Concept and types of social relations. Examples of social norms in society. Types of social norms

To denote a system of relations, various concepts are used: “social relations”, “public relations”, “human relations”, etc. In one case they are used as synonyms, in another they are sharply opposed to each other. In fact, despite the semantic similarity, these concepts differ from each other.

Social relations are relationships between or their members. A slightly different layer of relations is characterized by the concept of “social relations”, which is understood as the diverse connections that arise between these communities, as well as within them in the process of economic, social, political, cultural life and activities. Relations are classified on the following grounds: - from the point of view of ownership and disposal of property (class, estate);
- by volume of power (relations vertically and horizontally);
- by spheres of manifestation (legal, economic, political, moral, religious, aesthetic, intergroup, mass, interpersonal);
- from the position of regulation (official, unofficial);
- based on the internal socio-psychological structure (communicative, cognitive, conative, etc.).

In addition to the concept of “social relations,” the concept of “human relations” is also widely used in science. As a rule, it is used to designate all kinds of subjective manifestations of a person in the process of his interaction with various objects of the external world, not excluding his attitude towards himself. Social relations are expressed in the form of production, economic, legal, moral, political, religious, ethnic, aesthetic, etc.

Relations of production concentrated in a variety of professional and labor roles-functions of a person (for example, engineer or worker, manager or performer, etc.). This set is predetermined by the variety of functional and production connections of a person, which are set by the standards of professional and labor activity and at the same time arise spontaneously as it becomes necessary to solve new problems.

Economic relations are implemented in the sphere of production, ownership and consumption, which is a market for material and spiritual products. Here a person plays two interrelated roles - seller and buyer. Economic relations are woven into production relations through ( work force) and the creation of consumer goods. In this context, a person is characterized by the roles of master and owner of the means of production and the products produced, as well as the role of the labor force that is hired.

Economic relations can be planned-distributive and market. The former arise as a result of excessive government intervention in the economy. The latter are formed through liberalization and freedom of economic relations. However, the degree of their freedom varies - from complete to partially regulated. The main feature of normal economic relations is self-regulation due to correlation. But this does not mean that the state is completely removed from control over economic relations. It collects taxes, controls sources of income, etc.

Legal relations in society are enshrined in legislation. They establish the measure of individual freedom as a subject of production, economic, political and other public relations. Ultimately, legal relations provide or do not ensure the effective fulfillment of the role socially active person. Legislative imperfections are compensated by unwritten rules of human behavior in real communities of people. These rules carry a huge moral burden.

Moral relations are enshrined in relevant rituals, traditions, customs and other forms of ethnocultural organization of people’s lives. These forms contain the moral norm of behavior at the level of existing interpersonal relationships, which stems from the moral self-awareness of a particular community of people. In the manifestation of moral relations there are many cultural and historical conventions that come from the way of life of society. At the center of this relationship is a person who is seen as his own value. According to the manifestation of moral relations, a person is defined as “good-bad”, “good-evil”, “fair-unfair”, etc.

Religious relations reflect the interaction of people, which develops under the influence of ideas about man’s place in the universal processes of life and death, about the mysteries of his soul, ideal properties psyche, spiritual and moral foundations of existence. These relationships grow from a person’s need for self-knowledge and self-improvement, from the consciousness of the highest meaning of existence, understanding of one’s connections with the cosmos, explanation mysterious phenomena, which are not amenable to natural scientific analysis. In these relationships, the irrational principles of the mental reflection of reality, based on feelings, intuition and faith, predominate.

The idea of ​​God makes it possible to combine scattered and vague premonitions of random and natural events in human life into a holistic image of man’s earthly and heavenly existence. Differences in religions are, first of all, differences in ethnocultural concepts of deity as the guardian of the human soul. These differences are manifested in everyday, cult and temple religious behavior (rituals, rites, customs, etc.). If all believers are united in accepting the idea of ​​God, then in the ritual part of worship and approaching God they can become fanatically irreconcilable with each other. Religious relationships are embodied in the roles of believer or non-believer. Depending on religion, a person can be Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Mohammedan, etc.

Political relations center around the problem. The latter automatically leads to the dominance of those who possess it and the subordination of those who lack it. The power intended to organize social relations is realized in the form of leadership functions in communities of people. Its absolutization, as well as its complete absence, is harmful to the livelihoods of communities. Harmony of power relations can be achieved through the separation of powers - legislative, executive and judicial. Political relations in this case should acquire the character of a democratic process, in which the task of power structures and leaders is to maintain a balance of the rights to freedom of each member of society. Ethnic relations arise from differences in the similarity of lifestyle of local population groups that have a common anthropological (tribal) and geographical origin. The differences between ethnic groups are natural and psychological, since the way of life of an ethnic group enshrines the structure of social relations that contribute to the optimal adaptation of a person to a specific natural (geographical and social) environment. This way of life naturally follows from the characteristics of the reproduction of life in specific conditions. The corresponding way of life of an ethnic group is fixed in stereotypes of behavior and activity, in language, rituals, traditions, customs, holidays and other cultural forms of social life.

