PowerPoint Presentation

INTRODUCTION. The society at times appears to be chaotic, as when a mob riots, or when there is a hysterical rush from an impending crisis: but soon order is restored and the society gets going. Indeed order rather than disorder is the rule of the world. Social order as it is called is obtained through regulation of human behaviour according to certain standards. All societies provide for these standards specifying appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. The standards which regulate behaviour have been termed social norms. The concept of norms is a central one in sociology..

USAGES OF NORMS. Being considerate to strangers Waiting in line Making your way to the end of a shopping line Flushing the toilet after use Dressing appropriately Starting a phone call with a greeting Using utensils appropriate to the meal and cuisine Being considerate to others.

USAGES OF VALUES. Honesty Integrity Respect for others Compassion Equality Justice Freedom Responsibility.

WHAT ARE NORMS. Norms are standards of group behaviour: An essential characteristic of group life is that it is possessed of a set of values which regulate the behaviour of individual members. As we have seen already, groups do not drop out of the blue with stabilized relationships among members. Groups are the products of interaction among individuals. When a number of individuals interact, a set of standards develop that regulate their relationships and modes of behaviour. These standards of group behaviour are called social norms. That brothers and sisters should not have sexual relations; a child should defer to his parents and an uncle should not joke with his nephews and nieces are the illustrations of norms which govern relationships among kinsmen..

Norms incorporate value judgements: Secord and Buckman say “A norm is a standard of behavioural expectation shared by group members against which the validity of perceptions is judged and the appropriateness of feeling and behaviour is evaluated.”Members of a group exhibit certain regularities in their behaviour. As defined by Broom and Selznick, ‘The norms are blueprints for behaviour setting limits within which individuals may seek alternate ways to achieve their goals.”Norms do not refer to an average or central tendency of human beings. →They denote expected behaviour, or even ideal behaviour. Moral values are attached to them. They are model practices. They set out the normative order of the group..

Norms are related to factual world. It may not, however, be presumed that norms are abstract representing imaginary construct. Sociologists are interested mainly in “operative” norms, that is, norms that are sanctioned in such a way that violators suffer penalties in the group. For example, most of the norms of the Sermon on the Mount, although often referred to as norms, are not sanctioned; one is not punished sociality for refusing to “turn the other cheek”. Norms in order to be effective must represent correctly the relations between real events. They must take into account the factual situation. A rule requiring all men to have two wives would be valueless if the sex ratio did not permit. Therefore, the normative system, since it is meant to achieve results in the factual world, should be related to the events in the real world..

IMPORTANCE. A normless society is impossibility Norms give cohesion to society Norms influence individual’s attitudes.

CONFIRMITY OF NORMS. Norms are not formed by all groups in relation to every kind of behaviour and every possible situation. They are formed in matters of consequence to a particular group. What matters are of consequence to a group depends upon the main purposes and goals of the group, the relationship of that group to other groups, and other conditions in which it operates. Likewise, the scope of behaviour regulated by norms varies considerably in different groups. For example, the norms of some groups may pertain chiefly to ethical matters, while the norms of other groups may cover a broader area of life including dress, forms of entertainment, education and so on..

Further, a social norm operative in one social system may not be operative in another. Thus, Mohammedan societies permit polygyny, but Christian ones do not. Likewise norms do not apply equally to all members of a society or to all situations. They are adjusted to the position people hold in the society and to the occupations they practise. Thus what is proper for a woman is not always proper for a man, or what is proper for a doctor may not be proper for a teacher. Thus conformity to norms is always qualified in view of the socially defined situations in which they apply. A norm by definition implies a sense of obligation. It lays down a standard of behaviour which one ought to follow. Many of the problems of personality as well as society are mostly the problems of non-conformity to norms. Conformity to norms is normal. The individual having internalized the norms, feels something like a need to conform. His conscience would bother him if he did not. Further people would disapprove his action if he violates the norm. Thus both internalized need and external sanctions play an effective role in bringing about conformity to norms..

VIOLATION OF NORMS. The violators of norms suffer the following kinds of sanctions: (i) Violators of norms suffer loss of prestige: (ii) Violators are subjected to ridicule, fines, imprisonment. By contrast, those who conform to norms enjoy the expected co- operation from others, maintain good prestige in the group and receive positive rewards such as praise, bonuses and promotions..

QUESTIONS REGARDING CONFIRMITY. (i) Why are some behaviours and attitudes subjected to normative controls and others are not? (ii) Why is much conformity to norms found in some groups than in others? (iii) Why some members of a group conform more closely to norms than others? These three questions deal respectively with focus, extent and distribution of conformity to norms..

