Explain What Role Do Social Norms Play In Society

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`What role do social norms play in society?
As humans, our society has set of unwritten rules about how we should behave in different social situations and environments. Humans rely on these rules to keep them safe from any unknown threats, and provide order in society. These are called social norms, and there is an expectation of all humans to abide these laws. Those who don't are considered to be outcasts, and are normally treated differently as they pose a threat to society and defy the safe structure of the community. The role of social norms is to protect us from unknown threats, provide humans with roles, and they are essential for our survival.
Firstly, social norms provide order and safety to the community . According to Maslow's Hierarchy …show more content…
Everyone of us has many roles that we play: the role of a son, daughter, sister, father, mother, student, teacher, worker, a citizen of Adelaide etc. These roles have a certain set of expectations, and your behaviour changes to fit the role. For example: if you are a student, it is expected that you go to school and you do the tasks set; if you are a mother, you should care and love your child etc. These roles are essential to society as they let the society function and develop. A teacher must teach her students, a mother must feed her children, a citizen of Adelaide has to abide the law, a builder has to build new buildings; as each person plays a particular role in society, they have an impact on others, thus creating a string of connections and allowing for the society to bloom. It would be impossible to imagine a society without anybody playing a certain role. It is when somebody does not fulfil the expectations of others in a certain role, it is then when people start to worry and judge, as they are influencing the current structure of a safe community. An example of this may be a student skipping school and others discussing the bad effects of skipping school and judging the person; in a worst case scenario, it might be someone endangering another person's life, which causes scandals and has a huge impact on the …show more content…
Only humans have social norms, no other animal displays it. It is one of the elements of the human uniqueness. It may be responsible for why humans have developed much further than other animals. Social norms have existed in all human societies since the beginning of their existence. Humans have always had certain roles: males would go hunting, women would cook and clean, gather fruits and spices, children would learn their parents' behaviours to learn more about the role they would play in society. Thus, humans can thrive as a race due to our ability to categorise humans into groups, and direct their behaviour to benefit the
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