Aesthetic relations arise on the basis of the emotional and psychological attractiveness of people to each other and the aesthetic reflection of material objects of the external world. These relationships are characterized by great subjective variability. What may be attractive to one person may not be to another. Standards of aesthetic attractiveness have a psychobiological basis, which is associated with the subjective side of human consciousness. They acquire constancy in ethno-psychological forms of behavior, undergoing cultural processing through different kinds art and becoming entrenched in socio-historical stereotypes of human relations.

In psychology, for many decades now the category of relationships has been being developed in a manner specific to this science. But for the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that other psychological schools were wary of attempts to create a theory of human relations. However, this approach is clearly unjustified, since this theory contains a very strong humanistic principle. E. Mayo is considered the founder of the theory of human relations in the West, although in Russia, simultaneously with him, V.M. wrote about the need to develop a theory of relations in psychology. , A. F. Lazursky, V. N. Myasishchev.

The concept of “human relations” is broader than all others that denote certain relationships. What content should be included in the category of relationships?

Let us abstract from the many aspects of existence with which each person is connected and to which he has his own attitude, and let us dwell only on his relations with the various communities of which he is a member, as well as on his relations with certain people. In this case, it can be revealed that the attitude, firstly, involves the actualization of knowledge in figurative and conceptual form about the community or personality of those who interact; secondly, it always carries within itself one or another emotional response of interacting individuals (communities) to the community or personality; thirdly, at the same time it actualizes a certain treatment with them. Then, if you further objectify the “psychological underside” of each of the relationships in the system of which a person is included, you can see the goal that the individual pursues when interacting with communities and individuals, necessarily the needs that directly affect the nature of his relationships. Each personality usually has different relationships with some kind of community and even with an individual person who is part of the immediate or more distant environment. In the relationship of one person with another it is found characteristic feature- the presence of a positive or negative emotional reaction to another person. This reaction can be neutral, indifferent or contradictory. Naturally, some relationships, due to their nature, can be constructive and “work” for the mental, moral, aesthetic, labor and physical development of the individual, while the action of other relationships can have a destructive result for him. In this sense, relationships with subjectively significant people are especially important for an individual. They are the ones who most strongly influence a person’s perception of the environment and push him to non-standard actions.

A special problem in studying the interdependencies of communication and attitude is to establish the degree of correspondence between the nature of the attitude and the form of its expression in human behavior, or, as V.N. Myasishchev, in the treatment of man with man. Forming as a personality in a specific social environment, a person also learns the “language” of expressing relationships characteristic of this environment. Without dwelling on the peculiarities of the expression of relationships noted among representatives of various ethnic communities, it should be noted that even within the boundaries of one ethnic community, but in its different social groups, this “language” can have its own very specific specifics.

A deeply intelligent person expresses his dissatisfaction with another person in a correct, non-degrading form. For a poorly educated, rude person, the form of expression of such dissatisfaction is completely different. Even the manifestation of joy among representatives of the same social subgroup differs depending on their inherent differences. Naturally, in order to adequately perceive and understand his attitude when communicating with another person, one must show very subtle observation, including to the form of expression of this attitude. Of course, what has been said does not mean that the attitude is conveyed only through speech and voice. Both facial expressions and pantomimes are involved in live, direct communication. And finally, the form of expression of attitude can be action and deed.

At the same time, there are not only individual forms of expression of the same relationship. There are cases in life when a person in communication skillfully imitates some other attitude that he actually does not have. And such a person is not necessarily a hypocrite. Most often, when communicating, the true attitude is hidden, and another attitude is imitated if a person wants to appear better than he really is in the eyes of those whose opinion he values. We envy a more successful colleague, but pretend to rejoice at his success. We don’t like the boss’s leadership style, and we not only don’t contradict him, but also out loudly approve of his actions. There is a common phrase in life: “Don’t ruin relationships!”, the meaning of which is exactly what the given examples correspond to. Of course, in such cases people make a deal with their conscience. The moral price of this transaction is higher, the more serious the social consequences of our duplicity. What has been said does not mean at all that you should never, under any circumstances in life, hide your true attitude towards something or someone. Thus, in the work of a doctor, investigator, intelligence officer, trainer, situations sometimes arise when it is impossible to solve one’s professional problems without masking the experienced attitude.