Conformity to norms depends largely upon agreement as to what the norm demands. Without this agreement there would be a wide range of behaviour. As already seen norms are agreed upon standards of behaviour. Without such agreement, norms have a weaker force. Further we have seen that norms differ from society to society and from group to group in the same society. It is obvious that norms do not apply equally to all members of all societies or to all members of a society. They are adjusted to the needs of a society and to the positions people hold in particular social orders or to the occupations they practise, etc. Since there are different norms for different groups, a conflict among them is inevitable. While norms set limits to individual behaviour, variation in conformity is often permitted and exceptions also are provided for. Some norms are more specially stated than others; some have wide range of application than others; some permit individual interpretation to a greater extent than others..

There are reasons why norms are not followed without deviation: (i) Some norms are perceived less important than others and so the less important ones are violated when one has to make a choice between two norms. In this case it may be said that strictly speaking there is conflict because the relative importance of the norms is clear. (ii) Norms may so conflict with each other that an individual must disobey one if he is to conform to the other. A student who sees a friend cheating in an examination must choose between conflicting norms. One norm instructs him to be loyal to his friend while another instructs him to see that honesty is upheld. (iii) An individual may deviate from a norm because he knows it is weakly enforced. Using college stationery for personal use, letter writing is rarely punished. (iv) Some norms are not learned by all persons even in the same society. For example, there are wide differences in life styles, food habits and etiquette..

The organism is still resistant to normative control. The students resist any such control over them by the authorities. The children resist the control by the parents. The conflict between organic resistance and social control is one of the unsolved problems of human life. It may not, however, be supposed that individual resistance to norms necessarily threatens them or shakes the solidarity of the group. But when large numbers of people resist the norms and evade them for over long periods of time, they are weakened and group is shaken. However, some norms may be so important that they persist inspite of deviations. We know that the norms regarding sex behaviour are often evaded but it is unlikely that these deviations will change the sex norms. Inspite of the fact that there are conflicts between norms and there are deviations from norms, they have, nevertheless, evolved as part of human society because they helped to satisfy the fundamental social and individual needs thus enabling societies and the human species to survive..

Values are the beliefs that we have about what is important, both to us and to society as a whole. They can be implicit or explicit .Values help us to decide what is right or wrong, good or bad. Values comprise culturally constructed goals, presented as legitimate objects for attainment to a diverse array of individuals in a society. Such goals are accorded varying degrees of significance based on their relevance to a particular culture’s most cherished ideals. These values are communicated to individuals, commencing at a tender age, as dreams worth pursuing. Ancient Sparta offers an example of a society that explicitly upheld the value of military preeminence (Plutarch, 1859). Sparta’s granting of headstones only to a select victorious, the poetry of Tyrtaeus glorifying military prowess, and the agoges that molded 7-year-old boys into warriors barely elude attention..

KEY TAKEAWAYS. Social values are the beliefs, attitudes, and opinions about what is important, both to us and to society as a whole. A value, therefore, is a belief (right or wrong) about the way something should be. Social values can be categorized according to their source, which can be materialistic or idealistic; positive or negative, dominant or variant, innate or acquired, or a number of other categories. Every value that individuals hold has a number of associated ideas called norms. Perspectives as far ranging as functionalism, Marxism, and feminism have created different lenses through which sociologists view the function of social values..

Some values are very personal to us as individuals, whilst others are much more widely-held by large groups of people. In this case, values become morals – things that we consider to be of such absolute and fundamental importance that we believe everyone should hold such ideas as a personal value. There is an ethical dimension to the concept of values, in that beliefs about goodness are often attached to them. In functionalist sociology, values have a central place, as they are thought to be crucial in forging social solidarity amongst disparate individuals. Some common social values in Western societies include freedom, equality, individualism, democracy, and respect for others. However, these values are not shared by all cultures. For example, in some traditional societies, collectivism (valuing the needs of the group over the needs of the individual) may be more important than individualism..

Sociologists often study how social values change over time. For example, in the past, many Western societies valued men over women and white people over racial minorities. However, these values have changed in many countries over time, as women and minority groups have fought for equality. In short, the values we hold are general behavioural guidelines. They tell us what we believe is right or wrong, for example, but that do not tell us how we should behave appropriately in any given social situation. This is the part played by norms in the overall structure of our social behaviour..

Characteristics of Values (Boudon, 2017):. Values are typically a matter of faith and belief They tend to be abstract and cognitive Values are normative in nature Values are general ideas shared by people Values are related to emotions and sentiments Values are the basis for the choices of things Values are relatively permanent Values bring cohesiveness to society Values are motivated by public welfare Values have a hierarchy of order..

