Mores: Meaning, Definition and Features

Mores

The ‘mores’ represent yet another category of norms. ‘Mores’ is a term used to denote behaviour patterns which are not only accepted but are prescribed. All the folkways are not equally important. Some of them become more compulsive and regulative in character. These folkways which become regulators of behaviour are normally referred to as ‘mores’. Sumner applied the term ‘mores’(singular ‘more’) to those folkways which are considered by the group to be essential for its welfare and existence. In simple words, we can say when the folkways clearly represent the group standards, the group sense of what is fitting, right and conducive to well-being, then they become mores.

Definition of Mores

1. According to W. G. Sumner (1906, p. 30) define, “When the elements of truth and right are developed into doctrines of welfare, the folkways are raised to another plane.”

2. Gillin and Gillin say that “Mores are those customs and group routines which are thought by the members of the society to be necessary to the group’s continued existence.”

3. As Edward Sapir has pointed out, “The term ‘mores’ is best reserved for those customs which connote fairly strong feelings of the rightness or wrongness of mode of behaviour.”

4. According to R. M. MacIver and C. H. Page, “When the folkways have added to them con­ceptions of group welfare, standards of right and wrong, they are converted into mores.”

Features or Characteristics of Mores

1. Mores are the regulators of our social life: Mores represent the living character of the group or community. They are always considered as right by the people who share them. They are morally right and their violation morally wrong. Hence, they are more compulsive in nature. They put re­strictions on our behaviour.

2. Mores are relatively more persistent: Mores are relatively long lasting than ordinary folk­ways. In fact, they even become conservative elements in society. They also put up resistance to changes. 

3. Mores vary from group to group: What is prescribed in one group is prohibited in another Eskimos for example: often practice female infanticide, whereas such a practice is strictly forbidden in the modern societies. Mores not only differ with culture but also with time. What is right at one time may be wrong at another and vice versa. For example, the practice of “Salt” was “moral” then, but today it is illegal and immoral.

4. Mores are backed by Values and Religion: Mores normally receive the sanction and back­ing of values and religion. When this occurs, they become still more powerful and binding. Mores backed by religious sanctions are strongly justified by people.  

Mores hold a significant role in governing social behavior as they embody the moral principles of a community. Their enduring nature often resists change, making them conservative elements within societies. Mores are not universal but vary between groups and even over time, reflecting cultural shifts. Backed by values and religious beliefs, mores gain heightened authority, emphasizing their compelling force and justification.