Social Norms Essay

Social Norms And Its Effects On Society Essay
We live in a society that compels us to behave and appear a certain way. From a young age, our
parents instruct us on how to socialize, who to socialize with, and how to dress and act. It is all in
the name of normalcy, a life where we abide by the norms that have been socially constructed for us.
One of the most harmful and widespread social norms is that of heterosexuality. Throughout a child's
developmental period, parents, teachers, and society as a whole press the gender binary and
heterosexual relations upon them in a practice known as heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is
present in our society and plays a key role in suppressing the sexuality and gender identities of
LGBTQIA+ youths, causing them emotional distress.
As humans, we feel more comfortable putting ourselves into categories. We find comfort in
belonging to the same category, therefore emphasizing that everyone should fall into neat little
boxes. One such box is being heterosexual and cisgendered, as opposed to being homosexual or
bisexual, and transgendered or non–gender conforming. In Kate Henley Averett's journal article on
LGBTQ parenting, The Gender Buffet, she defines heteronormativity incredibly well, saying
"scholars have defined heteronormativity as a set of overlapping processes that occur on various
levels–including legal, cultural, institutional, discursive, and interpersonal/interactional–that produce
and reproduce heterosexuality, and its assumption of two, distinct, complementary genders,
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History Of Social Norms
Social norms have been shaping the way people interact throughout history. While norms could be
seen as something that confides behavior, it also maintains social order allowing certain behaviors
to be accepted or to be evaded. The way people respond to a situation depends on the person's
normative beliefs or what they believe society should act.
A normative belief is a person or a group of people believe what behavior is appropriate and
inappropriate in a given social context. However, George C. Homans stated: "Norms are just shared
beliefs; they are not the behavior itself, but what people think behavior ought to be" (Standford). A
person may see one behavior completely outlandish while the person acting out sees it as something
normal.

The Purpose Of Social Norms In Society
A norm is something that is usual, typical, or standard. Norms can come in all shapes and sizes
and each holds their own unique purpose to a culture. In the society we live in today, these norms
have developed more sophisticatedly into what are known as social norms. These are the rules of
behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society. These norms are taken so seriously
that people who do not follow them can be shunned or suffer in some way, typically emotionally.
For example, a common social norm is shaking hands when you meet somebody. If you were to
not extend your arm out to meet theirs in a handshake, you would be looked at as disrespectful.
The expected reaction would be one of anger, but at the same time there would be an awkward
pause because it would feel wrong to defy the norm and neither one of you would know how to
react. When asked to defy a social norm, I admit it was a struggle to actually follow through with it,
but I did indeed do so. The social norm I chose to defy was the one of sex–oriented clothing. This is
a prime example of a social norm simply because it is frowned upon, by most, to cross–dress. The
norm sex–orientated clothing organizes and controls behavior by preventing emotional turmoil and
disruptions of peace among all. Meaning, it maintains a level of order by avoiding conflicts that
may arise from universal–sex clothing in the coming times. Furthermore, this norm is one that has
been around for a while and is held dear to the

Social Norms Research Paper
Social norms represents the rules of behavior that are highly considered and acceptable in all groups
of society. Individuals failing to follow the norms are completely shunned and end up suffering all
kinds of consequences. Norms highly change depending to the situation and environment and may
vary or rather modified over time and time.
Types of Social norms
Sociologists outlines around four types of norms. These are mores, laws, folkways, and taboos. The
folkways are in most cases referred to as conventions or rather customs which represents the
standards of behavior that is socially acceptable and approved and morally significant. Laws are a
system of rules governing the operations of a certain area such that penalties are imposed when
broken. Taboos are religious and social custom that prohibit and forbid discussions of certain
associations with people, place or things...show more content...
Societies are in existence due to the internalization of norms and human agents in monitoring their
behavior, through punishments and rewards.
Social norms are used in directing, regulating, and controlling human behavior in the society. The
process in which the norms alongside other behavioral regulators are changed into personality
elements is known as socialization. Also, social norms are used in helping satisfy all the social
needs in terms of behavior and actions exhibited. There is also establishment of social order in
which tensions and conflicts are mitigated in the society through the social norms. Further, the
social norms act as the measures of scale in evaluating social behavior. It is the case as the norms
act as the objectives and the ideals in diverse situations in the society. Lastly, the social norms are
essential in predicting

