Current Study On Social Processes

The norms of a social group vary depending on who the group consists of, what the group represents, when the group is together, where the group is located, and how large the group is. The norms of a culture are rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members (Macionis 58). A subculture refers to cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population (Macionis 64). Here at Saint Francis University, sororities are a subculture of the campus’s society and inside that subculture the pledge class can be found.

Social Norms can be defined as expectations, or rules of behavior, that develop out of values or morals. Someone’s values can be defined as their idea of what is desirable in life. People develop expectations of what is the right way to reflect these values. When norms are violated people are usually shocked and form sanctions from the norm that is being broken, either positively or negatively. For this paper I was required to violate a norm.

“Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you’re a hermit on a mountain, you don’t have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you’ve got a problem…” This quote from American journalist, Judith Martin, illustrates the concept that the presence of others creates or inspires expectations. Social norms, or specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation, are practiced throughout various societies and cultures across the planet. People relay on social norms to provide order and predictability in social situations. Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role one plays, the behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role. It is most common for people to conform to the guidelines provided by the roles we perform. When one does not conform to the social norms, it is considered abnormal behavior. For this assignment, I faced the challenge to disregard expectations of social roles and norms in society.

This paper will address what social norms entail and what role they play within a society.

Implementing norms in group settings can be extremely difficult. A Norm is a guideline or an expectation for behavior (Karten,2003). Since norms can constantly change, those in a team dynamic should decide when those norms have been violated. Many norms form and operate without team members being consciously aware of it. Team members naturally want to put their best foot forward and have their behavior reflect a positive image. Although many positive behaviors can happen naturally, a team can decide to intentionally set up a list of norms for every member to follow. In addition to the long-term benefits establishing guidelines offers, the act of setting norms itself can be a team-building activity which unites its members.

Fraternities and sororities are at the center of binge drinking on college campuses. It is proven that in fraternity houses, approximately 80% of students binge, and over 50% binge frequently. Fraternities attract people beyond their members, including high-school seniors, which are future college freshmen that are already being introduced to binge drinking as being a social norm. The majority of alcohol-related deaths of college students involve fraternity parties. College administrators are afraid of acting out against fraternities because they do not want to anger the generous alumni donors who themselves, too, were partying during their college years. Colleges should not wait until a tragic event happens to realize that something must be done about fraternities and the alcohol-related problems that they cause. Also, it is morally wrong to treat alumni better than students, giving them the privilege to drink at events such as homecoming activities and sports. Banning alcohol for just students is not an effective way to gain students’ support for any new alcohol-control policies. It is quite obvious that colleges base their decisions on

“Social norms are rules and standards that are understood by members of a group, and that guide and/or constrain human behavior without the force of laws” (Steg, 2013, p. 154). Social norms have two areas or types they fall into. Injunctive norms are considered behavior that is approved or disapproved and descriptive norms are described as behavior shown by the members of a group. Individuals follow social norms for the rewards involved and the individual wants to avoid rejection and ridicule from societal members. “Social norms can exert a powerful influence on pro-environmental behavior through normative and informational influence” (Steg, 2013, p. 162). Behavior is influenced through normative and informational influences, also moderator variables that may decrease or increase the strength of the influence. Moderator variables contain the size of the group in question, the salience of the norm, if the group is considered an in-group, and the individual personal norms. “A wide variety of research shows that the behavior of others in the social environment shape individuals’ interpretations of, and responses to, the situation, especially in novel, ambiguous, or uncertain

This refers to how many people are in the influencing group. This theory was tested in a study Sampling 645 male and female members of campus fraternities, sororities, and non-Greek service organizations. Each of the organizations had between 42 and 152 members in them. The participants were sent an online survey that was sent to their student email account. The survey started off with asking demographic questions that had to do with things such as; age, race, class year, and what campus organization they were involved in. Then, participants were asked a series of injunctive norms that reflected on their individual perceptions of overall attitude of their organization. These two questions pertained to alcohol consumption. Next, participants were asked a series of descriptive norms. These questions were based on quantity of alcohol consumption. (e.g. How often does a typical member consume alcohol, how many drinks on average does a member consume on a typical drinking occasion” (Pederson 2007). These questions were then repeated for individual behavior. Included in the online survey was the Group Attitudes Scale. This is a measure of how appealing a specific group is to an individual (Evans & Jarvis, 1986). 67 days after completing the initial survey, participants attended a session with the members of their organization. During this group presentation, participants were asked the same injunctive norms questions

