Which term describes the collective processes by which societal norms are established and maintained?

The term that best describes the collective processes by which societal norms are established and maintained is social regulation. This concept encompasses the formal and informal mechanisms that societies use to establish expectations for behavior and uphold their shared norms. Social regulation includes laws, policies, and societal expectations that guide individual behavior and promote conformity within a community.

This process is crucial for maintaining social order and coherence, as it helps to define acceptable behaviors and establish consequences for deviating from those standards. In practice, social regulation operates through various systems, such as education, legal institutions, and community practices, all of which contribute to the reinforcement of norms over time.

While the other terms may relate to aspects of how norms are perceived or enacted, they do not specifically capture the overarching mechanism of establishing and maintaining societal norms in the same comprehensive way. Socialization refers more to the process through which individuals learn and internalize these norms, while social construction and normalization pertain to the ways in which behaviors and norms are defined and accepted within social contexts.