THE 5 MAIN TYPES OF STANDARDS (WITH EXAMPLES) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main types of norms are social, moral, religious, etiquette and protocol, and legal or juridical. The norms are guidelines of behavior that the human being has developed to ensure a harmonious coexistence among their peers.

A norm can also be defined as something common or normal among a group of individuals in a defined situation. Sociologists consider that any standard of behavior that meets the expectations generated by a given situation is a norm.

The Oxford Dictionary of Sociology adds desirable and appropriate adjectives to norm behaviors. You could say that the standards are a kind of guide to acceptable behavior in a given area.

Each field of human action implies a series of norms or rules that guide the way in which tasks and processes are executed. And each stage of human development involves a type or several types of standards to be met. Thus, a child is subject to fewer norms than an adult since, in general, her scope of action is smaller than that of an adult.

The rules may vary according to the place and the historical moment in which they are studied.

Types: classification of standards

The rules, in general, can be prescriptive, when they indicate a behavior to follow; and proscriptive, when they indicate what behaviors to avoid. The latter tend to be less flexible than the former.

You can also talk about formal and informal rules. The formal ones are written and contemplate the negative consequences of not complying with them, while the informal ones are shared and accepted in a tacit way.

Another classification refers to its scope of application and they are not, necessarily, exclusive:

Social norms

They arose spontaneously in society in order to maintain and promote coexistence based on mutual respect and have become mandatory.

They vary from culture to culture and their non-compliance usually entails a social sanction (exclusion and / or ridicule). For example, breaking school rules can lead to expulsion or punishment.

It has been affirmed that within the limits of this type of norm, lie the foundations that support the State and its institutions. In fact, many of the social norms give rise to the elaboration and promulgation of legal norms on the part of the State institutions.

This is so because many times, social norms help to prevent the small infractions that can occur in a society.

Acknowledging your opponent's victory and congratulating them is an example of a social norm.

Examples of social norms

- Greet and say goodbye to people when having contact with them, either physically or digitally.

- Give a public seat (bank, bus, ambulatory) to a person who requires it more than you (elderly, pregnant, sick).

- To be on time.

Moral standards

They are related to the ethical dimension of the human being. They stick to social conventions about what is right or wrong to do, especially in relation to others and their dignity as human beings.

Their complexity lies in the fact that their compliance refers to the individual conscience and, therefore, infringing them entails guilt or remorse. Only when one's own conscience agrees with such a norm is it fulfilled. For example, honesty or sexual practices.

They are linked to religious norms, since the latter can shape many aspects of individual conscience.

Respecting parents is a moral standard that most people develop from a young age.

Examples of moral norms

- Not lie.

- Be faithful with your partner.

- Obtain professional achievements thanks to perseverance and effort.

Religious norms

They refer to the type of behavior patterns expected of a follower or believer in a certain religious philosophy. They are usually written in the founding documents of the religion to which one belongs and their non-compliance is usually referred to a sanction on the spiritual plane.

For example, the soul of someone who commits a capital sin in the Catholic religion can go to hell when his body dies.

They have an important impact on the moral norms that those who share a religion respect.

Sunday Mass is a religious norm of Christianity.

Examples of religious norms

- Fasting during Ramadan or veiling women are some of the rules of Islam.

- Wearing black to respect mourning is a norm of Christianity.

- The consumption of pork is prohibited for Orthodox Jews and Muslims.

Rules of etiquette and protocol

They govern performance in certain social settings, like a party or dinner, for example. The way of dressing, of holding utensils when eating, etc. They are usually observed more rigorously in groups belonging to a high socioeconomic stratum or with government responsibilities (royalty, for example).

However, they are shared by most of the people because they are usually linked to the best way of doing that process that they regulate (the best way to eat, the best way to dress, etc).

Participants in the Wimbledon tennis tournament must wear white attire by protocol.

Examples of etiquette and protocol standards

- Kiss the ring of the Pope of the Catholic Church as a rule of respect.

- Salute to the flag in military ceremonies.

- Men's attendance at the Oscar Awards Gala in tuxedos and bow ties.

Legal or legal rules

They govern the civil and citizen behavior of the people. They are usually dictated by the institutions established by society and their non-compliance can lead to administrative sanctions (fines) or penal sanctions (jail).

They must be written and are mandatory in the territory to which they are circumscribed, even when the subject does not know them. They define more clearly, than an informal norm, that behavior that is expected in a certain situation.

They help prevent the most serious and costly infractions that can take place in a given society.

The set of this type of norms constitutes the Law, and the most important of them are explicitly reflected in the national constitution (in the case of democratic States).

They are directly linked to moral norms, giving rise to the distinction between Positive Law and Natural Law. In fact, philosophers of different eras have considered morals as the basis of legal norms.

They are also linked to social norms as described in the previous lines; a law can support the relevance that a society gives to a certain norm.

You cannot attack a human being physically or psychologically. For example, gender violence has certain legal norms to combat this problem.

Examples of legal norms

- It is forbidden to sell food products without a license.

- It is forbidden to cross while the traffic light is red.

- You cannot murder a human being.

Rules functions

• Standards fulfill the following functions in a society:
• They regulate human behavior.
• They contribute to the satisfaction of social needs.
• They collaborate in reducing tensions and social conflicts.
• They serve as a unit of measurement to evaluate human behavior.
• They can serve as ideals in some circumstances.
• They offer clues about what the expected behavior may be in a given situation.

Nomas, in general, embody an ethical dimension insofar as they seek to regulate and, in some cases, restrict people's behavior.

For this reason, the ideal is that they are formulated in attention to respect for human dignity and, ideally, to an agreement between those involved.

References

1. Article library (2016). Social Norms: Meaning, Types and Functions of Socio Norms in Sociology. Recovered from: yourarticlelibrary.com
2. Law (2008). Types or classes of norms. Recovered from: Derecho.laguia2000.com
3. The illustrated little Larousse (1999). Encyclopedic dictionary. Sixth edition. International coedition.
4. Treasury (2002). Institutions, Social Norms and Well-being. Recovered from: treasury.govt.nz
5. wikipedia.org