Social norms are rules of human behavior which point out what should or could be human actions according to certain groups of people, institutions or states. It is an example, in accordance with which people realize their behavior. Opposed to individual rules they are general rules of conduct as. The general character of the social norm is expressed in the fact that its requirements do not refer to a specific person, but to many people. Everyone who will be in the scope of social norms must follow it. (Rommetveit, 1955)
The public place which I chose to observe was a Fashion Boutique in the city center. I arrived there on Saturday afternoon because it is the ‘peak time’ for families to go shopping after working week and before having fun with friends in the evening. It is located stands out among them striking design and silver stars on the front door. This design makes it modern and fashionable, thus attracts more young people who dream about Hollywood outlook. Also, inside boutique you can smell nice perfume and hear today’s hottest songs.
The contingent of customers was mostly young people, girls 15-18 years old. The majority came without parents, but with their friends who helped them to make a choice of clothes giving advice regarding their outlook. A large number of purchases said about the high socio-economic status of people, but since these were mostly teenagers, I believe they were paying their parents' money. Accordingly, these were the children of fairly well-off families. There were representatives of different races and ethnic origins.
My attention was drawn to one family and I started to observe them for about half an hour. It consisted of the parents and their young daughter. After 5 min the Dad found a chair near the entrance and spent there the rest of the time of my observation. He was completely not interested in shopping process that shows confirmation of one of the social norms called gender roles. As a man he preferred to spend time wisely not wasting it on ‘women’s stuff’ but could not reject his wife’s wish.
At the same time the Mom with her daughter were walking between the rows choosing her prom dress. Their preferences and criteria of choice were totally different. The Mom wanted something classical and restrained, while her daughter insisted on modern and fashionable clothing ‘like Beyonce has’. It is clear that today young people want to follow their pop idols and dress like they do, eat what they eat, talk the way they do, and so on. Such norms are called aesthetic standards. These are the rules of behavior that govern the relationship of the beautiful and the ugly. The most common aesthetic standards do not contain specific, concrete behavior in a given situation. In addition, they are very subjective. Nevertheless, there is a certain ideal of beauty, which constitutes the basis of social norms. Deviation from the ideal of beauty that exists in society, casts a shadow on the person even if that indicates a defective development of the personality. (Sherif, 1936)
So, as my task was to break one of social norms, I decided to come and say my opinion as a usual customer of this shop who heard their conversation. And I said: ‘I like this dress! It reminds me the one Beyonce had at her last concert, but I think it suits you better than her!’ And I couldn’t expect such a reaction of that girl. She was more than happy to hear that! I realized that not only she felt close to her idol, but also won her fashion battle with Mom. This means that aesthetic norms are criteria of aesthetic evaluation, bases and means of public control over the activity of the aesthetic and cultural development. If the people had thought more about taste and sense of style, not blindly following their ideals, aesthetic culture of society would grow too.
Thus, aesthetic standards as typical social norms of behavior establish rules of human demeanor, according to concepts of beauty prevailing in society. Social norms not only guarantee a certain order in society, but also provide some level of freedom. But at the same time, restrictions hinder satisfaction of the interests of the individual, which is a common goal of implementation of restrictions on freedom.
References
Rommetveit, R. (1955). Social Norms and Roles, Oslo: Akedemisk Forlag.
Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms, New York: Harper.