Sociology and Social Norms Essay examples
The first decade of this millennium witnessed a dramatic awakening concerning the role of gender
which had its marked impact on gender roles. As Wharton states, "the study of gender emerged as
one of the most important trends in the discipline of sociology in the twentieth century" (1). This
emergence prompted many theories regarding gender issues, which in turn, "propelled the
sociological study of gender from the margins to become one of the central features of the
discipline" (Wharton 2). Though every group is uniquely structured in a societal set up based on
categories, the colossal development of research on gender issues clearly shows that all social
interactions, and the institutions of human progress, are biased in the case of...show more content...
Though the roles are flexible and sometimes interchangeable, dramatic social changes leave the role
boundaries in uncertainty about what the appropriate role behaviour should be. This inability to
frame clear boundaries of gender role forms the basis of gender inequality.
Gender inequality is displayed in many countries around the globe. In India, the society begins
gendering as soon as a child is born. In most cases, the birth of a daughter is unwelcome but that
of a son is celebrated. The boys are brought up bold and outgoing while the girls are expected to be
at home and do chores. While the other discriminations like economic or social discriminations are
present outside the home, but gender discrimination is present outside and inside households. In a
familial setup, the father is the head of the family and decision maker. The mother generally
performs the 'home making'. Even if the woman is employed, she is expected to do the domestic
chores, in addition to her job. Even though she earns, she does not have the freedom to plan her
salary or decide anything.
Traditionally, the family property, irrespective of who is being the family head, is transferred to the
male. As a result, the male enjoys power and he becomes the authority. The oldest among

Breaking A Social Norm Essay
Violating a norm, in society today, can make some people look at you incredibly differently from
what is normal. Depending on the norm that is disrupted, some people make react differently than
perhaps someone with different views. I decided to experiment with breaking the norm of
conversational distance. "Social Distance" has separate zones that are a general rule of a
conversation based on how well a person knows the people they are talking to. While defying the
norm of social distance, I received two different reactions due to the difference in people I attempted
it with. Disturbing a social norm can either make people uncomfortable or act okay with it,
depending on different variables. The norm I violated was talking to two different...show more
content...
I have only talked to this person about two times since being here at college. It was a Tuesday
morning, around 7:45 a.m. We were in the elevator, going from the fourth floor to the first. I was
nervous getting on the elevator, knowing I was about to do it. I stood right by this person, since
there were five others, all around the age of nineteen, with us. As I started to ask how their
morning was, I leaned in to talk to them. This person actually pulled their head back away from
mine as they started to talk. I noticed their eyes got wider and they were hesitant to answer me
back. During our conversation, I felt embarrassed because I could tell I made them uncomfortable.
After we got to the first floor, I walked fast to leave this person. I was that self–conscious, I wanted
to leave immediately. Breaking a social norm with an acquaintance is an awkward situation for
both people. Norms are rules for behavior that are based on values, made through society. Breaking
one of the norms can sometimes make people uncomfortable, or even disgusted. There are general
rules that can make a conversation comfortable, based on how well a person knows others that
talking in the conversation ("Social Distance"). As I experimented with the disruption of
conversational distance, I experienced two completely different reactions. Depending on the level of
comfortability, norms can be accepted behavior or can be

