1. Social Negotiation in Action

2.  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.  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.  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.  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.  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.  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.  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.  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