Sanctions

1. Sanctions Social Negotiation in Action

2. Negotiation and Sanction • Sanctions rewards or punishments for actions • Rewards are positive sanctions • Punishments are negative sanctions • As we interact we receive feedback from those who we interact with • Negative sanctions discourage behavior • Positive sanctions encourage behavior

3. Positive and Negative Sanctions Negative sanctions make us feel excluded. Positive Sanctions make us feel good

4. Negotiation • Whether we call it reinforcement or negotiation the process of reacting to the behavior of others either positively or negatively has effects • The outcome of each interaction • Reinforces existing behavior • Renegotiates existing behavior • Rejects behavior, thus discouraging it • Results in changes which reflect new circumstances, beliefs or understandings

5. Conserving Culture • Both positive and negative sanctions preserve existing behavior • Through rewards and punishments • Cultural norms, values and ideas are preserved when we are receive positive or negative feedback for our actions

6. Expected response • The most common sanction is one that hardly feels like a sanction at all… • We get the expected response for our behavior. • This is a positive sanction • No one says “Hey! Great Job!!!” to us when we get up in the morning and get dressed. It is simply expected and we expect no special response… • The lack of negative sanction is a positive sanction • We might get negative sanctions if we don’t wake up for school or work

7. Changing norms and values • Change occurs through the negotiation process in which the expected reward or punishment might be altered by mutual agreement. • Michel Foucault wrote that social change could be achieved by persisting in behaviors even though we get negative sanctions until others accepted the behavior. • In other words he advised people to make change by ignoring negative sanctions

8. Social Control • Norms and Sanctions • Provide social control • Exist within social institutions • Are learned behavior • Are part of socialization • Can be changed • Conserve existing culture • Are found in all cultures • Are essential to social order

9. Levels of Control • Just as norms can be formal and informal, sanctions can be formal and informal. • Formal norms… written, usually rational • Formal sanctions… written, usually rational • Example: Run a stop sign; get a ticket • Informal norms… traditional, agreed on can be rational or non rational (perhaps irrational as well) • Informal sanctions… traditional, agreed on can be rational, non-rational and even irrational • Cheat on your partner; people gossip about you

10. Things to know • Sanctions are both negative and positive • We may be less aware of the positive sanctions, because they are more expected • Absence of a positive sanction is a negative sanction, no matter how mild • While we may not think about actions that will bring us positive sanctions (these feel normal) we do consider negative sanctions and try to avoid them • Negative sanctions are uncomfortable to experience