Chapter 3 question #2

As stated in the text, the function of norms in groups is that norms tend to define the nature of the group by telling the members in the group what they can and can't do. As previously discussed, norms are not always formally outlined or written down. Sometimes norms are just expected to be known by all members in the group. One personal example is the norms in my family group. In my specific family, we are taught at a young age to always respect your elders and never talk back to them. However, throughout adolescence it is sometimes difficult to refrain from telling your parents exactly what is on your mind. When my brother was a teenager, he would always get into heated arguments with our mother and it seemed as if they were always fighting. Now, he is much older and understands that he was wrong in always blowing up and not respecting her rules. I too have come to this realization as I get older. Although I'm still young and constantly learning, I know that is is better just to stay quiet than to get into an argument that will get me no where. However, there are still those times that I would forget this important rule and then I'd violate these “norms”. For instance, when I get home tired from work sometimes my mother will immediately start asking me why I didn't wash dishes, take out the trash, clean up, and I would respond back to her in an irritated tone. She would then proceed to lecture me on how I needed to help out more and we'd begin arguing. By me responding in a negative way, I was violating the norm of respecting my elders and treating her as my roommate instead of my mother.