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This article focuses on ideal and typical social norms. In view of the strategic position occupied by the concept of social norms in sociological theory it behooves sociologists to elaborate and refine it beyond its present formulation. Social norms are viewed as standards for behavior, which is to say they represent a base or criterion for judging the appropriateness or acceptability of actions. It should be apparent, however, that there are realty two sets of norms lo guide behavior. One standard is the ideal, what one ought to do. The ideal norm stipulates what the morally correct form of behavior would be for a given situation. Almost invariabIy however, actual behavior does not coincide with what would be socially preferable; one would be bard pressed to cite a social norm which is never violated. The distinction between these two types of norms can also be illuminated by reference to the socialization process. The acquisition of ideal norms seems to be primarily a matter of verbal transmission, whereas typical nouns are more likely to be acquired as a result of observation of overt behavior.

One of the sociologists standard procedures is to introduce controls for background or so-called "demographic" variables. When one finds a relationship between two attitudes or perhaps an attitude and some type of behavior, he will often control for factors such as age race, sex, education, religion, or occupation of father. Controls may be introduced more or less routinely as though the rationale for their use were clearly understood or obviously apparent. The purpose of this article is to examine the nature of this rationale. Few sociologists admit to a direct theoretical interest in "demographic" variables per se. Usually, if not always, a background factor such as sex, religious denomination, occupation of father, or type of home community is employed merely as a convenient indicator of some other variable which may be very imprecisely defined. The rationale in comparing males and females, whites and Negroes, or Protestants and Catholics is usually that each of the categories will, on the avenge, have been exposed to different socialization experiences of one kind or another.