Examples of social norms in society. Types of social norms

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

From the moment of birth to this day, representatives of mankind have come up with many different rules that help in regulating relations in society, family, at work, etc. Some of them have grown into centuries-old traditions and customs. With the advent of educational institutions and the introduction of the subject of sociology, these rules and traditions began to be called social norms.

Concept

Social norms are a pattern of behavior accepted in a society that functions as a regulator of relationships between people and communities of people. Examples of social norms can be traced in the daily behavior of people in society.

Everyone knows, for example, that appearing naked in public is unacceptable, and in some countries even punishable by imprisonment. This rule does not apply only to specially designated places for meetings of nudists (exclusively in countries with a progressive democratic society), as well as establishments such as saunas. Buteven these places are divided by gender.

Before considering specific examples of social norms, it is necessary to determine their features and types. Classification will help you better understand specific behaviors.

Rise

The development of social norms is directly related to the development of society. For the first community, rituals were enough to regulate issues arising in the process of living together. Ritual is one of the first social norms, which is the procedure established in the community for performing certain actions.

Customs are considered a more developed form of norms than rituals. Religious norms are next. Their formation occurs in the process of a person's awareness of his insignificance in front of natural phenomena. There are cults of various deities, worship of the forces of nature.

Together with customs and religion, the principles of morality appear. And with the emergence of the state system, the first legal and economic norms are formed.

Classification

Let's single out, speaking about the main types of social norms, examples of norms of international action. They are closely intertwined and participate in the regulation of relations several at once.

One of the primary norms of a large-scale nature are political. They are expressed in various declarations and charters, regulate relations in the political sphere not only in one state, but also on an international scale. Examples of social norms of a political nature are those implemented instates forms of power. For example, for the UK, the monarchy is a social norm.

Economic principles are the rules for the distribution of we alth in society. That is, these norms give rise to social classes. Ideally, the principle of division equally should apply. Wages are an example of this type of regulation. Economic rules, like political ones, can operate on the scale of several states and characterize the financial and commodity turnover between them. Other types operate on a smaller scale, in specific social formations.

Types of social norms. Single State Examples

Legal norms are the main regulator of relations in the state. They are a set of rules, for non-compliance with which there is a punishment in the form of a pecuniary pen alty, administrative liability or imprisonment. If a teacher asks: "Give examples of various social norms of a rule of law state," the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation can be called as an answer.

Cultural norms regulate the behavior of a person in the society to which he belongs by birth or type of hobbies. If you are asked: "Give examples of social norms of this type," then it is worth talking about the rules that a person forms in the course of his life in certain circles. The state plays an important role in this formation. The more developed the culture of the whole country, the more cultural norms it has. For example, in some Muslim countriesa woman is not supposed to appear in society with an open face - this is a cultural norm.

Public rules

Examples of social norms in society are diverse, but there are several global ones. The largest communities are religious organizations. Religious norms serve to regulate relations not only within such communities, but also in relations with organizations and people who do not belong to the same religion. Examples of social norms of this nature are easy to pick up. The most common are wedding ceremonies and the funeral of the deceased. Relations between the abbot of the monastery and the monks, the holy father and the parishioners of his church belong to the same type of norms.

Aesthetic norms are historical. They form the concept of beautiful and ugly. These rules apply not only to a person, but also to his actions, as well as to works of art, types of animals, etc. In modern society, aesthetic norms sometimes have a negative impact on a person, his self-confidence, and, accordingly, his place in life. This is due to stereotypical thinking about attractive appearance. As a result, a person who does not fit into the general framework with his appearance or behavior may not be accepted by a certain society. An excellent example of this is the fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling".

Examples of various social norms

There are also rules that are not tied to a particular society or state. These are moral norms that form the concept of good and bad. They are formed on the basisspecific behavior taken as a standard. Some moral norms are supported by legal documents. Basically, they are designed for the conscientiousness of a person and his moral usefulness. Immoral behavior is followed by social condemnation and, in some cases, legal punishment.

Norms of customs and traditions are also of a historical nature. They have been established for many centuries and represent a pattern of actions in certain situations. What would be examples of social norms in this case? Customs imply the performance of any action due to habit, and traditions are values or a model of behavior adopted by society and strictly followed by its members. Customs and traditions are closely linked to cultural norms.

Also, corporate norms are distinguished from various social norms, which regulate relations between employees of the same structure or members of the same interest club. Such rules are established by members of the communities, they also choose and apply measures to influence violators.

Rules in family relationships

Examples of social norms governing family relations are so diverse that it is very difficult to single out specific ones. The family is controlled by the state, religious organizations and society. Moreover, each side is trying to direct family relations in its own direction. Sometimes so many rules backfire.

If the teacher asks: "Give examples of social norms that affect relationships infamily", answer that these are legal and religious norms, moral norms, traditions and customs. However, do not forget that the rest of the rules also have a certain influence, since the family is a miniature state with its own political and economic laws. Maybe it is precisely according to For this reason, many young people of this generation are in no hurry to start a family. When a person is told from all sides what he needs to do in order to look complete in the eyes of the public, the desire to do anything disappears.

Legal social rules

It is easy to give examples of social norms governing family relations, which are enshrined in law. For example, a fundamental event in the life of a family is marriage. Legally, marriage is governed by legal norms. They stipulate the procedure for entering into marriage (filing an application, setting the date of marriage, issuing documents confirming marital status), as well as the procedure for the divorce process (application for divorce, divorce through the court, division of property, appointment of alimony, etc.).

Economic social norms also have a certain impact on family relationships. The income of the family depends on them, as well as the possibility of receiving social benefits. This is especially true for single parent families. In many states, they are en titled to additional material assistance to solve financial problems.

These types of norms have a legislative basis, and theyinfluence is due to the attitude of state power to the importance of the institution of the family. For the full development of family relationships, such support is necessary. But its selectivity often only hinders this development.

Regulation of family relations by social norms

Customs and traditions have a great influence on family relations. They begin their action with the decision of one of the couple to marry. Marriage proposal, engagement and other customs form the concept of how a family should be born. And those who do not fit into this framework are often condemned by the public.

Religious norms also have a certain impact on human relationships. In the most common religion - Christianity - without getting married and creating a family, it is impossible to have children. Otherwise, condemnation of the church will follow. These historical circumstances sometimes only hinder the formation of a new family.

Let's give examples of social norms responsible for the behavior of spouses (moral norms). For example, adultery in marriage is unacceptable only from the point of view of morality. Legislatively, this is not punished in any way (in democratic states). But the condemnation of the public in this case will inevitably lead to the collapse of family relations.

Examples of the impact of social norms on human character

The character of a person largely depends on the traditions of upbringing established in the family, as well as on the norms and rules that operate in the surrounding society. Moralnorms should be instilled from birth. This is the key to the formation in a child from an early age of the concepts of bad and good behavior.

The opinion of others greatly affects the character of a person. Good attitude of people towards themselves adds confidence. And it often happens that a bad attitude is based solely on aesthetic norms. That is, a person for society is unattractive outwardly. Such an opinion of others can lead to anger and the formation of immoral principles.

Modern social norms

With the advent of a huge number of different public organizations, it became necessary to regulate relations between them and within them. Corporate norms are the latest type of social norms. As stated above, they are regulated by representatives of such organizations.

If you are told: "Give examples of various social norms governing relations in modern society", what would you call the first point? It is safe to put corporate norms in the first place. After all, without them it is impossible to imagine civilized relations.