Laws are formal norms, but so are employee manuals, college entrance exam requirements, and "no running" signs at swimming pools. Functionalists may question what purpose these norms serve conflict theorists may be interested in who creates, benefits, and suffers under these formal norms and symbolic interactionists may wonder how a group that benefits interacts.
They support many social institutions, such as the military, criminal justice and health-care systems, and public schools. Most members adhere to them.įormal norms are established, written rules existing in all societies. Norms are behaviors that reflect compliance with what cultures and societies have defined as good, right, and important. These examples involve visible and invisible rules of conduct through which societies are structured, or what sociologists call norms. So far, we have looked at several examples of how people are expected to behave in situations like buying food or boarding a bus. For example, while some cultures highly value maintaining extended families, such that several generations live together, other cultures value autonomy and independence more highly and thus tend to live in nuclear families-those consisting of two parents and their one or more children.
Values also vary widely from culture to culture. They change across time and differ between groups as people evaluate, debate, and change collective social beliefs. But in real culture, lawmakers, educators, social workers, and others strive to prevent or address these issues. In an ideal culture, there would be no traffic accidents, murders, poverty, or racial tension. But ideal culture differs from real culture. Values portray an ideal culture-the standards society encourages its members to embrace and live up to. Teenagers in the US are encouraged to value abstinence, but the rate of unplanned pregnancies among teens reveals that the ideal alone is not enough to spare teenagers the potential consequences of unprotected sex. Values often suggest how people should behave, but they don't accurately reflect how people do behave. Cultural diversity and equal opportunities for all people are commonly presented values in the US, yet the country's highest political offices have been dominated by white men. For example, marital monogamy is valued in the US, but many spouses engage in infidelity. In contrast, many other cultures are collectivist, meaning the welfare of the group takes priority over that of the individual.įulfilling a society's values can be difficult. The US also has an individualistic culture, meaning people place a high value on individuality and independence. Shaped by this value, individuals spend millions of dollars each year on cosmetic products and surgeries to look young and beautiful. Children represent innocence and purity, while a youthful adult appearance is associated with sexuality. Consider the value that the US places on youth. Values shape a society by suggesting what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly, sought or avoided. In other cultures, success may be tied less to wealth and more to other achievements, like having many healthy children. Underlying this belief is the cultural value in the US that wealth is important. To illustrate the difference, consider the American Dream-the belief that anyone who works hard enough will be successful and attain wealth. Individuals in a society have personal beliefs, but they also shared collective values. Values are deeply embedded and essential for learning a culture's beliefs-the tenets or convictions that people hold to be true. For example, most cultures hold knowledge (education) in high regard. Value does not mean monetary worth in sociology, but rather ideals, principles, and standards members of a culture hold in high regard. The first, and perhaps most crucial, elements of culture we will discuss are values and beliefs. Why would family get-togethers on this holiday be considered a norm)? Explain why each of the different aspects would be considered a belief, value, norm, etc. including the relevant beliefs, values, norms, and symbols associated with it. Explain some key aspects of the holiday such as Thanksgiving.
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