Society and The Individual

Sociology helps us to understand what social behaviors are truly influenced by society and which are based upon individual choice. In order to understand the differences it is important to understand what society deems as being normal.  Some in the field will argue that socially expected or “normal” behavior is the basis for behavior of an individual, while the other side like to believe that an individual make choices that reflect upon their own expression.

As with many fields of science, there are differing viewpoints that lead to debates. However with repetition being the basic learning measure for humans, along with memory and experience, it is difficult to imagine that normative behaviors play not part in the learning process, and therefore part of the individual mindset. As we grow the behaviors taught to us to be acceptable stick with us as we learn and those form the basis for further learning.

 Human children begin to learn normative behaviors from mimicking parents and siblings, while unacceptable behavior is often punished. This is the very beginnings of how socially acceptable behavior influences human development. Normative behavior has easily been proven to be apparent in scientific studies of behavior patterns, and those studies often conclude that nearly all individual behavior stems from normative behavior. It is plain to see that fitting in with society has significant advantages that go beyond the natural human desire to be social, but how much of a role does that have on the behavior of an individual, and how much of a personal choice do we have in deciding how much society influences us?

 The most common problem with identifying normative behavior is the varying levels of what is considered socially acceptable behaviors. Some actions such as murder are viewed as strictly immoral and may result in being separated from society and viewed as an abnormal individual. Other practices such as alcohol consumption or pornography have a split public view. While these actions may not always be permitted or acceptable in the public eye, there is a general tolerance of moderated proportions.

There is also varying degrees in which normative behaviors are reflected. Although unacceptable behaviors may have varying levels of importance within a society, nearly any variations have some form of negative impact. Once again, while some outrageous actions may have severe punishments, other generally accepted practices may simply segregate an individual from certain social classes. This makes it difficult to determine how much discord an individual is willing to accept in order to pursue their own thoughts and expressions.

All humans have a basic desire to fit into some social circle, but how much of that actually influences their behaviors is difficult to determine. It is also important to note that an individual may still find a smaller social clique that doesn’t find their behavior too extreme. In this case, the individual may choose their behavior over the acceptance of the general public and still meet their personal ideology. This is where the choice of the individual reflects upon their behavior more than the acceptance of society.