Norms and Values
Chapter 3, Section 3
Terms to Know
Norms Folkways Mores
Sanctions Law
Taboo
Formal Sanctions Informal Sanctions Values
Norms: The Rules We Live By
If you wanted to describe your culture, what would you look for? How could you begin to classify the elements of the American way of life? Sociologists begin with the defining components of a culture: its norms, its values and beliefs, and its u of material objects.
Norms are rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior. A Hindu peasant in India can be foun
d lying dead of starvation beside perfectly healthy cattle. In order to strengthen bonds between clans, a young Basarwa girl in Africa might become engaged to a man she has not met. Roman emperors routinely exiled relatives to small isolated islands for "disgracing" the family. Each of the instances reflects cultural norms--ways of behaving in specific situations. Norms help to explain why people in a society or group behave similarly in similar circumstances.定陶太后
William Graham Sumner (1906) was an early sociologist who wrote about norms. Anything, he stated, can be considered appropriate when norms approve of it. This is becau once norms are learned; members of a society u them to guide their social behavior. Norms are so ingrained they guide behavior without our awareness. In fact, we may not be consciously aware of a norm until it has been broken. For instance, you may not think about standing in line for concert tickets as a norm until someone attempts to step in front of you. Then it immediately registers that waiting your turn in line is expected behavior. Cutting in front of someone violates that norm. Norms range from relatively minor rules, such as the idea that we should applaud after a performance, to extremely important ones, such as laws
against stealing.
Country Custom
England, Scotland, and Wales Appointments are esntial. You may be ten minutes late, but not ten minutes early
Greece Be careful not to prai a specific object too
enthusiastically, or the host may insist on giving it
to you.
Libya If you are invited to a Libyan home for dinner,
only men will be prent. Take a gift for the host
but not for his wife.
Senegal Never eat food with the left hand, as this is
considered offensive.
Zambia Avoid direct eye contact with members of the
opposite x—it may suggest romantic overtures. Saudi Arabia It is an insult in such a way as to face your host
with the soles of your shoes showing. Do not
雷锋名place your feet on a desk, table, or chair.
Oman If an Arab businessman takes your hand and holds
it as you walk, do not be alarmed. He means it
only as a sign of friendship.
China A visit to a Chine home is rare—unless the
government has given prior approval.
Japan If you are offered a gift, thank the person and
wait for one or two more offers before accepting
it. Receive the gift with both hands.
South Korea Men go through doors first. Women help men小丽花
with their coats.
Folkways, Mores, and Laws
Sumner identified three basic types of norms: folkways, mores, and laws. The three types of norms vary in their importance within a society. Accordingly, their violation is tolerated to different degrees.
What are folkways? Rules that cover customary ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving but lack moral overtones are called folkways. For example, sleeping in a bed versus sleeping on the floor is not a moral issue; it qualifies as a folkway. Folkways in the United States include supporting school activities, speaking to other students in the hall, and, if you are male, removing your hat in church.
Becau folkways are not considered vital to group welfare, disapproval of tho who break them is not very great. Tho who consistently violate folkways--say, by talking loudly in quiet places, wearing shorts with a suit coat and tie, or wearing a different-colored sock on each foot-may appear odd. We may avoid the people, but we do not consider them wicked or immoral.
Some folkways are more important than others, and the social reaction to their violation is more inten. Failure to offer a woman a at on a crowded bus draws little notice today. In contrast, obnoxious behavior at a party after excessive drinking may bring a strong negative reaction from others.
What are mores? The term mores (pronounced "MOR-ays") is bad on the word moral. Morality deals with conduct related to right and wrong. Mores are norms of great moral significance. They are vital to the well-being of a society. Conformity to mores draws strong social approval; violation of this type of norm brings strong disapproval. For example, Americans believe that able-bodied men should work for a living. Able-bodied men who do not work are scorned.
Although following folkways is generally a matter of personal choice, conformity to mores is a social requirement. Still, some mores are more vital to a society than others. Failure to stand at attention while the national anthem is being played is not as rious a violation of American mores as using loud profanity during a religious rvice.
The most rious mores are taboos. A taboo is a norm so strong that its violation demands punishment by the group (or, some people think even the supernatural). In India, followers of Hinduism have a taboo
forbidding the killing of cows. Other taboos are related to xual behaviors. Although definitions of incest vary from society to society, the incest taboo (forbidding xual contact with clo relatives) is generally regarded as the only taboo that is prent in all societies. The "mother-in-law" taboo existing in some societies prohibits or verely restricts social contact between a husband and his wife's mother.
How do laws differ from mores? The third type of norm is law. Laws are norms that are formally defined and enforced by officials. Folkways and mores emerge slowly and are often unconsciously created, while laws are consciously created and enforced.
Mores are an important source for laws. At one time, the norm against murder was not written down. But as civilization advanced, the norm against murder became formally defined and enforced by public officials.
Folkways can become mores or laws. Smoking, for example, was an acceptable behavior to most Americans until the late 1970s, when mounting health concerns convinced many that smoking should be limited or banned in public places. Today, many states have laws against smoking in airports, government buildings, restaurants, and other places open to the general public.
Not all mores become laws. For example, it is not against the law to cheat on an exam (although you may be suspended or punished by the teacher). Furthermore, not all laws started out as mores. Fines for overtime parking and laws against littering have never been mores.
初中寒假作文Laws often remain on the books for a long time after the mores of a society have changed. It is illegal in Minnesota to hang male and female undergarments on the same clothesline. New York prohibits card playing on trains; elephants in Natchez, Mississippi, cannot legally drink beer; and it is against the law to wear roller skates in public bathrooms in Portland, Oregon. (For additional laws that em strange to us today, e the following chart)
State Law Alabama It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while想字开头的成语
operating a vehicle.
Arizona Hunting camels is prohibited.
Florida If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the fee
has to be paid just as it would be for a vehicle.补铁的水果
Illinois You must contact the police before entering the city
in an automobile.
Iowa Kiss may last for as much as, but no more than,
five minutes.
Maine You must not step out of a plane in flight. Massachutts No gorilla is allowed in the back at of any car. Minnesota A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop
酒店经营管理
his or her head.
Vermont Whistling underwater is illegal.
Washington It is illegal to pretend that one’s parents are rich.
Enforcing the Rules
People do not automatically conform to norms. Norms must be learned
and accepted. Groups teach norms, in part, through the u of sanctions. Sanctions are rewards and punishments ud to encourage conformity to norms. They can be formal or informal.
What are formal sanctions? Formal sanctions are sanctions
that may be applied only by officially designated persons, such as judges and teachers. Formal sanctions can take the form of positive
as well as negative rewards. A soldier earns a Congressional Medal of Honor as a positive sanction for heroism. Teachers reward outstanding students with A's. Of cour, formal sanctions can also
take the form of punishments.永川大佛寺
Formal punishments range widely in their verity. From the Middle Ages to the Protestant Reformation, it was an unpardonable sin for lenders to charge interest on money. (This practice was called usury
and was condemned in the Bible.) This crime was punishable on the