A detailed description of other types of social relations that were not the subject of consideration in this textbook, contained in the book “Social Psychology” by D. Myers.

When discussing the problem of the relationship between communication and attitude, as well as the dependence between the content of the attitude and the form of its expression, it should be emphasized that a person’s choice of the most psychologically appropriate form of expressing his attitude in communication occurs without tension and conspicuous deliberateness, if he has formed the mental properties of his personality, which are required for successful interpersonal communication: capacity for identification and decentering, empathy and self-reflection. The hostility or sympathy experienced by the participants in communication affects its ease and sincerity, the degree of ease of developing a common opinion, and the psychological consequences with which each of the participants “leaves” the communication that took place. Psychological mechanism The effect of attitude on the unfolding process of communication is clear: a hostile attitude makes a person blind to the merits of a communication partner and pushes her to underestimate positive steps on his part aimed at a successful outcome of communication. In the same way, a hostile attitude provokes a person to behavior that does not lead to a deepening of mutual understanding between those communicating or to the establishment of genuine cooperation between them.

If the relationships of the participants in communication are, so to speak, asymmetrical, for example, one of the communicators shows ardent love for the other, and the latter experiences hostility and even, perhaps, hatred towards him - normal interpersonal communication will not happen. Most often, on the part of one of the communicators there will be a desire for genuine interpersonal interaction, and on the part of the other - either communication at a formal level, or attempts to “put the communication partner in his place,” or outright avoidance of communication.

So, we examined, the subjects of which were individuals. However, in everyday life, in addition to a person’s communication with real partners, there is communication with himself. Such communication “in the mind” is called prolonged. An individual may mentally continue a conversation with a person with whom he recently communicated, especially if they were arguing and some arguments came to his mind later.

On the internal, mental level, a person’s pre-communication also occurs: he can think about the upcoming conversation in advance, assume possible arguments and counter-arguments of the participants in communication. As a rule, conversation tactics are thought out, involving orientation in the content of communication, in possible types contacts, spatio-temporal organization of communication (location of participants, start time of communication, etc.).

Thinking through communication tactics “in the mind” presupposes that a person has an image of a partner (partners) in interaction and, above all, an anticipation of who will strive to dominate in communication or occupy a subordinate position, and who is disposed to equal communication, cooperation and mutual understanding. Based on what has been said about prolonged communication and pre-communication, we can talk about communication with an imagined partner, an imaginary interlocutor. Unlike communication that occurs in the imagination of writers, here there is a representation of the image of a real person who this moment absent. This type of communication is extremely important for the development of personality and the formation of its self-awareness. This can be communication with one’s second “I” or inner speech, which is retroreflection, i.e. an analysis of completed actions, deeds, and a critical assessment of them in the present period.

A type of communication with oneself can be an extreme version of egocentric speech. In this case, communication can proceed with real person or specific people, but the person is so carried away by delivering a speech, by his own statements, that he forgets about his partners and continues to talk “endlessly,” although the listeners are clearly tired of this and have stopped listening.

Here communication is clearly one-sided. This paragraph gives the most General characteristics communication and relationships, which will be further covered from a new perspective and more specifically.

The concept of “social institution”

The social institution acts as an object sociological research, and many authors in this field call it the basic category of sociological science. Significance social institutions increases, and in modern world It is impossible to imagine the structure of society without such division. This is due to the diversity of human life, the absence of static conditions, as well as the dynamic development of all socio-political, economic and spiritual areas.

Note 1

It is customary to consider social institutions as a structure-forming element social system, since human life has been institutionalized over a long period of time, which has led to the identification of a number of large social elements in it. It was these processes that determined the existence of sociology and its further development.

Due to the existence of various points of view, today it is impossible to single out just one definition of the concept of “social institution”. Therefore, as a result, several equivalent definitions are identified at once:

1. A social institution is a historically established stable form of organizing the joint activities of people, which pursues a common goal. In this case, the authors identify several main social institutions: property, state, family, education, management and others;
2. A social institution acts as the main form of consolidation of activity, as well as methods of its implementation, which ensure the stable development and functioning of society and social elements in all spheres of human activity (in the political, economic, social and spiritual spheres);
3. A social institution in Western sociology is a stable set of formal and informal rules, norms and guidelines that are generally binding and apply to all areas human life(on politics, army, church, school, family, morality, law, healthcare, sports).

Signs of a social institution

Definition 1

Society is the totality of all existing social institutions that are in constant interaction with each other. The connection between them is unconditional, and it is based on the signs of unity, functionality and duration.

