Folkway, the learned behaviour, shared by a social group, that provides a

traditional mode of conduct. According to the American sociologist William

Graham Sumner, who coined the term, folkways are social conventions that
are not considered to be of moral significance by members of the group (e.g.,
customary behaviour for use of the telephone). The folkways of groups, like
the habits of individuals, originate in the frequent repetition of acts that prove
successful for satisfying basic human needs. These acts become uniform and
are widely accepted. Folkways operate primarily at an unconscious level and
persist because they are expedient. They tend to group themselves around
major social concerns, such as sex, forming social institutions (e.g., the
family). Sumner believed that folkways from diverse areas of life tended to
become consistent with each other, creating definite patterns.
Tradition, habit, and religious sanctions tend to strengthen folkways as time passes, making them
more and more arbitrary, positive, and compelling. Some folkways become mores (borrowed
from the Latin word for customs by Sumner) when they become ethical principles, the
behaviours considered essential to the welfare of the society. Mores are more coercive than
folkways: relatively mild disapproval follows an infringement of a folkway; severe disapproval
or punishment follows the breaking of mores. Polygamyviolates the mores of American society;
failure to wait one’s turn in line is a breach of folkways.
Mores (/ˈmɔːreɪz/ sometimes /ˈmɔːriːz/;[1] from Latin mōrēs, [ˈmoːreːs], plural form of singular mōs,
meaning 'manner, custom, usage, or habit') was introduced from English into American English
by William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), an early U.S. sociologist, to refer to social norms that are
widely observed and are considered to have greater moral significance than others. Mores include
an aversion for societal taboos, such as incest.[2] The mores of a society usually predicate legislation
prohibiting their taboos. Often, countries will employ specialized vice squads or vice police engaged
in suppressing specific crimes offending the societal mores.
Folkways, in sociology, are norms for routine or casual interaction. This includes ideas about
appropriate greetings and proper dress in different situations.[2]
In short, mores "distinguish the difference between right and wrong, while folkways draw a line
between right and rude".[2]
Both "mores" and "folkways" are terms coined by William Graham Sumner in 190
n ethics, value denotes the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of
determining what actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics), or to describe
the significance of different actions. Value systems are proscriptive and prescriptive beliefs; they
affect ethical behavior of a person or are the basis of their intentional activities. Often primary values
are strong and secondary values are suitable for changes. What makes an action valuable may in
turn depend on the ethical values of the objects it increases, decreases or alters. An object with
"ethic value" may be termed an "ethic or philosophic good" (noun sense).[citation needed]
Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of actions or outcomes.
As such, values reflect a person's sense of right and wrong or what "ought" to be. "Equal rights for
all", "Excellence deserves admiration", and "People should be treated with respect and dignity" are
representatives of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior and these types
include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values,
and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values that are not clearly physiologically
determined, such as altruism, are intrinsic, and whether some, such as acquisitiveness, should be
classified as vices or virtues.