state of having internalized norms as part of the social expectation.
◦Social comparison leads us to want to be perceived favorably by members of our
group.

Deviance
◦This pertains to a behavior of relatively or distinctly setting away from a norm.
◦Nonconformist behavioral patterns can be tolerated, approved, or disapprove
depending on societal views.

Types of Deviance:
◦Formal Deviance
- This pertains to actions that violate enacted laws.
◦Informal Deviance
- This refers to violations to social norms that are not codified into law.

Taboos
◦These are prohibitions of actions based on the belief that such behaviors are
either too sacred and consecrated or too dangerous and accursed for ordinary
individuals to undertake.
◦The prohibition that is inherent in a taboo includes the idea that its breach or
defiance will be followed by some kind of trouble to the offender, such as lack of
success in hunting or fishing, sickness, miscarriage, or death.
◦Taboos current in any society tend to relate to objects and actions that are
significant for the social order and that, as such, taboos belong to the general
system of social control.