Social institutions themselves also have a number of their own unique characteristics. Firstly, they are expedient, pursue a common goal, and representatives of institutions set themselves important tasks, the solution of which is necessary for a person’s life, his successful functioning and development. In essence, the goal of a social institution is to maximally satisfy a person’s need, which is formed in a certain time period. Needs also evolve with the development trends of society. For example, the institution of family serves to satisfy a person’s need for primary socialization, for the implementation of reproductive and educational functions.

Secondly, each social institution has its own system of social statuses. Social status is the rights and responsibilities of a person. In addition to status, social roles are regulated in social institutions. As a result of this structuring, a kind of hierarchy is formed. For example, in an educational institute there are such statuses and roles as rector, dean, Teaching Staff, laboratory assistants and students themselves. Each status and role has its own regulator of social connections: mentality, norms of behavior, moral norms, as well as ideology.

Third, social statuses and the roles that are defined within a particular social institution are necessary in order to realize human needs in accordance with the values ​​and norms that are prescribed in a particular society.

Fourthly, one of the key ones is their historical nature. Authors who research deeply this topic, note that the emergence of social institutions was spontaneous, they appeared as if “by themselves.” Nobody invents them; they are formed independently. Of course, with the development of society, the need arose to control these social institutions, so social norms and rules were formed around them, which are of a sanctioning and legitimate nature.

Types of social institutions

A social institution includes a whole set of multi-order and multi-level components that differ in certain ways: subject of activity, subject of research, means and results of achieving goals and implementing tasks, broad functionality. In this regard, traditionally the following are among the key ones:

• Institute of Education, which includes science, education, special education for children with special needs, general education, preschool and school education, as well as postgraduate education;
• Institute of Economics - includes all levels of production, banks, enterprises, consumer cooperation, as well as such areas as management, advertising, public relations;
• Army Institute - customs service, internal troops, admission system for civil servants, social protection military personnel and their families, hazing;
• The health insurance system, as well as social protection of the population, which applies to all social strata that need it and its key means (rehabilitation, medical service, patronage, guardianship).

Note 2

Also, among other types of social institutions, the following are distinguished: economic and social institutions (banks, money, exchange, property, business associations), (state, parties, trade unions, as well as other types of organizations that support political activity and cover the general population), socio-cultural and educational institutions that are responsible for the preservation, consolidation and transmission of cultural norms and values; normative-orienting institutions, normative-sanctioning institutions that form the legal consciousness of individuals and regulate it.

Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, sociologists identify several main types of social groups, which will be discussed in this article.

Definition of social group

First of all, you need to have a clear understanding of the meaning of this term. A social group is a collection of people who have one or more unifying characteristics that have social significance. Another factor of unification is participation in any activity. You need to understand that society is not viewed as an indivisible whole, but as an association of social groups that constantly interact and influence each other. Any person is a member of at least several of them: family, work team, etc.

The reasons for creating such groups may be similarity of interests or goals, as well as the understanding that when creating such a group, you can achieve more results in less time than individually.

One of the important concepts when considering the main types of social groups is the reference group. This is a really existing or imaginary association of people, which is an ideal for a person. The American sociologist Hyman first used this term. Reference group is so important because it affects the individual:

1. Regulatory. The reference group is an example of an individual's behavioral norms, social attitudes and values.
2. Comparative. Helps a person determine what place he occupies in society, evaluate his own and others’ activities.

Social groups and quasi-groups

Quasi-groups are randomly formed and short-lived communities. Another name is mass communities. Accordingly, several differences can be identified:

• Social groups have regular interactions that lead to their stability.
• High percentage of people's cohesion.
• Group members have at least one common characteristic.
• Small social groups can be a structural unit of wider groups.

Types of social groups in society

Man as a social being interacts with a large number of social groups. Moreover, they are completely diverse in composition, organization and goals pursued. Therefore, it became necessary to identify which types of social groups are the main ones:

• Primary and secondary - allocation depends on how a person interacts with group members emotionally.
• Formal and informal - the allocation depends on how the group is organized and how relationships are regulated.
• Ingroup and outgroup - the definition of which depends on the degree to which a person belongs to them.
• Small and large - allocation depending on the number of participants.
• Real and nominal - the selection depends on features that are significant in the social aspect.

All these types of social groups of people will be considered in detail separately.

Primary and secondary groups

The primary group is one in which communication between people is of a high emotional nature. Usually it does not consist a large number of participants. It is the link that connects the individual directly with society. For example, family, friends.

A secondary group is one in which there are many more participants compared to the previous one, and where interactions between people are needed to achieve a specific task. Relationships here, as a rule, are impersonal in nature, since the main emphasis is on the ability to perform the necessary actions, and not on character traits and emotional connections. For example, a political party, a work collective.

