Social Norms and Social Sanctions


Social Norms

Norms refer to the group shared expectations.
Social norms grow out of social value and both serve to differentiate human social behavior from that of other species.
The significance of learning in behavior varies from species to species and is closely linked to processes of communication.
Only human beings are capable of elaborate symbolic communication and of structuring their behavior in terms of abstract preferences that we have called values.

Norms are the means through which values are expressed in behavior.
Norms generally are the rules and regulations that groups live by.
Or perhaps because the words, rules and regulations, call to mind some kind of formal listing, we might refer to norms as the standards of behavior of a group.

For while some of the appropriate standards of behavior in most societies are written down, many of them are not that formal.
Many are learned, informally, in interaction with other people and are passed "that way from generation to generation.

The term "norms" covers an exceedingly wide range of behaviour.
So that the whole range of that behaviour may be included.
Sociologists have offered the following definition.

Social norms are rules developed by a group of people that specify how people must, should, may, should not, and must not behave in various situations.
Some norms are defined by individual and societies as crucial to the society.

For example, all members of the group are required to wear clothing and to bury their dead.
Such "musts" are often labeled "mores", a term coined by the American sociologist William Graham Sumner.

Many social norms are concerned with "should "; that is, there is some pressure on the individual to conform but there is some leeway permitted also.

The 'should behaviors' are what Sumner called "folk-ways"; that is, conventional ways of doing things that are not defined as crucial to the survival of either the individual or the society.

The 'should behaviors' in our own society include the prescriptions that people's clothes should be clean, and that death should be recognized with public funerals.
A complete list of the should behaviors in a complex society would be virtually without end.

The word "May" in the definition of norms indicates that, in most groups, there is a wide range of behaviors in which the individual is given considerable choice.
To continue the illustration, in Western countries girls may select to wear dresses or halters and jeans.
Funerals may be held with or without flowers, with the casket open or closed, with or without religious participation, and so on.

Functions of Norms:

Control behaviour:as they provide a set pattern for our behaviour,these set patterns become customs when are socially approved.people are expected o follow these customs.

Making behaviour systematic and patterned:systematic and patterned behaviour brings harmony among members of group.

Safeguard of our values:They are guardian of our socio cultural values.

Norms maintains social order of society:

Social norms create social cohesions and social solidarity:

Social Norms helps in self control:



Folk ways: These are socially approved ways of behaving in a society.
man actions repeted by him is his habit and a repeated behaviour by a group of people is a custom.Socially approved ways of behaviour are called Folkways.




Social Sanctions

Social Sanctions: Sanctions are the rewards or punishments used to establish social control that is to enforce the norms in a society.
Rewards for conformity and punishments for non conformity.

Sanction, in the social sciences, a reaction (or the threat or promise of a reaction) by members of a social group indicating approval or disapproval of a mode of conduct and serving to enforce behavioral standards of the group. Punishment (negative sanction) and reward (positive sanction) regulate conduct in conformity with social norms (see norm). Sanctions may be diffuse—i.e., spontaneous expressions by members of the group acting as individuals—or they may be organized—i.e., actions that follow traditional and recognized procedures. Sanctions therefore include not only the organized punishments of law but also the formal rewards (e.g., honours and titles) and the informal scorn or esteem by members of a community.

Types of of Social Sanctions:

Formal sanctions:According to rules and laws are called formal.

Positive formal sanctions:Promotions ,Increments in salary,certificates,degree.

Negative Sanctions:Puting in jail.,police arrest ,court trial, death punishments.


Informal Sanctions:Witout rule or law awarded by group,community,people of society.

Positive Informal Sanction:praise,slogans acclamation of good,well behaving .

Negative Informal Sanctions:Punishments without writing and rule.Threat admonishing ,abusing,calling bad names, beating and harsh treatment.