How social changes affect policy development

Question 1

What are social values?

Answer 1

rules that are shared by most people in a culture or the ideas that they hold in value

Question 2

What are norms?

Answer 2

are social expectations that guide behaviour and explain people’s behaviour and why they act in the way they do

Question 3

What are mores?

Answer 3

morals or good ways of behaving

Question 4

Change in views regarding smoking…

Answer 4

• in the 1930s it was a social norm to smoke cigarettes and it was seen to be acceptable
• in the 1930s, smoking was glamorised and encouraged even by doctors and it was seen as acceptable to smoke indoors such as in restaurants
• once health implications were understood, people’s views changed and it is now frowned upon and in some circumstances it is also illegal
• by the end of 1965 the tobacco industry was required to put warning labels on its products and advertise the risks that are linked to smoking

Question 5

Change in views regarding homosexuality…

Answer 5

• homosexuality is now socially acceptable in the UK
• in the 16th century homosexual acts were punishable by death, this penalty was removed in the 19th century but the law prohibited any sexual acts between males
• there are now laws in place that make it a criminal offence to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation under the equality act 2010

Question 6

Name the reasons why society’s views on homosexuality have changed

Answer 6

• cultural changes or the structure of society changing
• society is less religious now than at any time in its history
• the teachings of many religions suggest that homosexuality is wrong
• people generally do not fear or even believe in God

Question 7

Change in views regarding women’s rights…

Answer 7

• at the beginning of the 20th century, women had few legal and political rights
• there was a stereotype where married women would be the one to stay at home and look after the children and unmarried women would be employed in services such as teaching.
• the suffragette movement fought for the right to vote, women rebelled against marriage, seeking education and equality.
• as a result to the movement, society slowly started to change its views about women, as shown in the year 1928 where the support for equality from both women and men meant that women received the right to vote

Question 8

Structure of society - demographic changes