Social Norms Within Our 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.

Social Norms is a part of everyday life that is used by everyone. Norms means many different kinds of behaviors. They are usually known as the most common fad that people are doing however, if someone does not do it they do not fit in. Social norms set up the way people think of others and why others judge. They usually work by saying if one is normal or abnormal.

For the most part, social norms exist to show how to act in certain situations and for social interactions to go more smoothly. Social norms create an order in social groups unwritten rules used to define appropriate behavior. With these unwritten rules in place, people have an understanding of how to respond to another person's actions. If there were no social norms most interactions would be awkward and uncomfortable for all the parties involved in the situation. Something I felt first hand when I violated the social norm at the party. I felt uncomfortable knowing how I should react to my friend's greetings but instead ignoring them. Even when my friend introduced me to her friend I felt that I made a bad impression on them. Some of their

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.

In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. For example, it is proper to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humor, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means, a standard or representative value for a group. The norm that is more common to people is a social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

In our society we have a number of norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. It is “proper” to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humour, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about simply being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means a standard or representative value for a group. A social norm is some sort of an expectation that our society has that is deemed normal by that society; they tell us which behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given

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.

Humans interact and go on about their daily life unknowingly following rules that society establishes as well as common social norms. Although this is a strange concept to grasp, this phenomenon is how society acts as a whole and how we as individuals are. Social norms are ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside a person but exert social control over each person they interact with. These are the rules that we abide by and are ingrained in our heads but what happens if one breaks that social norm.

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.

Social norms are an acceptable behavior in society or a group. People who don’t follow these norms could suffer from a consequence. For example, me and my friends decided to walk backwards down the street, where there were many people walking. Thus, people eventually started to stare and laugh as we began to walk into people and into objects. This is an example of social norms and breaking a social norm.

Norm violations are a form of actions that do not seem right to some people. Let’s say that you are in a public place, you are expected to act respectful and normal. Norms describes the expectation of a behavior. (James M. Henslin) One can perform a norm violation by doing the opposite of that, like invading personal space. There can be different reactions to violated norms which sociologists call sanctions. (Henslin) Mores, folkways, and values revolve around norms as well.

Social norms are the rules of behavior. They are things that are considered acceptable in a group or society. People who don’t follow social norms are looked down upon, or sometimes have action taken against them. When something is done out of the normal, it tends to make people uncomfortable.

Social Norms dictate what is acceptable in society and in some ways help society to productive and orderly. Norms are a set of protocol that we have all learned and follow and laws that we are held to because we participate in society. Many times social norms keep the average citizen to themselves and within their own sphere unless an emergency arrives where or a situation when spontaneous must occur. When individuals within the society break the social norms and step outside the standards that everyone lives by, the society shuns the behavior and separates it self from the thing that is not adhering to the social norm.

Social norms are important in our society to preserve harmony between people. These social norms are the actions required of a person in a certain situation in any way. These types of rules has a certain social sanctions outside of the law that make people change their attitude to other people in the same society. The movie Witness, after the police detective John Book is trying to protect two members from an Amish community, who witness a murder in the city of Philadelphia, he goes to the Amish community to live with them to ensure their safety. While living in this Amish community, Book realizes how different this group of people is from urban community in the city. Book has to follow all their social norms which in many cases he does not agree with, since the Amish norms are very conservative. In the same way, the Amish community has problems adapting to Book´s actions as they see Book as a foreigner. Adapting to new social norms can be a great challenge for lots of people since we follow certain attitudes since we start our childhood in our society and learning new attitudes can take a long time. The risks that people take when they break their established rules in a community are discrimination, anger and aggression from other people and solitude.

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