Social Paradigm?

Question

It is come from the 7 habits of highly effective people book (2004) by Stephen Covey.He have mentioned Character Ethic & Personality Ethic are the examples of social paradigms. (Page 23)I understand what is paradigm from this book. But I can't really understand the meaning of the sentence above. What I understand paradigm is the way we "see" things but not visually instead of how we interpret it. Character Ethic as the foundation of success. Personality Ethic two paths one was human and public relations techniques and other was positive mental attitude.In new age, most of our paradigm was affected by personality ethic. Character ethic has been long forgotten since World War 1. This is the relation that I can see how character ethic and personality ethic related to paradigm.I am confuse on how the character ethic & personality ethic will become the example of social paradigms and what is the meaning of social paradigms.Thank you.

Answer 1

Great question — it makes sense you’re confused, because “paradigm” is one of those words authors use often without defining clearly.

A social paradigm simply means a set of shared assumptions or ways of seeing the world that shape how people interpret reality and behave.

In other words, it’s a mental lens or worldview that a society takes for granted.

Stephen Covey uses Character Ethic vs Personality Ethic as examples because they represent two different paradigms about success and human behavior:

The Character Ethic paradigm

1. Believes success begins inside the person
2. Focuses on integrity, responsibility, discipline, and moral character
3. Assumes that long-term growth comes from who we are

The Personality Ethic paradigm

1. Focuses on image, techniques, and outward influence
2. Values persuasion, charm, and self-presentation
3. Assumes success is mostly about how we appear

Covey’s point is that societies shift over time in what they value.

So when you read that “social paradigms” are shifting, it means:

1. People are changing the unwritten rules about what matters or what counts as success.

You can see this today when we talk about things like:

1. work/life balance
2. emotional intelligence
3. authenticity

These represent another paradigm shift — society changing how it interprets what a good life or a good leader looks like.

So in short:

1. 📌 A social paradigm = a shared way of seeing the world
2. 📌 Covey’s two ethics illustrate different societal lenses
3. 📌 When paradigms shift, behavior and values shift with them

Hope this helps clarify the idea! Feel free to reach out if you’d like examples applied to communication, leadership, or education — this is a topic I work with often.