Social norms are the informal rules or understandings that govern behavior in social
groups and some can differ depending on the social group. Social norms are the stable features
that exist in society as a societal expectation. A societal expectation is a principle or rule of
social life that people are expected to observe. Those principles and rules include prescriptions
on what one “ought to” think and feel in a given situation, and how members of a group “ought
to” behave. With social norms being adopted into society t hey all have origins stemming from
behavior that people disliked, deemed wrong, or unacceptable to society’s thoughts and actions.
Forces that hold society are often invisible to the human eye and unless there things are
broken we can’t see them. This is very true when applied to the common social norm that is
when someone is to sneeze it is considered normal to cover their mouth. Covering the mouth as
someone is sneezing can be done with an elbow, by cupping your hands, a handkerchief, or a
tshirt.
This norm is established all over the globe as a social standard. Covering someone’s mouth
when they sneeze is common decency or etiquette and it is also an aspect of maintaining a
healthy environment. Sneezing is a common way that people share airborne germs or viruses that
cause others to get ill. So when not covering your mouth people may think it is gross or rude
because they can get sick from your sneeze and the germs that come out from your mouth when
you sneeze.
Most people at a young age have older persons, either family members or teachers. that
teach them the importance of covering your mouth when sneezing. They explain that when you
don’t cover your mouth you can spread germs and get other people sick. After the norm is
learned as a person grows up they do not need to think about having to cover their mouth
because the action becomes innate. Some people do not practice this norm from a young age and
develop the action and if they do not cover their mouth when they sneeze their action can have
attention brought to it because it is not something they “ought to” do.
Internalizing this norm may be difficult for young children. It also may have difference in
applying this social norm between most social groups around the world. Men and women both
have adapted this social norm equally and it is viewed as polite to those around you if you cover
your mouth when sneezing. Some cultures want to hold their sneeze in because when sneezing it
is related to having religious values behind it that can be very negative. Children are often ones
to learn the norm in school with other people because teachers explain that it will protect others
from getting ill.
The social norm of covering your mouth when sneezing is a very commonly accepted
social norm for peoples’ everyday life. Higher pressures of this norm are applied in social setting
because there are other people around who could give you odd glances or say to cover your
mouth next time if you do not cover it. Sneezing etiquette can help people withhold their dignity
because it can stop snot blowing out peoples noses or the looks of other people when someone
doesn’t cover their nose.
Covering your mouth when you sneeze is a pretty enforced social norm because people
will look at you differently with sometimes looks of disgust or people will tell you to cover your
mouth. It is an enforced norm because there are health risks that are related to the action of it
which makes it important for those to withhold this standard. There are no severe penalties but
that person may feel slight embarrassment if they become sanctioned. Sanctions are known
commonly for keeping people in line and they are to preserve social order and just similarly to
breaking laws there are panelists there are some for breaking social norm. Sanctions matter
because they reconstitute social order when there has been a breech of normal expectation in a
person’s actions. Enforcement 3 of this norm can be done by having signs around buildings like
schools, office buildings, and hospitals that remind people to cover their mouth if it is not an
innate action for some people.
Sneezing is not a graceful action and there can either be negative or positive reactions to
the way someone goes about their sneeze. Sanctioning is a response to a break in the social norm
developed for an action and in this case it was covering a sneeze. Social norms are learned
through the process of life and they can be learned early or or later into adulthood. These norms
determine and constitute the social structure and are an invisible set of guidelines. Social norms
are perceived as important for societal maintenance or just keep it organized. Norms are knowing
to provide structure within society and they can have negative or positive feedback from persons
around them that depend on the action of the person. Around the globe there are different
cultures with contrasting perceptions of the world that develop into altering social norms but
most social norms, like covering a sneeze can be viewed as a global social norm.
identify some kind of social norm and then examine that norm based on the criteria we talked about during lecture. Here are those criteria:
- To what extent is the norm known and recognized?
- What is the mode of transmission? How do we learn about the norm?
- How much and how often do we conform to the norm?
- Does the norm apply equally to all groups?
- Is the norm severely or lightly enforced?
- What is the mode and consistency of enforcement?
Sample Solution