Social Norm Experiment
In our society, there are many social norms we are expected to abide by. These unwritten rules and
standards of behavior often go unnoticed, leaving society to take them for granted. We only become
truly aware of the norms of society when they are actually violated. When a violation occurs, those
who continue to conform may respond with positive or negative sanctions, such as humor, alarm,
irritation, fear, or a wide variety of emotions.
Our society also relies on language as its major bases for communication. Our ability to
communicate apart from our words plays an important part in our daily lives. We often disregard
the power of body language and our facial gestures. We are expected to portray our body language
and facial gestures...show more content...
In the first situation, my friend and I in the food court, found that people would notice us staring
right away. I noticed that when two people were staring people tended to take it more personally
and think there was something wrong with their appearance. A lot of females would run to the
restroom to check their makeup or hair. The sanctions received from most males were not as
intense. Most men would become very uncomfortable, look at us confused, shake their head and
then eventually continued on with what they were doing. Naturally the longer we stared at any
individual the worse their reaction became. For the second situation, the individual seemed to feel
less threatened and more concerned of my sanity. Being on my own completely changed the
sanctions of the people. Instead of them thinking something was wrong with their appearance, they
would assume I had a mental disability or was just crazy. Some men thought I was looking for a
date. One guy actually puffed out his chest and gave me the head nod like he gets stared at all the
time. Regardless, the norm violation was almost always acknowledged, and the longer I stared the
more the people reacted.
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

Essay On Social Norms
Social Norms One of the main ways in which society functions is based on social norms, which
help regulate the actions that people will carry out on a daily basis. Social norms can be learned
as part of someone 's culture or can be influenced by authority such as a government. Examples of
the different types of norms could be walking on the sidewalk, sitting during a class and going
through a green light. Norms will change over time as society grows and times change, but social
norms will sometimes be conflicting with one another when the environment or people change. As
stated by Eric Jorrey 's PowerPoint slides, norms are "a society 's established standards of
behavior–"appropriate" ways to behave–widely shared and understood" (P. 8)....show more content...
However, for this project, I violated that expectation in order to gain a reaction from others and
test how social norms can be violated in our society. Social norms are the basis for human
behavior and explain the difference between those who conform to the norm or those who violate
it and become deviant, therefore showing how these affect society. Before engaging in deviant
activity, there were things to consider about the reactions I would receive from the subjects. My
hypothesis about the reaction that I would get from my different behavior was that the people I
interacted with would not respond, thinking that I was a person of least importance and just simply
chose to bother them on that day. I also hypothesized that by engaging with people who were not
too familiar with me I would progress any negative judgements that they had in their mind prior to
our interaction. Another reaction I made a hypothesis about was that the subjects would try and
give a response more or equally as confusing as my own. I gained knowledge about situations like
these from being a bystander in the group that I worked with. This is because of my unfamiliarity
with how they interact and how they communicate with friends as opposed to strangers, in which I
noticed a significant difference. However, I also noticed some present the same

Breaking a Social Norm Essay
Breaking a social norm 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 society today us as...show more content...
I wanted to turn around and say something but I just kept my cool and said to myself, "This is
only a test Cynthia don't let them get to you." Once I finished talking to myself I was relieved
and ready to go into the movies. While walking into the movies, I received more looks and heard
more whispers coming out of people which really didn't make sense. All they had to do was just
except me for who I was and that I was wearing clothes. After I got tired of the looks and whispers
I changed my clothes and walked back in movie theatre. Once again my boyfriend looked at me
strangely and said, " Why did you change"? When I finally broke it down to him that I was doing
a project for psychology he started to laugh. His response towards me was, he was going to love
me no matter how I come out the house. I thought that was cute, that let me know that he doesn't
care what people think and that he was always going to be with me no matter how I look. When I
broke the norm of how I look, I felt really insecure about myself and I really did care of what
people were going to say about me. But I did learn this people are very judgmental on a person
that they have no clue about. The other norm that I broke was going against authority. The authority
that I went against was my mom during Thanksgiving dinner. When I did this norm, I really felt
bad because, me and my mom are so close and I would never had disrespect her the way I