Peer Pressure is frequently involved with excessive drinking on college campuses. Alcohol is prominent in the college culture because it is presented at many social affairs and is part of many gatherings with peers. “Because peers are the most salient social referents in the college environment, they are a potent influence on alcohol use. Most new acquaintances at college will be drinkers: recent research indicating that four out of five college students drink. In addition, college peers tend to be more approving of alcohol use.

For instance, another study set out to investigate binge drinking at a single event, where students are encouraged to consume predetermined amounts of alcohol, such as the fourth year fifth challenge. The fourth year fifth is a challenge to fourth year college students, to consume a fifth of alcohol for the last football game. The research consisted of three focus groups with fourth year college students. Out of the 1,205 respondents, a total of 217 students reported they succeeded, or attempted, the fourth year fifth challenge. The respondents stated they participated in the challenge because it was a challenge, sense of accomplishment, wanting to participate in a tradition, and social ability (Foster, Bass, & Bruce, 2011). Much like the other research relating to socializing, this study only focuses on college students, so the external validity is low. In order to gain richer insight into social norms for an entire population, other research should be conducted with an improved representative

According to Frye et al. (2010), the Social Norm Theory is a reason why student athletes drink more alcohol than non-athletes. The social norm theory indicates individuals’ behavior relates by false perceptions of how other individuals think and behave in the social environment (Perkins, 2002). An example of the social theory applied to alcohol consumption is athletes might misinterpret the amount of alcohol other peers consume. Therefore, because of the misinterpretation, athletes might consume more alcoholic beverages to become socially accepted among fellow peers. Nevertheless, being part of an athletic team creates close relationships between team members. Hence, according to the

Binge drinking in college can negatively impact your college experience by increasing the possibility of physical and sexual assault, injuries, motor-vehicle accidents, and academic problems. Social influence has a major impact on the amount of alcohol college students consume. In particular, this paper will discuss how direct offers, perceived descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and exposure to alcohol content on social media networks increase the amount of alcohol college students consume.

Over the years, college students’ drinking habits have become a concern due to alcohol related injuries (all studies). LaBrie, Hummer, Neighbors & Larimer (2010) note that around 500,000 alcohol related injuries and 1,700 students alcohol related deaths have occurred since 2001. Several studies have shown that using injunctive and descriptive norms are most effective in changing behaviors (Thorgersen, Kallgren (1993), Noal et al and Goldstein et al (2008). Thus, researchers are looking at the influence of injunctive and descriptive norms on college drinking. Social motives and interaction between descriptive and injunctive state that when people believe their friends approve of drinking, their own drinking behaviors increase. LaBrie, Hummer, Neighbors & Larimer (2010) looked at perceived injunctive norms (approval of drinking), alcohol related incidences and intervention/prevention programs. Their results showed it is most effective to use groups the students care about (Greek Life, race, gender, etc) to change drinking behavior (LeBrier, Hummer, Neighbors & Larimer, 2010).

“Social norms,

Norms are essentially unspoken rules of conduct given by society. These vary and evolve not only through time but also vary from one age group to another and between social classes and social groups. (Becker) It is important to understand how norms dictate our society because breaking any norms can lead to a negative sanctions Sanctions are punishments or rewards one receive when you either abide by a norm or violate it. (Carl, 54) Different types of norms call for different level of sanctions. There are three different types or levels of norms: folkways, mores, and taboos. Folkways are informal norms when violate have lax consequence. An example is picking your nose in class. While it seen as un-hygienic, the sanction for this violation is less severe. The next level of norm is mores. Mores have a much greater value attached to it. Mores distinguish the difference between right and wrong, while folkways draw a line