THE DECLINE OF FOLKWAYS AND MORES

How can we account for the vicissitudes of sociological concepts? In a case study of the subject, I asked myself: what is happening to the concepts of folkways and mores? Acting on the impression that these formulations by William Graham Sumner are on the path to extinction, I looked into possible trends in their use by authors and editors of reference works and certain textbooks (including those for courses on symbolic interactionism). A curious pattern of use became evident: while a few types of works showed no decline over the years, most types showed decreasing use. I offer speculations about the differences. Examination of Sumner's writings in the two areas of social change and human conduct in general reveals probable sources of the observed declines. Moreover, another source is probably certain changes in the social characteristics of sociologists.