what is the sociological concept norms?

Question

need clarefication on what is termed norms by sociologist

Answer 1

There are three kinds of norms:


Folkways
A society's web of cultural rituals, traditions and routines. Deviation is not usually considered a serious threat to social organization and is thus sanctioned less severely than moral deviation. Example: In certain households in the U.S., it is a folkway to say grace before eating Thanksgiving dinner. See Faux pas


Mores
Moral judgements that define wrong and right behavior, the allowed and the disallowed, what is wanted and not wanted within a culture. The word is the plural of the Latin mor-, mos, which means 'custom'. A violation of mores is usually considered by society as a threat to social organization and harshly sanctioned. Examples: Drug use, sexual promiscuity, selling organs, or extreme styles of dress.

"More than ambition, more than ability, it is rules that limit contribution; rules are the lowest common denominator of human behavior. They are a substitute for rational thought". - Admiral Hyman Rickover

Laws
In highly organized societies, formalised and precisely delimited norms. The breaking of legal norms, or laws, invokes procedures and judgements through formal, legal institutions, such as police and the courts, set up to enforce them. These norms generally relate to individual violations of mores or to the adjustment of proprietary relationships. Examples: Rape, theft, lying under oath.
Mostly, it is rules that are enforced, whether it be political or social.

Answer 2

I won't do your homework with you, I'm just going to assume you would like some clarification on the term. A social norm is similar to a rule except that it is not enforced by some external or authority, but by social forces. Many (most even) are obeyed without even thinking about them. For example, when someone reaches their hand out to you in introduction, there is a social norm that tells you that you must take and shake their hand. There is no "handshake police" out there to enforce this rule and you could go ahead decline to shake hands without formal punishment, but you would be violating a social norm in not engaging in the handshake. Another example would be behavior on an elevator. When you get into a crowded elevator, there are many unspoken social norms governing your behavior. You don't make sustained eye contact with others, you stand as far from others as possible, and you keep your gaze fixed on either the door or the floor display. Although there is no list of rules on an elevator that says to do this, people's behavior is nevertheless shaped by internalized social norms. While there is no formal punishment for breaking a social norm, there are typically social consequences that prevent us from deviating from the norms particular to our societies.

Answer 3

its just the idea that we have certain standards of behaviour that are the average and are the point from which other things and behaviours are generally said to deviate, if they are going to deviate.
norms is linked to the word "normal", that should make that easy to remember, and it is definitely where the word "norms" comes from.