This course is Part 2 of the Social Norms, Social Change series. In this course, we will examine social change, the tools we may use to enact change, and put into practice all we have learned in Part 1. See Social Norms, Social Change Part I at this link: https://coursera.org/learn/norms This course covers scripts and schemas, the cognitive structures in which social expectations are embedded, and their relationship with social norms. The course then examines the essentials of norm abandonment, including the relations between personal beliefs and social expectations. We will also evaluate existing intervention strategies, including legal reforms, information campaigns, economic incentives, and group deliberations. Finally, we look at a variety of tools policy makers may use to effect change, highlight the role of trendsetters in social change, and explore the conditions under which they can be successful. The course is a joint Penn-UNICEF project." Please see the following link for a 30% discount on the book that accompanies this course: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780190622053/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6
10.1
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来自 University of Pennsylvania 的课程
Social Norms, Social Change II
141 个评分
与讲师见面
Cristina BicchieriS. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics
Department of Philosophy
[MUSIC]
Today we discuss a specific way in which norms can emerge.
I say emerge because I want to stress that this process is a spontaneous one,
not the outcome of a plan or a conscious decision.
Social norms emerge by human action, not by human design.
It is important to realize that often social norm developed
from conventions, or descriptive norms.
This happens when the convention lends itself to purposes it
did not have when it was established.
When a convention comes to signal group identity, status, or
power, it also becomes normative.
So when is specific behavior acquires such an important meaning for
a group, failing to engage in it will be seen as offensive,
as a rejection of the group and its values.
A negative sanction will typically follow the transgression
of what is now seen as required behavior.
Think of tattoos, in gangs tattoos are a crucial identity marker.
A five point crown, for example, is the symbol of the Latin Kings gang,
which is one of the biggest Hispanic gangs in the US based out of Chicago.
It is a critical signal of membership.
Here you see how a conventional sign has acquired a strong normative value.
A gang member should have a specific tattoo to signal his belonging and
loyalty to the group.
Another example is manners.
Ways of greeting people often
acquire meaning that goes well beyond their conventional nature.
We can imagine that greeting people we know became quite habitual.
Eventually, failing to greet an acquaintance would signal indifference,
displeasure, even hostility.
It acquired a negative meaning because we have come to feel entitled
to a courteous greeting.
We are in the realm of normative expectations.
Similarly, table manners and other rules of etiquette developed
to become a sign of aristocratic upbringing and
refinement, and were used to exclude those who did not belong to the ruling class.
A 13th century peasant would be excused if he
drank from the dish or blew his nose in the table cloth.
No nobleman was allowed to such lack of manners.
Good manners thus became a signal of status and power.
A member of the ruling class was identified as such,
through his courteous manners.
Not respecting the rules of etiquette was met with contempt,
as a threat to the established class boundaries.
Foot binding in China is another example of a convention that devolved
into social norm.
There are many stories about its origin, but in time it spread to all but
the lowest classes in the population, becoming a sign of gentility and
modesty, as well as an essential condition for marriageability.
Not binding one's daughter feet came to signal disregard for
tradition and custom, and such family would be disparaged.
Foot binding had become a social norm.
In all these examples,
conventional activities came to acquire an important social signaling function.
Because of that, both empirical and normative expectation developed,
and lent support to these practices.
