Difference Between Norms and Values

Values are important beliefs or ideals held by individuals within a public that serve as motivation for action. Norms are rules that guide our actions.

The distinction between a value and a norm is that a value is broad, referring to an overall ideal, whereas a norm is specific, stating what must be done (or omitted). Values can be operationalized by specifying norms, which refer to and are justified by underlying values.

Norms

Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior among groups. Social norms can be both informal understandings that govern societal behavior and codified rules and laws. Social normative influences, or social norms, are thought to be powerful drivers of human behavioral changes, and they are well organized and incorporated into major theories that explain human behavior. Institutions consist of multiple norms. Norms are shared social beliefs about behavior; thus, they differ from "ideas," "attitudes," and "values," which can be held privately and are not necessarily related to behavior.

Norms vary depending on context, social group, and historical circumstances. Scholars distinguish between regulative norms, which constrain behavior, constitutive norms, which shape interests, and prescriptive norms, which specify what actors should do. The effects of norms can be determined by a logic of appropriateness and a logic of consequences; the former requires actors to follow norms because they are socially appropriate, while the latter requires actors to follow norms based on cost-benefit calculations. There are three stages in the life cycle of a norm:

• Norm emergence - when norm entrepreneurs try to persuade others that certain behaviors are desirable and appropriate;
• Norm cascade - when a norm gains widespread acceptance.
• Norm internalization - when a norm becomes "taken-for-granted".

Norms are resilient to varying degrees: some norms are frequently violated, while others are so deeply internalized that norm violations are rare. Evidence for the existence of norms can be found in patterns of behaviour within groups, as well as the expression of norms in group discourse.

Definition

Social norms are defined in various ways, but scholars generally agree that they are: Social norms are shared among members of a group, influencing behavior and decision-making. They can be proscriptive or prescriptive, and represent a socially acceptable way of life in a society. In 1965, Jack P. Gibbs identified three basic normative dimensions into which all concepts of norms could be subsumed: "a collective evaluation of behavior in terms of what it ought to be", "a collective expectation as to what behavior will be", "Particular reactions to behavior" (including attempts to sanction or induce specific conduct)

Emergence and Transmission

Groups can adopt norms in a variety of ways. Some stable and self-reinforcing norms may emerge naturally, without conscious human design. Peyton Young goes so far as to claim that "norms typically evolve without top-down direction. through interactions of individuals rather than by design." Norms can emerge informally, gradually, as a result of the repeated use of discretionary stimuli to control behavior. Informal norms, which are not necessarily written laws, represent widely accepted and sanctioned routines that people follow in their daily lives.

These informal norms, if broken, may not invite formal legal punishments or sanctions, but rather encourage reprimands, warnings, or others; for example, incest is generally thought to be wrong in society, but many jurisdictions do not legally prohibit it. Norms can also be created and advanced through deliberate human design by norm entrepreneurs. Norms can emerge formally, when groups explicitly define and implement behavioral expectations. Legal norms are typically derived from design. Many of these norms we 'naturally' follow, such as driving on the right side of the road in the US and on the left side in the UK, or not speeding to avoid a ticket.

Values

In ethics and social sciences, value refers to the degree of importance of a thing or action, with the goal of determining which actions are best to perform or how to live (normative ethics in ethics), or describing the significance of various actions. Value systems are proscriptive and prescriptive beliefs that influence an individual's ethical behavior or serve as the foundation for their intentional activities. Often, primary values are strong, while secondary values are adaptable. What makes an action valuable may depend on the ethical values of the objects it increases, decreases, or modifies.

An object with "ethic value" is sometimes referred to as an "ethic or philosophic good" (noun). Values can be defined as broad preferences for suitable courses of action or outcomes. As a result, values reflect a person's perception of right and wrong, or what "ought" to be. "Equal rights for all," "Excellence deserves admiration," and "People should be treated with dignity" are examples of values. Values that influence attitudes and behavior include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values. Some non-physiologically determined values, such as altruism, are debated as intrinsic, while others, such as acquisitiveness, are classified as vices or virtues.

Fields of Study

Ethical issues of value can be considered a study in ethics, which can then be classified as philosophy. Similarly, ethical value can be viewed as a subset of a broader field of philosophical value known as axiology. Ethical value denotes the degree of importance of something, with the goal of determining which action or life is best to pursue, or at least attempting to describe the value of various actions. Value theory includes the study of ethical value. Furthermore, values have been studied in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, behavioral economics, business ethics, corporate governance, moral philosophy, political science, social psychology, sociology, and theology. Ethical value is sometimes used interchangeably with goodness. However, goodness has many other meanings and can be viewed as more ambiguous.

Types of Value

• Personal Versus Cultural
  Personal values exist in relation to cultural values, either agreeing with or deviating from accepted norms. A culture is a social system that shares a set of common values, which allow for social expectations and collective understandings of what is good, beautiful, and constructive. Without normative personal values, there is no cultural reference against which to measure the virtue of individual values, and thus cultural identity disintegrates.
• Relative or Absolute
  Relative values differ between individuals and, on a larger scale, between people from various cultures. On the other hand, there are theories that assert the existence of absolute values, also known as noumenal values. An absolute value can be defined as philosophically absolute, independent of individual and cultural perspectives, and independent of whether it is known or understood. Ludwig Wittgenstein was sceptical that there would ever be an elucidation of the absolute values of actions or objects.
• Extrinsic or Intrinsic
  Philosophical value can be divided into instrumental and intrinsic values. An instrumental value is valuable because it serves as a means to obtain something else that is desirable. An intrinsically valuable thing is valuable in and of itself, rather than as a means to an end. It assigns value to both intrinsic and extrinsic properties. An ethical good with instrumental value may be referred to as an ethic mean, whereas an ethic good with intrinsic value may be referred to as an end in itself. An object can be both a means and an end in itself.

Difference Between Norms and Values

Conclusion

The social sciences view values and norms as interrelated yet separate notions. Values are wide-ranging convictions or ideals that govern people's activities whereas norms are particular standards defining what is acceptable behaviour within a given society. Norms as codified laws can be formal or informal influences on societal behavior. They sprout out from different mechanisms, and may remain resilient or change over a period of time. To make sense of societal dynamics and ethical considerations, one must appreciate the interplay between values and norms.