Sociology Essay - 1991 Words

Social order requires social behaviour to be predictable and individuals to cooperate. Amongst the explanations of social order are five outlined by Hechter and Horne: (shared) ‘meaning’, ‘values and norms’, ‘power and authority’, ‘spontaneous interaction’ and ‘networks and groups’. Following Hechter and Horne, describe how at least TWO of these explanations might account for social order, and discuss the extent to which you find those explanations convincing. Social order is one of the most central aspects of sociology. Two main factors are necessary for the existence of social order: predictability of society and cooperative behaviour of individuals (Hechter and Horne, 2003). In this essay I will describe how ‘values and norms’ and†¦show more content†¦This idea is supported by Goffman’s discussion of interactions between strangers. Goffman (1963 in Hechter and Horne, 2003) argues that the goal of social interaction between two people is not to cause harm or discomfort to either of them. This leads to the emergence of norms such as civil inattention. This example shows how when people are following social norms their behaviour becomes predictable: civil inattention is expected and cooperative: people act in consensus towards a common goal, in this case avoiding mutual discomfort. To understand why people comply with these norms further explanations are needed. Hechter and Horne (2003) note that unlike internalised values, norms have to be enforced externally. They suggest that: ‘norms are more likely to be enforced if doing so will provide benefits for group members with minimal efforts for enforcement’ (Hechter and Horne 2003:99). This argument although logical is not very convincing because punishment is often associated with some cost for the person enforcing it, for example the discomfort of a direct interaction with a stranger. In addition Fehr and Gà ¤chter (2002 in Hechter and Horne, 2003) provide empirical evidence for what they call ‘altruistic punishment’. In their experiment participants kept punishing group members for selfish behaviour even at a significant cost to themselves. Fehr and Gà ¤chter conclude that peopleShow MoreRelatedSociology Essay20437 Words   |  82 PagesAS Sociology Sociology Nik Jorgensen Text  © Nelson Thornes Distance Learning 2010 Illustrations  © Nelson Thornes Distance Learning 2010 All rights reserved. The copyright holders authorise ONLY users of NTDL AS Sociology to make photocopies for their own or their students’ immediate use within the teaching context. 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