Page 44 - University English for non-speacalist

for example, determine what appropriate modes of
dress are for going to the office, for attending a job
interview, for playing a sport, and for all the different
social functions that an individual participates in.

Not all norms are of equal importance, and the way to
discover the relative importance of a norm is to
examine the penalties that society prescribes for
violating it. Penalties for violating a norm can vary
from a mere look of disapproval that is directed
towards an individual who speaks in a loud voice
during a piano recital, all the way to the death penalty
conferred on someone who has committed a murder.
The norms related to relatively unimportant aspects of
behaviors are called folkways. These include such
things as when to eat what meals, what pieces of
cutlery to use a the dinner table, how to greet

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