Social Norms: The Unwritten Laws Of Society

“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.

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.

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.

Everyone in the Brave New World is conditioned to conform to the societies rules: Community, Identity, and Stability. In the world we live in today, are we not conditioned the .same way? We are taught to follow the rules of society by example of our parents, churches, and even celebrities. We don’t describe the process as conditioning, but essentially they are the same thing. In Brave New World, conditioning is used to control the minds of the population, and in modern times, social norms control the population.

In society, we are accustomed to the normative social influence of rules for us to follow, from how we act in public to what we wear. Whether it was visible to us at the time or not the general public does follow this social norm that governs us for one simplistic reason, we don’t want to be embarrassed for being out of the social norm. The need for social acceptance is presented in our everyday behaviors, actions, and reactions to social normalities. Even with the acceptation of the many people who pretend not to notice a change in a person social norm, when a social norm is broken, the majority will notice it. However I did learn something during the time I was the social norms breaker, “individuals will tend to either fully conform to the

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World explores the concept of change in societal norms, examining whether it is a result of definitive morality, or simply relevancy. Written in 1931, the novel has a backdrop of a rapidly changing society, being recorded following the Roaring Twenties and the start of American Consumerism. This period was a time of social innovation, old values tossed out for being too sentimental and chivalrous. The new era would hold a contemporary way of life, afar from the prudeness of the past. Huxley delves into these ideas throughout the novel, especially in Chapter 17 which is closing in on the end. There lies the debate of morals and ideals between one of the leading protagonists, John and the antagonist, Mustapha Mond.

When researching the topic of social norms and norm violations, there is an ongoing list. This is because almost everything we do in society is based on these social norms. If/when these are broken it can be punished as little as someone giving a dirty look, or as large as severe jail time. Social norms come into existence when a society does a specific task over and over until it becomes a normal occurrence. One of the biggest concerns is the war on drugs. Marijuana use is harshly punishments yet causes little to none negative effects. On the other hand, we have tobacco which there are barely any laws on yet it is killing thousands of Americans.

As we know, norms are social expectations that guide our behavior. In this paper, I will discuss norm violations that I’ve observed, and my own personal norm violation that I committed. I will describe what happened, what was done, and the reactions of the people around when these norms begat. I will also discuss the significance of folkways, mores, values, and sanctions to my observations.

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

There is a reason behind almost everything that humans do during everyday life. However, we do not think about why we waved back at the person across the street, we just do it. Interpreting that person’s wave and reacting to it by waving back, smiling, or nodding is a part of sociology. After taking a sociology class you realize all these everyday behaviors have meaning. Now, all of a sudden I found myself thinking sociologically when I get into an elevator, wait in line at the grocery store, or even how I view myself.

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.

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.

There are different types of social norms that are constantly being broken, such as not saying “excuse me” after burping, not holding the door for the person right behind you, or not saying “thank you” for every gesture that is being made to you. However, there is one specific social norm that I have violated that always makes others wonder why I  don’t follow the rules.

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.

Society, without even saying a word, has given us rules and guidelines that we have to abide. Social norms are rules or guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable or appropriate within a culture. They are so embedded within our daily life that often we do not notice them. Because norms are so ingrained within our society, deviation of social norms can lead to be ostracized or even arrested depending on the situation. Violating norms, like promoting hate message about poor people, in society can be explained through the functionalism theory.