Formal and informal groups

A formal group is one that has a specific legal status. Relations between people are regulated by a certain system of norms and rules. There is a clearly defined goal and a hierarchical structure. Any actions are carried out in accordance with in accordance with the established procedure. For example, the scientific community sports group.

An informal group usually arises spontaneously. The reason may be a commonality of interests or views. Compared to a formal group, it has no formal rules and no legal status in society. There is also no formal leader among the participants. For example, a friendly company, lovers of classical music.

Ingroup and outgroup

Ingroup - a person feels direct belonging to this group and perceives it as his own. For example, “my family”, “my friends”.

An outgroup is a group to which a person has no relation; accordingly, there is identification as “stranger”, “different”. Absolutely every person has his own system for assessing outgroups: from a neutral attitude to an aggressive-hostile one. Most sociologists prefer to use a rating system - the social distance scale, created by the American sociologist Emory Bogardus. Examples: “someone else’s family”, “not my friends”.

Small and large groups

A small group is a small group of people united to achieve some result. For example, a student group, a school class.

The fundamental forms of this group are the forms “dyad” and “triad”. They can be called bricks of this group. A dyad is an association in which two people participate, and a triad consists of three people. The latter is considered more stable than the dyad.

Traits characteristic of a small group:

1. A small number of participants (up to 30 people) and their permanent composition.
2. Close relationships between people.
3. Similar ideas about values, norms and patterns of behavior in society.
4. Identify the group as “mine”.
5. Control is not regulated by administrative rules.

A large group is one that has a large number of participants. The purpose of unification and interaction of people, as a rule, is clearly fixed and clear to each member of the group. It is not limited by the number of people included in it. Also, there is no constant personal contact and mutual influence between individuals. For example, the peasant class, the working class.

Real and nominal

Real groups are groups that are distinguished by some social important criteria. For example:

• age;
• income;
• nationality;
• Family status;
• profession;
• location.

Nominal groups are identified one by one common feature to conduct various sociological studies or statistical records of a certain category of the population. For example, find out the number of mothers raising children alone.

Based on these examples of types of social groups, we can clearly see that absolutely every person has a connection with them or interacts in them.

There are different bases for classifying social norms. The most common basis is by methods of establishment (creation) and provision. In accordance with it, social norms are divided into the following types:

• (legal norms);
• standards of morality (morality);
• religious norms;
• corporate standards;
• norms that have developed historically and become part of people’s habits (customs, traditions, rituals, ceremonies, business practices).

Let's look at them in more detail (we'll look at the rules of law in a separate chapter).

Moral standards

It should be noted that in theoretical aspect There are no fewer points of view on morality than there are different understandings of law. The famous Polish sociologist M. Ossowska, based on the study of historical materials, identifies three main currents of ethical thought.

The first current - felicitology(from Lat. . felicia- happiness). In this case, morality is understood as the art of achieving happiness, life wisdom, and the art of avoiding suffering. One of the varieties of this trend is epicureanism associated with the name ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. The main virtues of this movement are individualistic: happiness, pleasure, peace of mind. Happiness, according to Epicurus, is a state of a healthy body and serenity of the soul; it is achieved by satisfying the natural needs of a person, eliminating bodily suffering and mental anxieties. Epicurus distinguishes two types of pleasures: physical (satisfaction of needs for food, housing, clothing, etc.) and spiritual, obtained from knowledge and friendship. Epicurus places the latter above the former. It should be noted that many supporters of this movement noted that moderation should be observed in satisfying desires. Everything should be in moderation. Whoever stays in the middle will find happiness and peace.

Second current - perfectiopism(from lat. peifectus- perfect). Morality is understood as a system of rules and consists of how to live with dignity, in accordance with human nature. This morality sets forth individual ideals that should be emulated. This could be the ideal of an unbending revolutionary, a fighter for justice, etc.

The third concept understands morality as a system of rules of human society, determining how to act so that others feel good with us, so that we are not ashamed of ourselves, etc. According to this concept, morality can be defined as a set of ideas, views, ideas about good and evil, justice and injustice, honor and dishonor, conscience and etc. and the rules of behavior that develop on their basis.

This point of view is the most common, and it is this that we will continue to take into account.

So, morality or moral standards- rules of behavior based on the ideas of society or individual social groups about good and evil, bad and good, fair and unfair, honest and dishonest and similar moral (ethical) requirements and principles.

Along with the term “morality” the term “morality” is used. These terms are equivalent. The first name is of Latin origin (more- morals), the second - Russian. Along with them, the term “ethics” is used (from the Greek. ethicala, ethos- customs, morals). The latter term is also used to designate the science of morality.

It has internal and external aspects.

Internal aspect manifests itself through the well-known Kantian “categorical imperative”, according to which each person contains a certain higher moral rule (“internal legislation”), which she must voluntarily and strictly follow. According to Kant, two things amaze our imagination - the starry sky above us and the moral laws within us. The latter is the imperative. The meaning of this imperative is simple: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Its essence is set out in the teachings of the most ancient thinkers, as well as in one of the Christian commandments.

“Internal legislation” constitutes the concept of conscience, that is, a person’s ability to self-esteem and self-control, to judge himself. Conscience sets boundaries for egoism and selfishness. “The law that lives in us,” Kant wrote, “is called conscience; conscience is, in fact, the correlation of our actions with this law.”

External aspect morality is manifested through human actions. They allow us to judge its essence, its “internal legislation”.

Morality is a historical phenomenon. Over time, its concept and essence change. What was moral at some historical period of time can later turn into immoral. Thus, in a slave-owning society, cruel treatment of slaves who were not considered human beings was moral.

Ten moral commandments recorded in Old Testament The Bibles, to a large extent, were rules only for fellow tribesmen. “Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, love thy neighbor as thyself” - these commandments applied only to the Israelites, that is, from this point of view, it was possible to act differently with representatives of other nations.

The modern concept of morality takes a different universal position. It should be noted that this position begins with the New Testament. New Testament Christian morality is the circle of people who should be treated morally (do no evil, do good), expands to all humanity. Modern law, including international law, affirms precisely this universal morality. The Declaration of Human Rights and international covenants on rights speak of the recognition of the human dignity inherent in all members of the human family, which is the basis of justice, freedom and world peace.

It should be noted that in terms of content, moral norms in society are far from unambiguous. This is due to the existence of the so-called group morality, i.e. systems moral values and the norms of any social group, layer, which may not coincide with public morality. So, in real life There is an antisocial morality of the criminal strata of society, where there is not just illegal behavior of specific subjects, but a group morality of a special type that comes into conflict with public morality.

Moral standards are protected by force and inner conviction. The implementation of moral norms is monitored by society or a separate social stratum (if we're talking about about the morality of a social group). Violators are subject to social sanctions: moral condemnation, expulsion of the offender from the community, etc.

Religious norms

They refer to the rules established by different religions. They are contained in religious books - the Bible, the Koran, etc. - or in the minds of believers professing different religions.

In religious norms:

• the attitude of religion (and therefore believers) to the truth, to the surrounding world is determined;
• the order of organization and activities is determined religious associations, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods;
• the attitude of believers to each other, to other people, and their activities in “worldly” life is regulated;
• the order of religious rites is established.

Security and protection from violations of religious norms is carried out by believers themselves.

Law and religious norms

Law and religious norms can interact with each other. At different stages of development of society and in different legal systems, the degree and nature of their interaction are different. Thus, in some legal systems the connection between religious and legal norms was so close that they should be considered religious legal systems. These include Hindu Law, in which the norms of morality, customary law and religion were closely intertwined, and Islamic law, which is essentially one of the aspects of the religion of Islam.

During the Middle Ages in Europe there were widespread canonical (church) law. However, it never acts as a comprehensive and complete system of law, but acted only as an addition to secular law and regulated those issues that were not covered by secular law (church organization, rules of communion and confession, some marriage and family relations, etc.). Currently, in most countries, the church is separated from the state and religious norms are not related to the law.

Corporate standards

Corporate norms are rules of behavior created in organized communities, extending to its members and aimed at ensuring the organization and functioning of a given community (trade unions, political parties, clubs of various kinds, etc.).

Corporate standards:

• are created in the process of organization and activity of a community of people and are adopted according to a certain procedure;
• apply to members of this community;
• are ensured by the provided organizational measures;
• are enshrined in the relevant documents (charter, program, etc.).

In programs There are norms that contain the strategy and tactics of the organization, its goals.

In the charter contains norms that establish:

• conditions and procedure for acquiring and losing membership in organized community, rights and obligations of its members;
• the procedure for reorganization and liquidation of an organized community;
• the competence and procedure for the formation of governing bodies, the terms of their powers;
• sources of formation Money and other property.

Thus, corporate norms have a written form of expression. In this they differ from the norms of morality, customs and traditions that exist primarily in social and individual consciousness and not having clear documentation.

The documentary, written form of expressing corporate norms brings them closer to law and legal norms. However, corporate norms, unlike legal norms:

• do not have universally binding law;
• are not provided by state coercion.

Corporate norms and local legal norms should not be confused: charters of enterprises, commercial and other organizations, etc.