Social Norms And Societal Norms Essay
Social Norms Violation In every society there are social norms, rules and expectations as to how
people, or groups of people should behave. There are many ways that people can influence our
behavior, but perhaps one of the most important aspects of social norms and mores, is that in the
presence of others, we seem to set up expectations as how people should look and behave. We
have learned that culture is a big influence in how society deems how we should look and also
behave. When we come in contact to a different group of people that we consider radical we
experience "culture shock" because they challenge our basic assumptions of what is right, what
we consider taboo, ugly, or beautiful. We use our own culture as a yardstick in judging others.
Each social situation, entails its own particular set of expectations about the "proper" way to
behave. Especially when we find other cultures or groups of people to do things we find
upsetting. Social roles are the parts people play as members of a social group. With each social
role we adopt, our behavior changes to fit the expectations that I and others have of that role.
Social norms are important and fit in society because it brings stability. Without social norms
people would not know what is right from wrong. There would be no morality. "Norms serve a
basic human social function, helping us distinguish who is in the group and who is an outsider.
Behaving in ways the group considers appropriate is a way of demonstrating to

Social Norms Essay
Ranjeet Chaudhari SOCIOLOGY–100–03 NORM BREAK From a sociological perspective, social
norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. Norms are
social expectations, establishes rules of behavior or standards of conduct. Norms explain why
people do what they do in given situations. Norms are regarded as collective representations of
acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of group conduct. They can be viewed as
cultural products, customs, traditions which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others
do and think that they should do. Norms are usually done for research purpose to see that people
think and how they react....show more content...
The Social norm here is that people want to eat their food in peace and they don't want any
distractions or problems while eating food because that food is important to them and they
bought is with their own money. First of all, before doing the norm break I want to choose what
type of people should I do norm break. First, I want to try my norm break with White Elder people
because I work at the mall and I have had many elder customers who were all nice to me. And I
want to try my first experiment with White elder people and continue few more experiments with
other people of different ages and race. I go to the place where people sit and eat their food, I
don't want to sit on the same table as them which might trigger them and make them mad. I will
just sit on the near by table by facing them while they eat their food and stare at them. There could
be different types of possible reactions from different types of people which may vary in their
level of understanding, may influence by their experience if they have been part of social norm
breaks before. People could be mad at me, tell me to leave, change their sit, or maybe they could
offer some of their food to me, or people might get confused. People might think why I am staring
at them, they might see me as a weirdo, might call police if they feel unsafe I hope that doesn't
happen. If someone would look at me while I am eating my food I might

Social Norms And Values Essay
Development of social norms and values A social norm is behaviour that is expected by a family,
social or ethnic grouping in any given situation and is based on the values of that grouping.
Children develop views of what is right and wrong from primary agents and these are reinforced by
secondary agents of socialisation.

Social Norms In Art Works
In both photographs I think that the artists were trying to make a point and break the social
norms to which people had followed for many years. I do consider these as being work of arts.
One reason why I think they are art works is because the artist went on and beyond the social
norms of traditional western artworks and they're for allowing them to express what they wanted. In
both art works the artist were not satisfied with how certain systems and institution functioned in
regards at to what was appropriate and not appropriate. In the case of Beuys' artwork he tried to
emphasize that need to be a balance between nature and culture. Beuys is shown with a to be wearing
a gold leaf mask and honey that covers his skin, he also has a dead hare

