Norms | UPSC Mains: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude PDF Download

Norms

• Definition of Norms: Norms are social expectations that dictate acceptable ways of behavior in a community or group.
• Informal Guidelines: Norms are usually informal rules that guide right or wrong behavior within a specific group or community.
• Collective Expectations: They represent the collective expectations that community members have of one another.
• Social Control: Norms act as a form of social control or pressure, encouraging individuals to conform, fostering uniformity, and discouraging deviant behavior.
• Expression of Norms: Norms are often expressed through social customs, folkways, or mores.
• Order in Society: They help maintain order in society. For example, in traditional societies, it is a norm that a son must obey his father’s commands and fulfill his wishes.
• Punishment for Non-Conformance: Failure to conform to norms leads to punishment, which may include being looked down upon, mocked, scolded, boycotted, or required to perform penance.
• Evolution into Laws: Laws evolve from norms, formalizing expectations of behavior. Deviants are subjected to trials in a court of law and punished accordingly.
• External vs. Internal: Norms are externally imposed, whereas beliefs and values are internal to individuals. Norms provide specific behavioral guidance, while values offer indirect guidance.
• Principles: Unlike values, beliefs, and morality, which differ among individuals and cultures, principles are universal rules or laws. They reflect universal truths and standards such as fairness, truthfulness, equality, and justice.