The past is never dead. It’s not even past. Break-a-Norm Day William Faulkner Norms provide us with rules that guide our everyday behavior. All we need to do is step outside the lines even a little bit to see the influence they have over our lives. These are some examples of how people violate norms. How would you feel about violating any of these norms? How might others respond to you? Photo: Dress—© Gordana Sermek/Getty Images RF; jeans—© C Squared Studios/Getty Images RF. formal norm A norm that generally has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators. laws Formal norms enforced by the state. informal norm A norm that is generally understood but not precisely recorded. 56 • SOC 2016 floor. Even on clotheslines, folkways in Southeast Asia dictate male dominance: women’s attire is hung lower than that of men (Bulle 1987). Breaking Norms Although norms provide us with guidelines on how to act, we can choose not to abide by them. Sometimes we violate the mainstream norms because we are actually following alternative norms from a subgroup within society. Teenage drinkers are often conforming to the standards of their peer group when they violate norms that condemn underage drinking. Similarly, business executives who use shady accounting techniques may be responding to a corporate culture that demands the maximization of profits at any cost, including the deception of investors and government regulatory agencies. Norms are violated in some instances because one norm conflicts with another. For example, suppose you live in an apartment building and one night hear the screams of the woman next door, who is being beaten by her husband. If you decide to intervene by knocking on their door or calling of a society, often because they embody core values. Each society demands obedience to its mores; violation can lead to severe penalties. Thus, the United States has strong mores against murder, treason, and child abuse, which have been institutionalized into formal norms. Clothing provides an example of the difference between the two. For example, fashion is a folkway, and there is wide latitude in what we might wear. But what about not wearing any clothes in public? For most of us, most of the time (except perhaps on No Pants Subway Ride days) that would be crossing the line into the territory of mores, and we might expect a strong and swift response if we did so. Norms are also classified as either formal or informal. Formal norms generally have been written down and specify strict punishments for violators. In the United States we often formalize norms into laws, which are very precise in defining proper and improper behavior. Sociologist Donald Black (1995) defined law as “governmental social control”; that is, laws are formal norms enforced by the state. But laws are just one example of formal norms. The requirements for a college major and the rules of a card game are also considered formal norms. By contrast, informal norms are generally understood but not precisely recorded. We follow largely unspoken rules for all kinds of everyday interactions, such as how to ride on an elevator, how to pass someone on a sidewalk, and how to behave in a college classroom. Knowledge of such norms is often taken for granted. SOCTHINK Improv Everywhere’s No Pants Subway Ride calls people to do something outside their comfort zone. What factors might influence someone’s decision to participate? What would it take to get you to participate? In many societies around the world, norms reinforce patterns of male dominance. For example, various folkways reveal men’s hierarchical position above women within the traditional Buddhist areas of Southeast Asia. In the sleeping cars of trains, women do not sleep in upper berths, above men. Hospitals that house men on the first floor do not place female patients on the second
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