TYPES OF VALUES. •;llf:..

MORAL VALUES. Moral values are beliefs about right and wrong behavior. They are usually based on religion, culture, or philosophy. Many people have different moral values, depending on their beliefs. These values are not scientific. Moral values that are also used to evaluate social institutions are sometimes also known as political values. Some common moral values in Western societies include honesty, respect for others and one”s parents, honesty, and loyalty. Generally, society punishes the violation of such values gravely (Boudon, 2017). Another example of moral values are the 10 Commandments. These include values such as you should not steal from another person..

RATIONAL VALUES. Rational values are based on reason or logic. They are scientific and objective, and can be measured. They often relate to people”s physical needs and desires, such as the need for food, shelter, and safety. Some common rational values in Western societies include health, wealth, knowledge, and efficiency. For example, a society may value an individual working hard because those who work hard are more likely to bring increased productivity – in the forms of goods and services. Thus allowing the people within it to prosper and creating a safety net for when a disaster – be it famine, war, or economic recession – strikes (Boudon, 2017)..

INDIVIDUALISTIC VALUES. Individualistic values emphasize the importance of the individual over the group. In individualistic societies, people are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. People in individualistic societies value independence, self-reliance, and personal achievement. Thus, individualistic values can include liberty, privacy, and competition. Scholars believe that the origins of these individualistic values reflect a commitment to reason, with social relations organized in terms of principles, rules, and laws (Ghorbani et al., 2003)..

DOMINANT VALUES. Dominant values are values that limit social sanctions and cannot be infringed by an individual. In a society, there can be multiple dominant values that are respected by the majority of people. For example, in many Western societies, personal freedom and independence are highly valued. Other examples of dominant values include hard work, self-discipline, non-violence, and respect for authority (Boudon, 2017). While dominant values may vary from one society to another, they usually remain stable over time within a given culture. This is because they are supported by institutions such as the family, education system, and religion. Dominant values help to define what is considered normal or acceptable behavior in a society. They also provide a sense of order and stability, which can help to reduce social conflict..

VARIANT VALUES. Variants are values that individuals can choose to follow while being part of the culture or society. A common example is food choices – vegetarian and non-vegetarian. While some cultures or societies may have a preference for one type of food over the other — French cuisine relies heavily on meat and cheese while Indian cuisine is largely vegan — individuals within those groups are free to choose which they will consume. Variant values also exist within larger social institutions, such as religion. For instance, many Christian denominations allow for different interpretations of key scriptures; thus, followers of Christianity may hold slightly different beliefs while still being united under the same umbrella faith (Boudon, 2017)..

FUNCTIONS. Values provide stability in group interactions. They give individuals a sense of identity and belonging, and contribute to the maintenance of social order, because they are shared in common. Values also serve as standards against which people judge the appropriateness of their own behavior and the behavior of others, and can make people more likely to see others as like themselves. Values can also bring legitimacy to the rules governing specific activities. The rules that spring from these values are followed on the virtue of embodying values. For example, in many societies, the value of individualism is highly valued. This value may help to legitimize activities such as competition and aggressiveness, which are seen as necessary for success (Levy & Guttman, 1985). They can also be used to explain and justify societal problems, such as social inequality. For example, the value of hard work may be used to justify why some people have more money than others. Indeed, hierarchical societies may even consider these inequities to be natural, and take down any efforts to overthrow them. Finally, values help to bring about adjustments between different sets of rules over time. For example, the value of freedom may be used to justify changes in the rules governing interactions between people, such as the abolition of slavery, as well as a more distant relationship between the government and individual. Or, the value of progress may be used to support new technologies or ways of doing things, even when these entail a loss of tradition (Levy & Guttman, 1985)..

JUSTICE. Justice helps to ensure that people are treated fairly and equally. It is also a value that can help to prevent conflict and promote social cohesion. For example, in a society where people believe that wrongdoings will be punished swiftly and appropriately, people are more likely to feel safe and less likely to break the rules themselves. This justice can be both legal or extralegal, encompassing anything from law enforcement to spiritual beliefs (Bourne & Jenkins, 2013)..

