Health Norms Definition Essay

Great Essays
I will be violating the norm of pregnancy health precautions and safety. More specifically, consuming alcoholic beverages and smoking while pregnant. This norm acts as a mechanism of social control because it is socially and medically accepted and promotes social conformity. I am assuming that until medical research was done, mothers were unaware of the consequences of alcohol and cigarettes while pregnant. The authority in our culture enforcing these norms are medical doctors. They have constantly been enforcing their power to get society to follow their rules. Sanctions are used to enforce these norms positively or negatively. When a mother follows this norm she is rewarded as a good mother; however, if a mother were to break this norm then …show more content…
While I was violating the norm, however, I felt bad to have to pretend to be a poor mother, because when I am really pregnant I would never smoke (I don’t now) and I would especially not drink alcohol. The reactions I experienced were what I was expecting. If I saw an expecting mother doing what I did, I would have reacted the same as the people I saw staring and talking about me. The few challenges I faced were trying to get into my baby body, stuffing a belly into spanks is very challenging; you will break a sweat, and pretending like I thought my actions were just and normal. Conducting my research, I learned that norms do exercise social control, especially with sanctions. Violating my norm had me realize that if I truly was an expecting mother drinking and smoking, the looks and whispers would express great disapproval and possibly make me stop my actions until my behavior/actions are finally rewarded with positive sanctions, i.e., smile and praise. The immediate sanction responses help to train our conscience and helps us from violating social norms. Eventually, a norm will no longer need sanctions or authority to reinforce it. After so long I believe social control then looks like we are in control when really our actions were guided by others control of society. Eventually, everyone will be acting how society deems fit and we will be representing social

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Further analysis will demonstrate the ways in which conforming to the conventions of society can have damaging effects by limiting the individual thoughts of people and their happiness. Society’s behavior is guided by a powerful set of unwritten rules. Those that act outside of the rules receive ridicule, criticism, or rejection. The main driving force which draws people to conform is their desire to feel accepted. In order to feel accepted, people often conform however, “When you adopt the standards and values of someone else, you surrender your own integrity [and] become, to the extent of your surrender, less of a human being”- Eleanor Roosevelt.…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Durkheim states that the social relations embedded into individuals define acceptable morals, values and beliefs which are acceptable within a society (Prasad, 2014). Social norms are the informally acceptable behaviours, actions, and beliefs which members within a group consent to. When there is a disruption in positive reinforcement this perspective prevails that social relationships are weakened. Durkheim argues that a condition of ‘deregulation’ in a society creates a state of normalness called Anomie, which fundamentally lead to deviance (Prasad, 2014). For Durkheim, deviance produces “boundaries” within a social group in order to maintain social control and order within the basic norms of that group (Wonser, p. 3).…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We rely on these social norms because we think it is the only way society will accept us. So, many individuals do not dare to think out of the bubble and do not try to be something that is different. In, Sociology in Modules, the author, Richard Schaefer, gives some examples on why people do not override these norms and one reason is that “violation can lead to severe penalties” (68 par.3). There are some norms that us humans do violate but we will not get punished for it just odd glances. However, that reason can cause us to turn away from breaking that norm because we do not want that type of judgment.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I learned that breaking social norms is frowned upon by society very much. Societal norms are so set when an individual steps outside of those norms he/she is looked at as an outsider who should know better and follow the rules. Some social norms can be broken depending on sanction. For example, church is a formal sanction, there may be members that begin to shout or break out into dance in response to the feeling that overwhelms them from the music or the message that the minister may be preaching as opposed to when a person in a classroom setting he/she cannot just get up and start dancing or yelling across the classroom because the setting is different and the person will be looked as someone who is going against what it's supposed to be…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It seems like losing one’s social support is a consequence that many teens face when becoming pregnant.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Social And Cultural Norms

    • 2780 Words
    • 12 Pages

    When my norm violation occurred there was a general response of disgust. Everyone who was within hearing, and viewing distance responded differently. I received hard stares; very similar to the one my Mom would give me as a child. I received facial expression alone, and facial expression with minimal, quiet verbal response to loud harsh responses. The most direct, and out loud responses came from an African American male, a Caucasian male and a Caucasian female.…

    • 2780 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Norm violations are common in society today. Norms are defined as being “expectations of ‘right’ behavior” (Henslin, 49). There are two types of norms: folkways and mores. Folkways are a type of norm that are not strongly implemented, meaning that to go against this type of norm is not as severe as going against a more. A more is a type of norm that is forcefully implemented.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Breaking A Social Norm

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Why am I so reluctant to do this? These are all questions I asked myself when I first got assigned this project. The first few had answers that I could look up in a textbook. Social Norms are rules that are set by society telling you what behavior is acceptable in a certain group. Let’s pretend that you are meeting someone for the first time.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Societal Norms, Personal Expression, and Politics Societal Norms are the expected behaviors of individuals within a group. Behaviors in opposition to societal norms are permitted to a certain extent, in the U.S., typically under the right to free speech. Here in the U.S. as well as in Le Guin’s galaxy, a group’s social norms are intrinsically tied to politics, and the reaction of each society to personal expression is influenced by the society’s politics. The socio-political structure on Anarres is an example of “nonauthoritarian communism” which requires decentralized self-government through self-regulation, and dictates that all assets are the property of the community not the individual (Le Guin 342).…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Norms are dependent on culture. The mere reality of norms is that they control society without the individual being aware of it. Norms provide a model for an individual in society to follow, highlighting how a person conforms to nonexistent rules in order to uphold societal stability. Although norms are not learned in a…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Conformity In Society

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Social norms may also challenge the idea of individuality and a person’s sense of social identity or purpose. People often conform to meet the requirements placed upon them by social norms. In short a social norm is an…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Drug use and abuse has been a major concern to the society for a long a time. There are myths and facts about drug abuse. Many people have been having misconception on the truth about drug abuse. This has led to many people, both old and young, to continue abusing drugs and substances. With drug abuse becoming more common in our society, many scholars have been trying to explain reasons that make people, especially young people abuse drugs.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Social Norms

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The system of social control includes positive and negative sanctions. A positive sanction is an expression of approval for conforming to norms. A negative sanction is an illustration of disapproval for breaking a norm. This is where deviance comes into play. Deviance is the violation of any norm.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ymca Observation

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In my first observation I decided to go to the YMCA and look at different areas in the building. I went during 2-3pm on Saturday and 12-1pm on Sunday. On Saturday I visited the gym where I saw a plethora of kids playing basketball and a few adults playing by themselves with the occasional group of teens loitering by the courts. On Sunday, however, I visited the weightlifting room where I saw, essentially everyone lifting either with a partner or alone. Although, in the weightlifting room People’s age ranged from a teen to senior citizen.…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I don’t believe that our society could function without social norms, because we as humans need norms to direct our behavior and provide order in our relationships to help us understand each other’s actions (Feenstra,…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays