UCSP Module 8: Social Goals and Socially Acceptable Means

Course Overview and Context

  • Subject: Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (UCSP)
  • Instructor: Ms. Angelica Mae B. Cruz, LPT
  • Module: Week 8 / Module 8: Social Goals and Socially Acceptable Means
  • Institutional Affiliation: Academia De Pulilan, Inc. (A Project of City School Holdings International, Cut-Cot, Pulilan, Bulacan / The City School)

Social Values and Social Goals

  • Definition of Social Values and Goals: Social values and goals are reflected in the beliefs, behaviors, and material possessions that a given society considers important and desirable.
  • Influence of Societal Structure on Goals:
    • Societies with Independent Individuals: Tend to encourage young people to become independent from parental support at an earlier age.
    • Societies with Extensive Kinship Systems: Tend to encourage family members to live together within one shared territory.
  • Theoretical Frameworks on Social Values and Goals:
    • Conflict Theory:
    • Values and goals can become primary sources of social conflict because individuals within a society have unequal access to them.
    • Example: Values such as wealth, prestige, and power are widely valued by society, yet they remain scarce or completely unattainable for certain groups of people.
    • Functionalism:
    • Values serve to build unity, harmony, and overall social order.
    • Society is conceptualized as an organism, wherein its distinct parts are interconnected and essential for its collective survival.
    • Values are preserved and maintained because they actively fulfill both individual and societal needs.
    • Example: Filipino family values foster close-knit communities that offer structural and emotional support to individual members.
  • Values and Cultural Conflict:
    • Different social values can collide and conflict with one another.
    • Case Example (Filipino Family Values vs. Democratic Principles):
    • The kumpadrino system can contribute directly to nepotism and the establishment of political dynasties.
    • This dynamic creates structural tension between:
      • Ideal Culture: What society explicitly believes and claims it follows.
      • Real Culture: What society actually practices in reality.

Social Norms and Their Categories

  • Definition of Social Norms: Socially established rules and regulations governing human behavior that serve to maintain the continuity of social values and goals.
  • Cultural Divergence in Norms: Even when societies share similar overarching values, their specific behavioral norms can differ significantly.
    • Example (Caring for Aging Parents):
    • Placing an elderly family member in a dedicated nursing home is socially acceptable in certain Western societies.
    • Placing an elderly family member in a nursing home is considered unacceptable or unthinkable in many Asian societies.
  • Four Categories of Social Norms:
    • 1. Folkways:
    • Socially approved behaviors that lack a strong moral foundation and are primarily grounded in custom and convention.
    • Example (Slurping Soup):
      • Slurping soup is viewed as rude and improper in Western societies such as the United States.
      • Slurping soup may be actively encouraged in certain Chinese contexts.
    • 2. Mores:
    • Norms deeply rooted in moral conventions and tightly bound to what a society views as fundamentally right or wrong.
    • Example: Perspectives regarding artificial contraception differ substantially based on specific religious beliefs and institutional practices.
    • 3. Taboos:
    • Behaviors that are strictly and absolutely forbidden within a particular culture.
    • Examples: Cannibalism and incest.
    • Critical Distinction: Taboos are not universal. A behavior deemed completely unacceptable in one society may be permitted or tolerated in another.
    • 4. Laws:
    • Formal, written rules established, codified, and enforced by governing authorities to reinforce the prohibition or regulation of specific behaviors.

Status and Role Dynamics

  • Status:
    • An individual's recognized position within society, which intrinsically carries specific rights and obligations.
    • Example: A student's status encompasses specific rights and academic/behavioral responsibilities inside a school environment.
  • Role:
    • The set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status.
    • Example: A teacher's role includes educating students as well as supervising and looking after them while on school grounds.
  • Role Performance:
    • The actual, observed behavior demonstrated by an individual while carrying out the expectations connected to their status.
  • Role Set:
    • The collection of multiple, distinct roles attached to a single status.
    • Example: A teacher concurrently operates across several roles, acting as an Educator, an Adviser, and a Guardian or supervisor.
  • Role Conflict, Role Strain, and Role Exit:
    • Role Conflict: Occurs when an individual faces incompatible or competing expectations arising from two or more distinct statuses held at the same time.
    • Example: A single mother working full-time must navigate competing demands between the role of a parent and the role of a wage-earner.
    • Role Strain: The internal difficulty or stress experienced by an individual when attempting to fulfill the heavy demands of a single role.
    • Role Exit: The formal or informal process of discontinuing a specific role, frequently undertaken to alleviate role strain or to transition into a new role set.

Conformity, Deviance, and Theoretical Perspectives

  • Conformity:
    • The act of adhering to and following the roles, goals, and norms mandated by society.
    • Conformity typically yields social acceptance, validation, or tangible rewards.
  • Deviance:
    • The act of violating established social norms.
    • Deviance frequently results in stigma, defined as severe social disapproval.
    • When an act of deviance breaches formal laws, it is categorized as a crime.
  • Social Construction of Deviance:
    • Deviance is not an inherent trait; it is socially constructed.
    • What is designated as deviant can shift significantly according to:
    • Society
    • Culture
    • Environment
    • Social status
    • Historical period
  • Theories Explaining Deviance:
    • 1. Social Control Theory:
    • Proposes that deviance manifests when an individual's social bonds are weak or broken.
    • The less attached a person is to societal institutions and groups, the higher the likelihood that they will violate social norms.
    • 2. Rational Choice Theory:
    • Posits that individuals decide whether to conform or deviate by calculating the costs and benefits of their actions.
    • A person chooses deviance when adhering to the social norm is perceived to cost more than the anticipated benefit.
    • 3. Differential Association Theory:
    • Argues that both conformity and deviance are learned behaviors acquired through interpersonal interaction with others.
    • A high frequency of association with deviant groups increases the probability of internalizing deviant behavior.
    • Behavior that the general public classifies as deviant may be treated as normal within a specific deviant subgroup.
    • 4. Labeling Theory:
    • Asserts that an action becomes deviant only when it is defined and labeled as deviant by society.
    • Operates through two sequential stages:
      • Primary Deviance: An initial deviant act that does not lead to the individual being permanently labeled as a deviant.
      • Secondary Deviance: Deviant behavior that develops after an individual internalizes the societal label of being deviant.
      • Example: A person labeled as a thief may continue stealing because social stigma and economic exclusion make returning to conventional social roles extremely difficult.
    • 5. Conflict Theory:
    • Views society as comprised of distinct groups with unequal access to power.
    • Powerful elite groups leverage their influence to dictate which behaviors are defined as normal versus deviant.
    • The behaviors of elites are routinely treated as societal norms, whereas the behaviors of less powerful groups are disproportionately labeled as deviant.
    • 6. Structural-Functionalist Theory:
    • Analyzes deviance across two functional levels:
      • Macro Level: The widespread breakdown or absence of social norms produces anomie or social disorganization.
      • Micro Level: Deviance emerges directly from role strain when individuals lack the necessary resources to satisfy societal expectations.

Social Control and Sanctions

  • Social Control:
    • Refers to the systematic mechanisms used by a society to maintain social order and stability.
  • Two Core Elements of Social Control:
    • 1. Internalization: The process through which social norms are incorporated into an individual's internal personality, guiding them to follow social norms automatically without external prompting.
    • 2. Sanctions: External rewards or punishments used to systematically encourage conformity and discourage deviance.
  • Four Types of Sanctions:
    • Formal Positive Sanctions: Official, institutional rewards given for norm conformity.
    • Examples: Honors, medals, promotions.
    • Formal Negative Sanctions: Official, institutional punishments executed for norm violations.
    • Examples: Imprisonment, fines, dismissal from employment.
    • Informal Positive Sanctions: Unofficial, spontaneous rewards granted by individuals or informal groups.
    • Examples: Applause, social approval, cheers.
    • Informal Negative Sanctions: Unofficial expressions of disapproval or punishment delivered by individuals or informal groups.
    • Examples: Gossip, ridicule, being grounded by parents.

Types of Sanctions Table