The latter are a type of local regulations that give rise to specific legal rights and obligations and are protected from violations by state authorities. In case of violation, it is possible to contact the competent law enforcement authorities. Thus, in case of violation of the provisions of the constituent documents joint stock company, for example, the order of profit distribution, the interested party can appeal the decision in court. And a decision made in violation of the charter of a political party cannot be appealed in court.

Norms that have developed historically and become habits of people

Customs- these are rules of behavior that have historically developed over the lives of several generations, which, as a result of repeated repetition, have become a habit. They arise as a result of the most appropriate behavior. Customs have a social basis (reason for their occurrence), which may be lost in the future. However, even in this case, customs can continue to operate by force of habit. Thus, a modern person often cannot do without shaking hands with acquaintances. This custom developed in the Middle Ages when knights concluded peace as a demonstration of the absence of weapons in an openly outstretched hand, as a symbol of good will. The knights are long gone, but their manner of concluding and confirming friendships has survived to this day. Examples of customs are the transfer of property to loved ones, blood revenge, etc.

Traditions- like customs, they have developed historically, but are of a more superficial nature (they can develop within the lifetime of one generation). Traditions are understood as rules of conduct that determine the order, procedure for holding any events related to any solemn or significant, significant events in the life of a person, enterprises, organizations, state and society (traditions of holding demonstrations, feasts, receiving officer rank, ceremonial farewell to an employee’s retirement, etc.). Traditions play a significant role in international relations and diplomatic protocol. Traditions have specific value and in the political life of the state.

Rituals. A ritual is a ceremony, a demonstrative action intended to instill certain feelings in people. In ritual, the emphasis is on the external form of behavior. For example, the ritual of singing the anthem.

Rituals, like rituals, they are demonstrative actions aimed at instilling certain feelings in people. Unlike rituals, they penetrate deeper into human psychology. Examples: marriage or burial ceremony.

Business customs- these are the rules of behavior that develop in the practical, industrial, educational, scientific spheres and regulate daily life of people. Examples: holding a planning meeting in the morning of a working day; students meet the teacher standing, etc.

Types of social norms but content:

• political are rules of conduct that regulate relations between nations, classes, social groups aimed at conquering, retaining and using state power. These include legal norms, programs political parties etc.;
• cultural norms or ethical norms. These are the rules of conduct regarding external manifestation attitudes towards people (form of address, clothing, manners, etc.);
• aesthetic norms are rules of behavior that regulate attitudes towards the beautiful, the mediocre, the ugly;
• organizational norms - determine the structure, order of formation and activities government agencies and public organizations. For example, charters of public organizations.

Among mass communities, sociologists share crowd and mass.

Crowd- a set of people who are in direct contact due to physical proximity. The characteristics of the crowd are given in the works of N. Mikhailovsky “Psychology of the Crowd”, “Heroes and the Crowd”.

The mass differs from the crowd through indirect contact.

If some significant needs of people are not fulfilled, and they perceive this as a threat to their existence, mechanisms of protective behavior are activated. A community of interest arises, based on anxiety or even fear - a crowd is formed. A person ceases to feel role masks, removes restrictions on behavior, he seems to regress into the world of primitive passions.

A feeling of special power is formed in the crowd, a manifold increase in their own efforts. A person feels carried away by a common impulse and becomes part of a single, living organism. At the head of the freshly melted down community the leader is standing, and the crowd completely, unquestioningly submits to his will.

There are four main types of crowds:

• random;
• conventional;
• expressive;
• active

Random This is called a cluster where everyone pursues immediate goals. These include a queue in a store or at a bus stop, passengers on the same train, plane, bus, walking along the embankment, onlookers watching a transport incident.

Conventional crowd consists of people gathered in a given place and in given time not by chance, but with a pre-set goal.

Religious service participants, spectators theatrical performance, listeners of a symphony concert or scientific lecture, football fans observe certain norms and rules that regulate their behavior, make it orderly and predictable. They have a lot in common with the public.

Let us note that theater audiences know that during the performance they cannot talk or comment on what is happening, enter into polemics with the actors, sing songs, etc. On the contrary, football fans are allowed to shout loudly, talk, sing songs, get up from their seats, dance, hug and etc. This is an informal agreement (convention) about appropriate behavior in specific situations, which has become a custom. When in the 1980s Sports officials decided to break this custom and forbade fans to loudly express their emotions; the stadiums plunged into mournful silence. Football has ceased to be a festive spectacle, and attendance has plummeted.

Expressive crowd unlike the conventional one, it gathers not in order to enrich itself with new knowledge, impressions, ideas, but in order to express feelings and interests.

Urban dance floors, youth discos, rock festivals, holiday celebrations and folk festivals (the most vibrant ones take place in Latin American countries) are examples of expressive crowds.

