25) Norms and values-conformity and deviance.

Norms (short for normative or normal) are expected, socially acceptable ways of behaving in a given social situation. Like values they differ from person to person and society to society. We use the term norms loosely, but there are three distinguishable types. Firstly folkways are weak norms such as responding when someone says hello to you. Failure to follow this norm will have no implications except that the other person may consider you rude. Secondly, there are mores which are a stronger type of norm and will result in a stronger social response, for example telling a teacher to “bugger off”. The third and final type of norm is laws. A law is an expression of a very strong moral norm that exists to control people’s behaviour. The idea of norms is useful in two ways. Primarily they show the ways in which human behaviour is structured and secondly they highlight how society can be seen as a force as when we disrupt the normative expectations of society we can measure the effects on people’ behaviour.

Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime), as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g., rejecting folkways and mores). It is the purview of sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists to study how these norms are created, how they change over time and how they are enforced.

A personal value is extremely absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. Avalue system is a set of consistent valuesand measures. Aprinciple value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrityare based. Those values which are not physiologically determined and normally considered objective, such as a desire to avoid physical pain, seek pleasure, etc., are consideredsubjective, vary across individuals and cultures and are in many ways aligned withbeliefand belief systems. Types of values includeethical/moralvalue,doctrinal/ideological(religious, political) values,socialvalues, andaestheticvalues. It is debated whether some values which are not clearly physiologically determined areintrinsicsuch asaltruismand whether some such as acquisitiveness should be valued asvicesorvirtues. Values have typically been studied insociology,anthropology,social psychology,moral philosophy, andbusiness ethics. Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be. “Equal rights for all”, "Excellence deserves admiration", and “People should be treated with respect and dignity” are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior. For example, if you value equal rights for all and you go to work for an organization that treats its managers much better than it does its workers, you may form the attitude that the company is an unfair place to work; consequently, you may not produce well or may perhaps leave the company. It is likely that if the company had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviors would have been more positive.

Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. Norms are implicit, unsaid rules shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others and among society or social group. This tendency to conform occurs in small groups and/or society as a whole, and may result from subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure. Conformity can occur in the presence of others, or when an individual is alone. For example, people tend to follow social norms when eating or watching television, even when alone.