Expectations of Oneself and Expectations of Society Essay Example

What are the expectations one has of themselves compared to that of society? Society is based on right and wrong as it’s been all of your life, but not everyone has the same answers. Culture, religion, and politics play an everyday role in what is expected of you. How do society’s expectations of people cause them to act differently than they would in their homes, if what a person feels isn’t right is societally correct? Why do people need not follow social norms, especially when behind closed doors? How do these expectations and desires play a part in how society functions and expresses the idea of right and wrong? People don’t need to live their lives strictly by societal means. A balance of self-expectations and that of society can create a sense of self-satisfaction.

Society today is based heavily on laws and how people are expected to behave. Women and men in society are influenced by gender roles and how they should act. Gender roles have been an idea in most recent history, society has followed these unwritten laws as they are. An article published by Planned Parenthood talks about gender roles and what society expects of people. “For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold” (Gender Identity 1). The article dives deeper into how people can combat these stereotypes and not be expected to do things that they normally wouldn’t. Planned Parenthood gives a good insight into how men and women are expected to act—and what standards they are still held to—though social expectations reach far beyond sex-based ideas. An article published by Dr. Saul McLeod talks about how the presence of others sets one’s expectations. He states “the presence of others seems to set up expectations” (McLeod 1) the thought is that people act the way they do because of their expectations of others. He discussed the idea that people are always playing into social norms. “Think of how many roles you play in a single day, e.g. son, daughter, sister, brother, students, worker, friend, etc” (McLeod 1) in society you play the role of what you are. According to Dr. Saul McLeod, people would be lost without it “Human beings need norms to guide and direct their behavior” (McLeod 1) this is why most of the time people conform to social norms. Social expectations and personal expectations seem to share a lot of similarities, though personal expectations and actions share a whole new side of the picture.

People do things differently when they are being watched, or if someone is with them. Personal expectations are different than social ones. Whatever makes you feel like you’re being productive, or if whatever you’re doing makes you happy. People will continue to do it, no matter what society would say if they found out. The saying “behind closed doors” has a lot of meaning when it comes to self ideologies. How does this change when people aren’t just thinking about themselves? Take for instance a “Take One” candy bowl, would you still be incentivized to take more if the owner was sitting next to it, or if you had the feeling that what you’re doing someone wouldn’t approve of. A study by the APA (American Psychological Association) observed 363 trick-or-treaters and how they would react to one of these signs. A lot of children out of watchful eyes would take more than one, but what if a mirror was behind the sign. The study was to see if self-awareness would affect the behavior of the children. “Self-awareness induced by the presence of a mirror placed behind the candy bowl decreased transgression rates” (Beaman 1) the results show that even though there is no social intervention. The mirror triggered a form of the children's self expectancy. They had a moment of reflection that caused them to only take one piece of candy. Personal and Social expectations are present in each other, one may be the full factor but both play roles in everything. 

Expectations of oneself and the expectations of society can be different and the same. Similarities of the two come to light depending on the specifics of the subject. When talking about a social setting, personal and social expectations come to light. While when you're alone your thoughts are only of your expectations. An article published by Walden University talks about how people need a sense of leadership, someone to guide them. A group helps people conform to social norms, like a baby learning how to walk from their parents. The same type of process is at play while a child grows up, they would learn what is acceptable and what they should keep to themselves. “we have a strong tendency to conform to the norms of that group” (Walden 1) people’s thoughts are to have someone that can relate to them. Social norms in today’s society are always being challenged, there is never a right and wrong. The world has millions of ideologies and ideas that someone can be comfortable with. Social expectations usually influence what you expect of yourself.