Social Norms Essay
My mother has always told me that certain things should not be done in public. Social norms are
opinions and beliefs that are shared amongst a group. Throughout our lives our parents tell us
things that aren't socially acceptable, and that there are consequences for those actions. Those that
don't act in ways that are socially acceptable are isolated from society. Norms help to guide the
general public by reinforcing it with a punishment in waiting. For my experiment on breaking
norms, I choose to chew with my mouth open in the Clinton Dining Hall, and Subway's eating area.
I was very nervous to break this norm because I was brought up knowing that eating with my mouth
open was not polite in public. I felt that maybe people would get...show more content...
My friends looked at me and asked "what are you doing Jaden? That is really grimy." I continued
eating with my mouth open, with the chipotle mayo spilling out my mouth. The lady that was
wiping the table next to us looked at me and said, "that is so disgusting you need to stop eating
with your mouth open." I received many remarks from people walking by saying that I have no
manners or home training, and that I am a "typical freshman." I felt uncomfortable and stopped
chewing with my mouth open. I received many weird faces from females more than males. I was
more comfortable doing this experiment because I already did it in a more populous area in a
Dining Hall, and I knew that I would be getting similar reactions in the Subway's eating area. This
two–part experiment leads me to realize that norms are very important in society. It keeps us in
check in terms of how we act, behave, and interact with people. I did not expect to receive such
remarks from my friends and peers. I didn't think anyone would notice me eating with my mouth
open, since many people keep to themselves and ignore most of the things going on around them.
Many people stared at me as if something was wrong with me and felt uncomfortable with me.
Socialization is the process by which one learns how to become a functioning member of society. I
was not establishing that concept when I was eating with my mouth open, because I acted as a way
that was not proper in

Breaking Social Norms Essay
Alex King SOC–10 10/13/12 Breaking Social Norms 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...show more content...
The gesture was small and confined to a very small space, yet it proved to generate great and
powerfully negative reactions. As stated earlier, this experiment completely proved my
hypothesis wrong. Many of the people that rode the elevator with me stared at me as though there
were something wrong with me. Most were uncomfortable and fidgety and kept looking over
their shoulder at me as they rode forward, and me, backwards. More than a few asked if I was
alright and even asked my friend, who was acting as if he did not know me, knew what was was
wrong. I even conducted a few controlled experiments where I rode the elevator forward to see if
people would react to me then, but not a single person outside of the experiment even
acknowledged my existence. I would have thought that in a place like L.A. County, people would
be too busy to notice others, or people would have been raised to mind their own business and
keep to themselves, but apparently abiding my social standards and making sure that others do as
well is a higher priority. I suppose one can use conformity as a reasoning for these results. Society
as a whole has learned to conform to social standards and change their behavior to fit in so they
aren't so different from others, so as not to be the odd one out and when they see others behaving
differently than themselves, or as the society that they're in, they're labeled as "weird" or "strange."
Behaviorists might say

Essay On Social Norm
For my breaching project, I will be breaking the social norm of wearing shoes. I believe it is a
social norm to wear shoes when outside. From my observation, around Bluffton University, it is
normal for students and professors to wear some sort of footwear while in the classroom or outside.
I realize there is a group of students on campus who already do not wear shoes, so to differentiate
myself I will be wearing only socks. I choose this norm project because it was something subtle
since I am a somewhat quiet person. Also, this is a small campus and I am a freshman, so I would
rather not do something that people will remember me by. I plan to do this on Bluffton's campus
throughout the day Friday, September 29th. I will be conducting...show more content...
As I walked into class, no one noticed I was not wearing socks and throughout the class, I did not
notice anyone look at me strangely. My friend Carly, who was watching for reactions did not
notice any reactions either. When I stood up to leave the class, a guy in the row above me noticed
and stopped and stared with his mouth open until I was out the door, although I have no proof
that his action was in reaction to my norm violation. Then I walked around campus in just my
socks, this was approximately at 10 am the same day. A friend of mine, Kayla, walked by me and
did not say anything to me, but stared at my feet and then gave me a questioning look. Another
friend of mine, Michelle, also walked by and was completely oblivious to my norm violation. I
passed a girl from my floor on the way back to my dorm and she noticed immediately saying "Oh,
you're not wearing shoes, why?". Lastly, I decided to wear only socks in the lunchroom. Only
one person noticed, a freshman named Jake, who was sitting next to me that day. He glanced at
my socks but did not say anything. I later asked him what he thought when he saw me without
socks and he said he was thinking, "Why doesn't she have f***ing shoes on". As the experiment
began, I realized that I look at the people's shoes who are in front of me. I had no way of knowing
what was going on behind me as I walked so I asked a friend of mine to watch the people around us
when I walked. She

