Norms:

Meaning of Norms:
Social norm refers to group group-shared standards of behaviour. The norms are based on social values.
Norms are social rules which define correct and acceptable behaviour in a society or a group to which
people are expected to confirm. They prescribe the way the people should behave in particular situations.
They determine, guide, control and also predict human behaviour. Norms, in short, are a bundle of dos and
donts; they are rules of behaviour in particular situations. For example, in all societies, there are norms
which define acceptable male and female dress. There are norms about driving. Norms exist in all areas of
social life.
Social are general precepts, which being internallied or, accepted by individuals, induce conformity in
simple actions or in complex ethical judgements, thus increasing group unity. It is used to describe the
common standards or ideas which guide members response in all established groups. When it is said that
a particular action is in accordance with norms, the intention is to say that it conforms to community
expectations of behaviour.
Broom and Selznick describe norms as, blueprint for behaviour, setting limit within which individual may
seek alternate ways to achieve their goals.
According to Young and Mack, norms refer to the group-shared expectations.
H.M. Johnson writes, A norm is an abstract pattern held in the mind that sets certain limits for behaviour.
Donald Light Jr. and Suzanne say, Norms refer to the rules that guide behviour in everyday situations and
are derived from the value.
As Robert Bierstedt has pointed out, A norm is a rule or standard that governs our conduct in the social
situations in which we participate. He further writes that a norm can be treated as a cultural specification
that guides our conduct in society.
Norms are rooted in institutions. They provide the standard of behaviour and are regulatory in character.
The choice of individual for striving towards the cultural goal is regulated and guided by norms. These
provide the guideline for action. Norms give cohesion to society. They influence attitude of individuals to
understanding and unity.
Conformity to norm is qualified by socially defined situation. Degree of conformity may vary, but the norms,
unlike the ideal, are never far from actual behaviour. Violator of norm may invite loss of prestige, social
ridicule or even a more severe punishment. Norms are mainly informally enforced. Certain norms are,
however, formalized by translation into laws. A social norm operative in one social system is not equally
operative in the other.

The characteristics of social norms:

The characteristics of social norms are discussed as under:
1. Social norms are universal:
These are found in all societies. Social norms are the basis of social order. No society can function
smoothly without norms.
2. Norms incorporate value-judgement:
A norm is a standard shared by the group members. These represent standardized generalization
concerning expected modes of behaviour. As standardized generalizations, they are concepts which have
been evaluated by the group and they incorporate value-judgement. In terms of value we judge whether
some action is right or wrong, good or bad, expected or unexpected.
3. Norms are relative:
Norms vary from society to society. Sometimes, norms vary from group to group within same society. Some
norms do not govern the behaviour of all the people. Norms applicable to older people are not applicable to
children. Similarly, norms applicable to policemen are different from those of teachers.
4. All norms are not equally important:
Norms are enforced by sanctions, i.e. reward and punishment. But all norms are not equally strict and they
do not carry the same kind of punishment because they differ in importance. The most important norms in
society are called mores and those who violate them are severely punished. Other norms, called
folkways and punishments for violating them are much less severe.
5. Norms are internalized by the individuals:
Norms become part of personality through the process of socialization. Individuals internalize the norms of
the society. Individuals generally behave in accordance with the social norms.

Institutionalization of Norms:
A social norm operative in one social system may not be operative in another. A social norm is said to be
institutionalized remarks Johnson, in a particular social system when three conditions are met.
These three conditions are as follows:
1. A large number of members of the social system accept the norm.
2. Many of those who accept the norm take it seriously. In psychological terms, they have internalized it.
3. The norm is sanctioned. This means that certain members of the system are expected to be guided by
the norm in appropriate circumstances.
Besides these three conditions, the other aspects of institutionalization of norms are mentioned as
under:

(a) The institutionalized norms apply to members of a social system according to their social positions
within the system. Thus doctors, nurses, ward boys in a hospital are not expected to do exactly the same
things although some norms do apply to all regardless of their social position.
(b) The internalization of a norm by the average members of a social system is a matter of degree. The
obligation of parents to protect their child is deeply internalized taken very seriously indeed. So is the
responsibility of a Government official to keep official secrets especially to keep them out of the hands of
foreign agents. Similarly in a marriage where both husband and wife are working, the expectation of
mutual sexual fidelity is more binding than the expectation that the wife will get the husbands breakfast.
(c) The wide spread acceptance of a norm in a social system is also a matter of degree. In a large scale
social system, it is not necessary for everyone to know about, let alone accept, all the norms operative in
the system. For example, the functioning of the stock-market requires institutionalization but many people
have only a vague conception of the norms that govern participation in it.
What is necessary is that most of those who participate in the stock market in any way know and accept
that part of the total pattern of rights and obligations that affects, or is relevant to, their actual interaction
with one another.
Beyond that a more generalized acceptance of the rule of law and the authority of the court ensures that a
wider public support the norms at a distance, so to speak. Thus, a stock market scandal will reduces the
prestige of a broker even among people who do not understand precisely what his offence has been
(Johnson).
Norms may be institutionalized in a group of any size and complexity.
Relational and Regulative Norms:
The norms of a social system are divided into two classes. Some norms specify positive obligations. These
norms usually differentiate among roles and among subgroups. Thus the positive obligations of a family are
not the same as those of a business concern; the positive obligations of a father are not the same as those
of a son. Norms of the other class specify the limits of permissible rather than obligatory action. A role
occupant or subgroup must do certain things, may do certain others, and must not do still others.
Norms of the first class (obligatory) may be called relational since they specify the positive content of
relations between role occupants and between subgroups. Norms of the second class (permissive) may be
called regulative. Regulative norms do not differentiate between roles and between sub groups to the
same extent as do the relational norms.

Functions / Importance of Norms:

Functions or importance of social norms are discussed below:
1. Norm less Society is Impossibility:

Norms are important part of society. Norms and Society go together. Man depends upon society for his
existence. Norms make living together in society possible. Without normative order society is not possible.
2. Norms Regulate and Guide Behaviour:
Norms are controls. It is through them that society regulates behaviour of its members in such ways that
they perform activities fulfilling societal needs.
3. Norms maintain Social Order:
Norms are part of social order. They are controls. The social order is maintained by norms. That is why it is
said that human social order is a normative order.
4. Norms Gives Cohesion to Society:
Society achieves coherent structure through the norms. The collective and cooperative life of people is
made possible because of norms. The normative system gives to society an internal cohesion.
5. Norms Helps to have Self-control:
Norms helps individuals to have self-control. Because of the constraints imposed by norms individuals
conform to the norms and exercise discipline by themselves over their behaviour.