Active crowd- any of the previous types of crowd, which manifests itself in action. It is worth noting that she gathers in order to take part in the action, and not just to observe events or express feelings.

A prominent place among mass social communities is occupied by ethnic communities(ethnos), which can be represented by various social entities: tribe, nationality, nation. Ethnos- ϶ᴛᴏ a stable set of people, historically established in a certain territory, possessing general features and stable features of culture and psychological make-up, as well as the consciousness of its unity and difference from other similar formations (self-awareness)

Natural prerequisite for the formation of that or another ethnic group will have a common territory, since it is she who creates the conditions for close communication and unification of people. Subsequently, when the ethnic group has formed, this characteristic acquires secondary importance and may be completely absent.

To others an important condition the formation of the ethnic group will community of language, although this sign of ethnicity does not have absolute significance.

Greatest influence in ethnic community has the unity of such components of spiritual culture as values, norms and behavior patterns, as well as related socio-psychological characteristics consciousness and behavior of people.

Integrative an indicator of a formed ethnic community is ethnic identity — feeling of belonging to a certain ethnic group. Plays a prominent role in ethnic self-awareness idea of ​​common origin and historical destinies included in the ethnic group of people, based on genealogical legends, participation in historical events, to connect with the native land, native language.

Formed ethnos functions as a whole social mechanism and is gradually reproduced through internal marriages and through the socialization system. It is worth saying, for a more sustainable existence ethnicity strives to the creation of its socio-territorial organizations tribal or state type. Over time, individual parts of a formed ethnic group can be separated by political and state borders. But even under these conditions they can maintain their ethnic identity as belonging to the same social community.

As an example, we can consider the formation and development of the Russian ethnic group. The basis for its formation is the territory of the Northern Black Sea region, where a significant part of the Slavic tribes moved as a result of migration. The formation of the Russian ethnic group is subject to all the laws described above.

A fundamental shift in the formation of the Russian ethnic group occurred in the middle of the 9th century. From this time on, researchers believe, highest form Russian ethnos - Russian nation. The original concept of the main features and conditions for the formation of the Russian nation was proposed by P. A. Sorokin. According to Sorokin, a nation will be a diverse (multifunctional), solidary, organized, semi-closed socio-cultural group at least partially aware of the fact of its existence and development. By the way, this group consists of individuals who: will be citizens of one state; have a common or similar language and a common population cultural values deriving from the general past history of these individuals and their predecessors; occupy the common territory on which they live or their ancestors lived. P. A. Sorokin emphasizes that only when a group of individuals belongs to a single state is it connected common language, culture and territory, it truly constitutes a nation.

The Russian nation in this sense arose as a nation from the moment of the formation of the Russian state in the middle of the 9th century. The totality of the main features of the Russian nation includes its comparatively long existence, enormous vitality, tenacity, the outstanding willingness of its representatives to make sacrifices, as well as the extraordinary territorial, demographic, political, social and cultural development during its historical life.

The adoption at the end of the 10th century had a huge impact on the formation of the Russian nation. Orthodoxy as the state religion Kievan Rus(the famous baptism on the Dnieper in 998 by Prince Vladimir of their subjects) According to P. A. Sorokin, the main features of Russian consciousness and all components of Russian culture and social organization represented the ideological, behavioral and material embodiment of the principles of Orthodoxy from the end of the 9th to the 18th centuries. Later, various aspects of the secular sphere of life began to influence the formation of the Russian nation, incl. and Western culture.

The fundamental idea of ​​the national spiritual Russian nation for many centuries of its existence was the idea of ​​unity of Russian lands. Initially, it was viewed as the idea of ​​elevating the national-state principle, overcoming feudal fragmentation. By the way, this idea merged with the idea of ​​confrontation with foreign invaders, the Tatar-Mongol conquerors, who weakened the economy and trade, ruined Russian cities and villages, took relatives and friends into captivity, and offended the moral dignity of the Russian people. The subsequent development of the spiritual and moral foundations of the Russian nation is closely connected with the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow, overcoming dependence on the yoke of the Golden Horde, and the formation of a powerful independent state.

History shows that the formation and development of the Russian nation was not smooth. There were ups and downs. There were periods when it temporarily lost its state independence (the Tatar-Mongol conquest), experienced a deep spiritual and moral crisis, a decline in morals, general confusion and vacillation (as in Time of Troubles XVI century or during the revolution and civil war beginning of the 20th century) At the end of the 20th century. it was divided into political reasons to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine within the CIS. But the advantages of a community of people close in blood and spirit will inevitably force the political leadership of these countries to seek and find forms of unification. The creation of the Union of Russia and Belarus, its expansion and deepening is convincing evidence of the expediency of this process.