Social Norms

Have you ever done something so odd and so weird that you got hundreds of funny looks in your direction? Usually, when you get these looks, you are breaking some sort of social norm. Social norms are rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a society during certain situations, but breaking the social norms can be highly frowned upon in the social world we live in today. Certain social norms that are universally known include driving on the right side of the road, keeping a pinky promise and living by the golden rule. Social norms can keep a community together and running smoothly if used, but many people like to push the boundaries of normality to see what happens and how others will respond. Although, I do not embarrass easily, I thought it would be interesting to see people’s reactions if for just one day I violated a social norm.

Social norms are the standards that are viewed as acceptable by a group of individuals or by society. Individuals look to conform because they do not want to be looked down upon. In most occasions when an individual does not conform they will be excluded from the group. A group is a sense of security to most individuals, therefore when they are left without a group to conform with, they will feel isolated. We will be conducting a study, analyzing the reaction of complete strangers conforming to the social norms expected at a shopping mall to individuals who are not conforming to the social norm by acting silly and breaking these norms.

The five social norms that I am glad exist are the standards of personal space, the expected standard for personal hygiene, the expected standard for manners in public i.e. avoiding belching or flatulating in public areas, the norm of individual choices, and the social norm of education being a standard.

For situation three, changing the setting and the fact that we were now standing while staring, made us receive different reactions. In the store, because we were standing and most people were walking or shopping, I seemed to get a slightly different reaction. It took people a little bit

Sociology can be used to explain the social norms and sanctions that are associated with everything that we do. In order to examine social norms, we must use the sociological imagination to make the familiar strange. To do that, we must critically think about the social interactions that take place around us and look at them from different points of view. I observed students interacting with each other and with dining hall employees in Campus Center Dining Hall (CCDH) in order to determine the social norms and sanctions that occur there.

The norms of a culture are the rules that govern behavior. Norms define what behavior is required, accepted, or prohibited in particular circumstances and provide cues regarding how we should act—what people “ought to do” in their daily routine. Because there are cultural norms in society ideas about how we should behave, dress, think, etc. We generally have to meet the expectations of others that we will conform to these norms. Break a norm in public and judge the reactions of others.

Hello Kiersten…I like how you went into the types and classes of deviance and defined each of them. I definitely agreed with you that human trafficking would be considered a deviant group because these groups of people are engaging in behaviors that violate the social norm. This is a crime to humanity not just to these victims. I puzzled me to know that 14,500- 17,500 people are being trafficked into the United States yearly. This is preposterous to know that as a world power, we are allowing such behavior to go on. You also mentioned the emotional, physical, mental and psychological effect on these victims. Last year, I read a story about a Chinese lady named Lili Huang, 35, who brought a 58-year-old woman from China to work for her as a nanny

Social norms are the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society. Typically, the norms are not challenged because people are afraid of the consequences. When someone breaks a social norm, they risk ridicule, embarrassment, and possibly punishment. Some examples of social norms include shaking hands when meeting someone, making direct eye contact, and driving on the right side of the road in the United States. For my assignment, I decided to violate personal space norms and conversational norms.

In comparison from the three generations of women in my family, including my grandmother, mother and myself the difference in women’s opportunity, freedoms and overall social norms have greatly changed. From expectations in the home, work, school and society there has been a large leap in positive alterations, many would agree that this change is for the better of societies overall functions. The biggest difference between the three generations of women was societies common idea that a woman belongs in the home. Although, this stereotype is still prevalent one can see a trend of raising young women to become independent and successful. Women have fought for their freedoms for many years and although there is still the question of true equality

Social norms have always played a major role in today's society. A social norm is how we consider behaviors to be appropriate. However, norms are the rules and guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable (Mills 1959). Social norms are essentially the means by which any given society may construct and organize itself. They are the ways in which a society defines what tends to be acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to an individual. Different views change over time whether it is through history or an individual themselves who tends to age. Sometimes staying up to date with society and keeping up with the new trends can be unhealthy and have an effect on individuals and the public. The social norm I choose to break was walking into a public men's restroom at a restaurant while out with friends. I choose this social norm because it shows the men's reactions and behaviors once I entered their restroom. However, their behaviors showed how society acts toward certain situations in certain places and what roles are played during the process.

In the American society, there are many social norms relating to gender. There are certain expectations that both males and females must follow to be socially accepted. These norms and expectations are enforce in children’s lives at a young age. I know for me personally, when I was younger in a family full of boys, I would always hang out with them. In doing so, I would play with nerf guns and wrestler actions figure, what society considers a boy toy. My parents would always tell me that I needed to act more “like a girl.” As I got older, I realized that what my parents told me was stereotypical and that there are no such thing as what is appropriate for a male or female. Today as more and more things are becoming unisex, which means that it

“Children are natural born explorers” (Paredes, 2014). They question everything and seek answers to feed their never ending curiosity. As a child, I remember asking my parents what the purpose of school was. I would ask them questions such as Why do I go to school? What happens if I don’t go? and Why was school created? In response, my parents would tell me that school is important because it provides an environment where I can learn, and they would say that without an education, I had no future. They would also say that since all little children go to school, I have to go as well. I never really understood the purpose behind education when I was younger, but nonetheless I continued to go to school and learn and grow simply because going to school, in itself, is considered to be a social norm. Now that I am older, I am able to decipher what the purpose of education is. In fact, education serves multiple purposes. Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons both argued that “education is meant to bind members of society together- it creates social unity and solidarity” (Thompson, 2008). While Emile Durkheim proposed this theory, Parsons was able to develop it; he

Dr. V. Chandra-Mouli, a leading World Health Organization (W.H.O) expert and representative, in a video posted on You Tube (2015) explained the numerous challenges towards educating the youth on how to achieve a happy sexual and reproductive life. Martinez, (2009) was of a similar opinion as Dr. V. Chandra-Mouli that the teenage sexual life needs to be enjoyed; however as it is, too much focus is paid on how to educate the youths about reproduction, sex or how to avoid problems. Schalet et al. (2014) identified that societal norms and values were to blame for not creating a platform for the youth to be educated on how to enjoy their sexual life.

This paper will give a definition of deviance by analyzing the varying types and definition of deviance. Violations of social norms is key to defining deviance. There are three key features within social norms: time, place, and situation, that come together to establish deviance. The relativity of the all of those events combined into one along with who is perceiving the act is what defines deviance Social Norm are informal rules that help govern a society. Norms differ from place, time period, and situations.

Moreover, Lang (1999) successfully demonstrated that young women within sorority clubs do gender as their role of adopting their traditional feminine characteristics become gender obligations in order for them to fit in that particular society. Therefore, the example of dress illustrates that individuals within society are deeply controlled by their body since non verbal communication has become a form of social control (Lang 1999). For instance, it enables users to project their identity and allow agents of social control to interpret their identity through their style of clothing (Arvanitidiou and Gasouka 2013). To conclude, the example discussed above highlights how garments are devised by humans which offer a clear distinction between how