The 5 Types Of Social Norms: How Society Modulates Behaviors

Social norms are the parameters that tell us how to act according to the moment or circumstance in which we are enrolled. They are fundamental processes in our interaction and in how we perceive ourselves within a group, and we can identify several types and a great multiplicity of expressions.

Below we will review what they are, what they are for, and What types of social norms are the most common in our societies

What are social norms?

Social norms are a set of frames of reference that are shared by the people who make up a group A frame is something that delimits (that establishes a series of limits) and a reference is something that serves as a model, that is, that establishes a relationship.

Thus, we can say that social norms are the series of limits that serve as a model, both mental and behavioral, to relate to the world. They are implicit in our relationships and shape much of our expectations. They are implicit because, although they are always present (otherwise we would not know how to behave or relate), it is not always necessary to express their presence out loud.

So that, We act and even think according to a series of social norms according to the group to which we belong (ingroup), and also according to the relationships we establish with other groups (outgroup). We can even share certain norms with some group, and not with another that seems very different to us. This happens without necessarily being aware of it.

But social norms are not formed from nothing, they arise from our own action. If they exist and are maintained it is because we constantly repeat them, and for the same reason we have a certain margin of action to transgress or modify them

What are they for?

Social norms are shared among the members of a group, they make people recognize ourselves as part of it; That is why social norms are easily internalized. That is why they are also necessary for socialization, which leads us to consider that social norms are also a type of regulation of power relations, which vary depending on the history and conditions of each context.

In short, social norms They are also a psychosocial process, because they are not only visible in observable behavior (individual or group), but also generate expectations of action and ideas about oneself. That is, they connect thought with action, and the individual with groups.

5 types of social norms

The types of social norms are differentiated by the degree of correlation that may exist between normative expectations and normative actions There is not always an explicit correlation between the two. Sometimes social norms only translate into actions when they are expectations shared by an entire group, whether it is a group of belonging or a reference group.

The types of norms that we present below take as reference the works of Muzafer Sherif, one of the founders of modern social psychology. We consider them as different types of social norms because they relate expectations of action with possibilities of action. according to the interactions that occur within a particular group

However, there may be many more types and the classification depends largely on the author, because in social and human studies themselves there are different social norms that delimit the information we present.

1. Values

Quality that is conferred on things, actions, people. They are a series of ideological or moral principles that are shared by a society and that guide it. For example, honesty, solidarity, punctuality. These values ​​may be shared by some societies or groups, and not by others. Likewise, and depending on life history, they may be more present or more important for some people than for others.

To give a more specific example, there are social groups that have quite internalized punctuality as an essential social norm for coexistence, and in contrast, there are groups for which punctuality can be in the background.

2. Customs

Customs They are a set of habits, which as such, have been acquired, shared and naturalized by a group or society. They even come to form the distinctive character of said group and the people who make it up.

For example, manners at meal time. In some societies it is allowed to eat on the floor or chew loudly, while doing the same in other societies can be read as a lack of respect and can affect coexistence. That is, a transgression of the social norm of the group.

3. Fashions

In statistical terms, the “mode” is the value that has the highest frequency within a set of data; which could be translated as “that which the majority follows.” In sociological terms, fashion is a custom that members of a group follow temporarily or temporarily They can be expressed in different ways and are present in all societies. They assume a certain validity, which momentarily reinforces our feeling of belonging to a group, and differentiates us from other groups or other members of the same.

Perhaps the clearest example is the wearing of certain items of clothing and the adoption of certain aesthetics and interests depending on the time and the particular group, which constitutes a social norm because it allows us to establish relationships with the members of the group and identify with them.

4. Stereotypes

Stereotypes are images or models accepted by a majority as patterns or qualities intrinsic to the behavior and personality of some members of the group, or of other groups.

Stereotypes allow us to activate a series of ideas, expectations, predispositions and possibilities for action when we see or think about a person or group of people, even without having lived with them or really knowing them, but for the simple fact that we automatically attribute certain qualities to them.

For example, it is very common to see in Western media, and in much of business advertising, many stereotypes about female beauty, where what is reinforced is the expectation of a thin body, having a certain height, a certain color. , certain aesthetics, etc.

5. Roles

The word “role” refers to the role that someone plays in a particular group, that is, their function and the behaviors expected from them.

An example is traditional gender roles where the family is made up of a heterosexual couple, where the man is the provider and the woman is the one in charge of family and domestic care. These roles are social norms because generate expectations, and possibilities for action and relationships that are specific for some people and not for others depending on the particular society.