FREEDOM. Freedom allows people to express themselves freely and choose their own lifestyles. It promotes individualism and self-expression (Carter, 1995). When freedom is functional, it allows individuals to pursue their own interests and goals without interference from others. It also fosters creativity and innovation by giving people the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and methods. Societies that value freedom have the potential to bring ideas into the world that would have otherwise passed by unvalued, as they do not conform to tradition. However, freedom also has its negative aspects. One of the downsides of freedom is that it can lead to social disharmony and conflict. When people are free to pursue their own interests and goals, they may sometimes clash with others who have different interests. This can lead to tension and conflict within society. Additionally, societies that value freedom may be more likely to experience crime. When people are free to pursue their own goals, some may choose to do so through illegal or criminal activities (Carter, 1995)..

RESPECT. Respect ensures that people treat each other with dignity. There are two main types of respect: personal and social. Personal respect is when someone is treated with dignity because they are valued as an individual. Social respect is when someone is treated with dignity because they have a certain status in society. Some social theorists have argued that respect is closely tied to agency. Reich, Schirmer, and Hamann (2009) found that people are sensitive to the legitimacy of the other”s claim to respect, which means that they are unwilling to associate disrespect with situations in which a person”s non‐ legitimate claims to agential treatment have been violated..

SOURCES OF VALUES.

FUNCTIONALIST.

MARXIST.

FEMINIST.

FUNCTIONALIST. According to functionalism, social values are created in order to maintain stability and balance within society. These values are essential for the proper functioning of society and help to ensure that all members of society know what is expected of them. Social values also play an important role in social cohesion, by helping to bind people together and creating a sense of shared purpose through socializing societal newcomers into the values system. Functionalists believe that all aspects of society serve a purpose and contribute to the overall functioning of society. They see social values as being beneficial to society as they help to ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. Some functionalist theorists have even argued that social values are innate and hard-wired into human beings (Parsons, 1991)..

MARXIST. Marxists believe that the ruling class imposes values on the working class, which leads to false consciousness. This means that the working class does not understand their own interests and instead accepts the values of the ruling class. Underlying this control of consciousness through values is, in the view of Marxism, a fundamental conflict between the ruling class and the working class, which is why values can never be fully shared or agreed upon. The ruling class has an interest in maintaining their power and privilege, while the working class wants to overthrow them and create a more equal society (Armstrong, 2020). Althusser argues that the family, as part of the superstructure of capitalist society, socializes children into norms and values that are useful to the capitalist ruling class. That is to say, the family is an ideological agent, a puppet, of the ruling class. For example, children learn obedience and respect for those in authority within the family. This means that the capitalist class can later exploit these children because, when these children become adults, they are more likely to view the power and authority of the capitalist class as natural. By socializing children into ruling-class values, the family ensures that children will become uncritical and conformist adults and passive workers who accept exploitation with little complaint. Some Marxist sociologists have criticized functionalist theories of value for being unable to explain how values change over time. They argue that functionalists assume that values are fixed and unchanging, when in reality they are always changing and being contested..

FEMINISM. Some feminist theorists, in a similar vein to Marxists who believe that values serve the ruling class, believe that values serve the needs of men. The values that are most prominent in society – such as individualism, competition, and materialism – benefit men more than women, who are expected to be caretakers and providers. Other feminist theorists have argued that there is no single set of values that characterize all societies; rather, values vary depending on the specific culture or subculture (Armstrong, 2020)..

How are values measured in sociology?. There are many different ways to measure and compare values. One common approach is the Rokeach Value Survey, which asks people to rank a list of 18 terminal values and 18 instrumental values in order of importance. Other approaches focus on specific values or value clusters, such as those related to environmentalism or religiosity. The terminal values in the Rokeach Value Survey are (Johnston, 1995): True Friendship Mature Love Self-Respect Happiness Inner Harmony Equality Freedom Pleasure Social Recognition Wisdom Salvation Family Security National Security A Sense of Accomplishment A World of Beauty A World at Peace A Comfortable Life An Exciting Life.

While the instrumental values – preferable modes of behavior – involve (Johnston, 1995): Cheerfulness Ambition Love Cleanliness Self Control Capability Courage Politeness Honesty Imagination Independence Intellect / Broad-Mindedness Logic Obedience Helpfulness Responsibility Forgiveness.

N O RWIS Nor-rns are accepted standards of behaviour Specific guidelines Behaviours that are accepted by the society WI a y vary frorn society to society Ex: covering your n•outh coughing, shaking hands xvhen you nieet sorneone, saying sorry vvhen you burnp into son•eone, etc- VALUES Values are principles that help you to decide 'What is right and Veyron g General guidelines Principals believed by an individual WI ay vary fron• individual to individual Ex: honesty, integrity, courage, kindness, fairness, and generosity Visit.

oooäi00!fioooooooooæs. THANK YOU.