1.3. Social Norms: Folkways, Mores, Taboo, and Laws
1.3. Social Norms: Folkways, Mores, Taboo, and Laws
Shanell Sanchez
Social Control Exercise
Assignment: We rely on informal social control to influence people’s behavior, such as giving the stink eye, the cold shoulder, or correcting someone’s behavior to ensure people conform. Think about a time when a parent, guardian, coach, employer, or teacher (agents of social control) used informal social control to respond to your behavior. What did the agent of informal social control do? Provide an example of when informal social control was applied to another person. What were they doing and how was their behavior controlled through informal social control?
Example: Talking on the phone with a work-related matter and kids start bickering over the slime. I was unable to put the phone down, so I relied on hand motions to show them it was unacceptable. There was no need to hang up or say anything at all. The eye actions indicated they were acting inappropriately and their behavior changed.
Norms can be internalized, which would make an individual conform without external rewards or punishments. Four types of social norms can help inform people about behavior that is considered acceptable: folkways, mores, taboos, and law. Further, social norms can vary across time, cultures, places, and even sub-groups. [1]
Think back to your first experiences in school and surely you can identify some folkways and mores learned. Folkways are behaviors that are learned and shared by a social group that we often refer to as “customs” in a group that are not morally significant, but they can be important for social acceptance. [2] Each group can develop different customs, but there can be customs that are embraced at a larger, societal level.
Folkway Example
Imagine sitting in a college classroom with sixty other people around. As a professor who teaches early morning classes, it is always encouraged to eat if hungry. However, everyone must be considerate of those around them. You should not chew loudly. That would be considered rude, and it is against class ‘customs’ to do so. To make it worse, imagine burping without saying ‘Excuse me.’ These would be folkway violations. Remember, this may not be disrespectful in all cultures, and it is very subjective.
Perhaps stricter than folkways are because they can lead to a violation of what we view as moral and ethical behavior. Mores are norms of morality, or right and wrong, and if you break one it is often considered offensive to most people of a culture. [3] Sometimes a more violation can also be illegal, but other times it can just be offensive. If more is not written down in legislation, it cannot get sanctioned by the criminal justice system. Other times it can be both illegal and morally wrong.
More Example
If one attended a funeral for a family member, no one would expect to see someone in bright pink clothes or a bikini. Most people are encouraged to wear black clothing out of respect. Although there may not be specific