Running Header: THE POWER OF SOCIAL NORMS

The Power of Social Norms

The Power of Social Norms

Introduction

The study of identity has, for a long time, entailed how people deal with similarity and dissimilarity to others. In particular, theories focus on whether people prefer to be part of a group or to be distinctive and unique. Deviance describes situations in which people break social rules and conventions. From an identity perspective, there are many motives and causes for engaging in deviant behavior and there are also causes for defining other people's behavior as deviant. This paper focuses on the deviation from social norms and explores the identity perspective of deviance from sociological view.

Discussion

Sociologists have analyzed how social order is sustained both in society as a whole, through laws, institutions, and distribution of wealth, and through micro sociological mechanisms of personal relationships, roles, and influence. Society depends on social order, which must be maintained by ensuring individuals comply with consensual rules when it is important to do so. Most everyday actions, such as buying and selling items, arriving for work in the morning, driving a car, and greeting people, are governed by clear social rules. Understanding and following these rules is essential for the smooth running of society. If people disregarded these rules, social order would break down. Erich Fromm argued that society depends on people being motivated to conform to social conventions and laws.

Anomie

Émile Durkheim viewed deviance as a social fact, an inevitable part of how society functions. He argued that deviance is a basis for change and innovation, and it is also a way of defining or clarifying important social norms. One reason that people engage in deviant behavior may be a state of anomie, which is the absence of clear social norms. For people to understand what these norms are, the rules need to be tested occasionally. As an example, among stock market speculators, the boundary between clever dealing and improper dealing is defined by laws. Sometimes individuals are prosecuted legally (such as Enron's Ken Lay, or Nick Leeson, the rogue trader from Barings Bank). Most of the time, however, inappropriate behavior is likely to be regulated by informal social processes. The groups surrounding these individuals are likely to put pressure on them to behave in line with relevant norms.

But Durkheim's point is that unless we have a clear idea of where the boundaries of acceptable behavior lie, it is difficult for us to be aware of the norms. As a simple example, in different countries, there are different norms about waiting in line. The British are known for their orderly approach to queuing, and indeed people who jump a queue in the United Kingdom are likely to receive strong criticism from others, including being told to wait their turn. In other countries, it is quite normal for people simply to push to the front, leaving the hapless British feeling both frustrated and foolish. British tourists abroad usually learn quickly that they need to follow a different set of ...