What is Normative Theory?

-originating from functionalism (first proposed by Durkheim) -when racism and discrimination is passed down from generation to generation -when people are young they may be exposed to racist ideas from parents -those exposed to prejudice will act discriminatory -prejudice and discrimination can be explained by A) persons definition of situations and B) reference groups norms -Merton suggest that discrimination influences prejudice however, this is hard to prove 1) people make decisions about when/where/who they are racist 2)Reference group norms influence racism