William Graham's Dynamic Folkway-More Model

Sociologist William Graham used his dynamic Folkway-More Model to explain society’s evolutionary laws (Ford 2015). Sumner defined folkways as repetitive acts in reaction to individual’s interests (Sumner 2008: 3). He stated that folkways were made unconsciously, to the point that they later convert to mores. Sumner then defined mores as “elements of truth from which folkways are raised to another plane” (Sumner 2008: 3). According to Sumner, “laws were the natural outgrowth of the development of mores” (Ford 2015). Sumner’s model was dynamic in the sense that more failure, or laws, could be used as a mechanism to foster social change (Ford 2015). As Sumner predicted, social norms, folkways, and mores have changed tremendously since his time.

Sumner suggested that these mores set the standards for who entered marriages and defined what proper conduct was upon entering the marriage. According to Sumner, the only reason men and women entered into the institution of marriage was for procreation and if they didn’t have children then the relationship was not “in nature” (Sumner 2008: 346). He goes on to explain that the institution marriage was simply a struggle for existence, which later become customary. Resulting in the husband working to feed the family and the woman staying at home and taking care of the

Marriage between a man and a women can be seen as a union based on their mutual love and respect for each other. The idea belongs in an area beyond state or family, where the two partners make a life for themselves. Beyond mores, except for the ones that have taught them how to conduct themselves in marriage (Sumner 2006: 372).
Sumner’s marriage institution is defined as mores which constitute the relation between man and women, making the relationship stabile and uniform. He also states that the cluster of mores then lead to institutions making adequate changes and enforcing proper legislation (Sumner 2006: 396). Sumner stated that civil and religious marriage ceremonies defined and made a marriage. That by engaging in these ceremonies their wedlock would be blessed or