*Normative Theory

Normative Theory Hypotheses or other statements about what is right and wrong, desirable or undesirable, just or unjust in society. The majority of sociologists consider it illegitimate to move from explanation to evaluation.

Normative theories define “good” decisions as ones that are most likely to provide the decision maker with desired outcomes (Edwards, 1954; Yates, 1990).t

Normative means relating to an ideal standard of or model, or being based on what is considered to be the normal or correct way of doing something.

Normative has specialized meaning in different academic disciplines such as philosophy, social sciences,economics and the law.

In PHILOSOPHY, normative statements makes claims about how things should or ought to be, how to value them, which things are good or bad, and which actions are right or wrong. Normative claims are usually contrasted with positive claims when describing types of theories, beliefs, or propositions. Positive statements are factual statements that attempt to describe reality.

In SOCIAL SCIENCES, the term "normative" has broadly the same meaning as its usage in philosophy, but may also relate, in a sociological context, to the role of cultural 'norms'; the shared values or institutions that structural functionalist regard as constitutive of the social structure and social cohesion.

NORMATIVE ECONOMICS deals with questions of what sort of economic policies should be pursued, in order to achieve desired economic outcomes.

In LAW, as an academic discipline, the term "normative" is used to describe the way something ought to be done according to a value position. As such, normative arguments can be conflicting, insofar as different values can be inconsistent with one another.

There are four normative theories

  1. with the principle of utility
    as the basic moral principle
  1. Kantianism with the categorical imperative as
    the fundamental moral principle.
  1. Ethical intuitionism with a
    plurality or moral principles.
  1. Virtue ethics with virtues
    as its focus.

normative theory Hypotheses or other statements about what is right and wrong, desirable or undesirable, just or unjust in society. The majority of sociologists consider it illegitimate to move from explanation to evaluation. In their view, sociology should strive to be value-free, objective, or at least to avoid making explicit value-judgements.

The three normative theories you are studying therefore illustrate three
different sets of ideas about how we should live.

  1. Deomtology
  2. Natural moral law
  3. Fletcher's situation ethics.

Deontology, teleology, consequentialism and character-based ethics are not
in themselves ethical theories – they are types of ethical theory.

Natural moral law is seen by most people as one type of deontological
theory; Kant’s theory of the Categorical Imperative is another.

Fletcher’s situation ethics is one type ofconsequentialist theory;
utilitarianism is another.

Normative theories were first proposed by Fred Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur Schramm in their book called “Four Theories of the Press”. At first the word “Normative Theory” was pronounced in USA during the height of ‘cold war’ with communism and soviet. Often it called as western theories of mass media.

A Normative theory describes an ideal way for a media system to be controlled and operated by the government, authority, leader and public. These theories are basically different from other communication theories because normative theories of press are not providing any scientific explanations or prediction. At the same these “four theories of the press” were came from many sources rather than a single source. Sometimes media practitioners, social critics and academics also involved to develop these normative theories.

Normative theories are more focused in the relationship between Press and the Government than press and the audience. These theories are more concern about the ownership of the media and who controls the press or media in the country