Breaking Social Norms Essay
Social norms are actions and behaviors that are recognized as acceptable amongst society.
Personally, I abide to most social norms because it provides me sense of comfort and belonging.
To break a social norm would probably make anyone feel like an outsider and the need to feel
accepted is what most likely drives us to conform to social norms. In order to test how social norms
affect myself and other around me, I decided to completely step outside of my comfort zone and
break an imperative hygienic social norm; brushing ones teeth.
While brushing your teeth is crucial to one's hygiene, it's also a courtesy to others and is considered
to be a social norm for many reasons. Humans, specifically Americans, tend to value oral health to
the highest degree because our communication between one and other revolves around the mouth.
Not brushing your teeth can result in bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease. While it may seem
like these complications only affect those who choose not to brush their teeth, it doesn't. The
majority of Americans find it rude, let alone disgusting, when they are talking to someone who has
neglected to clean their teeth and can relate to holding their breath in attempt to not to smell
someone's rancid breath. Many people also find it uncomfortable when looking at someone's rotten,
food filled teeth in conversation. All in all, neglecting to brush ones teeth can result in a multitude of
undesirable issues that not only affects themselves, but everyone

Social Norms Essay
Social norms are around each and everyone of us and in all societies. Social norms are what is
considered to be a "normal" act in society. Social norms are acts that we learn over time, as we
grow up. For example, when entering an elevator, it is a norm to turn around to face the doors
and wait for them to open. However, no one necessarily told us to stand a certain way, but we see
everyone else standing that way and it becomes a natural instinct for us to do so as well. For this
experiment, I chose to break a social norm while eating lunch on Wednesday. It is a norm to sit
down in your chair with your food on the table and eat, because that is something that was learned
at an early age by your parents. In this case, I began to eat while...show more content...
After a couple of minutes doing this, I sat down in my chair and had my plate and drink back on
the table like normal. I went on to explain to them the purpose of my unusual behavior. They all
understood and laughed it off. To explain this situation through a dramaturgical point of view, my
audience for this experiment were a few of my fraternity brothers. There was no one else, but me
who knew anything that was going on. The scene was the fresh food cafeteria at the University of
Southern Mississippi campus. The only props used in this experiment was my plate full of food
and my drink. My front that I used was the cafeteria so I could be eating while doing this
experiment. I did not have a script or anything really planned in the "backstage" portion of things,
until I was about to begin. In my opinion, I believe everything worked out exactly the way I
wanted it to. The "wrong" part of my experiment was sitting down on the table, when obviously it
is a social norm to sit on the chair; however I purposely acted as if I was the normal one and they

Social Norms
Introduction
Social norms are powerful to the point that they influence the actions of all who are members of
society. Social norms are so ingrained in most people that to not follow such untold rules of
behavior, likely creates serious tension for oneself. Social norms appear to be unique to sentient life
meaning something about intelligence helps in their formation and propagation. It is obvious that
some level of greater intelligence is needed in the formation of social norms. There are many
theories on the purpose of social norms and how they come to be. The theory that emphasizes the
importance of social norms in improving interactions between people seems the most probable. This
theory explains that those with diverse backgrounds must often interact and communicate with each
other and to reduce the risk of misunderstanding, social norms arise as a form of mediation. Social
norms can therefore come into being both formally or informally. When social norms are
constructed formally, a group of individuals will specifically outline a set of behavioral expectations
for that group such as in the case of clubs or work expectations. Most social norms are informally
created through repeated cautionary actions used to mitigate potential conflict. When a social norm is
formed, it has incredible staying power. As social norms promote some degree of social cohesion,
people generally follow social norms for fear of inconveniencing someone or upsetting them. There
is also a degree of

Explain Why It Is Important To Break Social Norms
Remember, these people will always like you, to some degree, no matter what. Even if you break
social norms or are awkward about it, they'll forgive you, still give you their information, and hang
out with you. So take advantage of this and ask!
Better this, than never asking and never getting a chance to hang out.
It'll always work. You justneed the courage to

Social Norms Essay

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Social Norms Essay