MAN AND SOCIETY RELASHIONSHIP

Family Matters One way that society influences people is through laws and
rules that determine how they should behave. For example, parents establish
rules for their families that show the children proper behavior. They may insist
that children wait their turn before speaking instead of interrupting other or
that children must sit or lie on the furniture instead of jumping and climbing on
it. When the children fail to follow the rules, they face consequences. In this
way, the children learn how to adjust their behavior to fit in with their families
and with others.

The Rule of Law Similarly, governments create laws that direct behavior.

State and federal governments establish speed limits for roads that tell people
how fast they can drive. They create penalties for actions like stealing from
other people or causing harm to others. Some laws come directly from social
expectations, such as driving only when sober. In this way, the government
influences the way people behave. If they want to avoid the consequences,
which range from fines to prison time, they must conform to the behavior
specified within the written law.

Social Norms In addition to written rules, societies have unwritten rules called
social norms that also influence people. For example, waiting in line for one’s
turn instead of skipping ahead of those already waiting is a behavior that
American society expects from people. Other common norms are covering
one’s mouth during a sneeze, wearing clothes in public and giving gifts at
birthdays and holidays. Norms help establish order within a society so
conforming to them provides predictability among people and situations, which
reduces stress and keeps the community running smoothly.

Media and the Mind Society also exercises great influence over people
through the media. In fact, the effects of television on the behaviors and
beliefs of people are well documented. One striking example is visible in the
work of anthropologist Anne Becker. During a study she oversaw in Fiji from
1995-98, Becker saw firsthand how the images viewed on television change
the belief system of the people who watch it. By the end of the study, slightly
more than eleven percent of the adolescent girls on the island started purging
after eating in an attempt to make their bodies look more like those they saw
on the television.

The Power of Education School curricula both reflect and influence society.

Elected officials with a sense of obligation to their political parties or the
people who voted them into office may change school curriculum to reflect the
belief system of those groups. The curricula changes eventually make it to the
classroom where teachers and students engage in lessons that reflect the
changes. Students then go on to internalize the new beliefs. For example,
until 1982, science teachers in Arkansas had to teach the theories of creation
and evolution together. The Arkansas law reflected the belief system of a
group of people, affected what teachers were allowed to do in the classroom
and guided students toward developing specific belief systems about the
origin of the universe.