Social norm

A social norm or norm is a shared standard of acceptable behavior by a group. Social norms can be informal understandings that guide how people in a society act, or they can be written as rules and laws. These norms are very powerful in shaping how people behave, and many theories about human behaviour include them as important factors. Institutions are made up of many norms that help keep things organized.

Scholars talk about different kinds of norms, such as those that limit behavior, those that shape what people want, and those that tell people what they should do. People may follow norms because it feels right to do what is expected, or because they think it will help them in the end. Some believe norms come from strategies that have worked well over time and are kept in place by people who enforce them.

Norms go through stages in their life cycle. First, they begin when someone tries to convince others that certain behaviours are good. Then, as more people accept the norm, it becomes common. Finally, the norm becomes something everyone just assumes is right. Some norms are broken often, while others are so strong that people rarely break them. We can see norms by watching how people act in different social groups and by listening to what they say.

Definition

Social norms are shared rules about how people should behave in a group. They help guide decisions and actions, telling us what is okay and what is not. These rules can be simple understandings among people or formal laws.

Experts have different ways to describe norms, but they all agree that norms are about what a group thinks is right behavior. Some say norms are about what people expect from each other, while others see them as standards for how people should act. Norms help people know how to act in different situations and can coordinate how people interact with one another.

Emergence and transmission

Groups create rules, or norms, in many ways. Sometimes these rules just happen without anyone planning them. People might start following a rule because it seems to work, and then everyone else does too. These informal rules aren’t laws, but people still follow them because they’re expected. For example, most people think certain behaviors are just not right, even if there’s no law against them.

Sometimes, people decide on rules on purpose. Leaders or groups might set rules clearly, like laws about driving on a certain side of the road. These rules become normal and people follow them without thinking too much. There are steps to how rules become normal: someone suggests a rule, more people start following it, and finally, everyone just accepts it as the way things are done.

Deviance from social norms

Deviance means not following the usual rules or norms that a group has. When someone does this, others in the group might see them as different or even an outsider. This is especially true if the deviance turns into something illegal or harmful.

What is considered normal can change depending on where you are and who you are with. If someone keeps breaking the rules, others might stop trying to help them fit in. Over time, the group might ignore or exclude that person.

People in a group don’t always react the same way to someone breaking rules. Some members might get more chances if they have been good in the past. For example, a student who usually does well might get a second chance if they misbehave once, while someone who is often disruptive might not. Leaders or people with important roles might also get a bit more leeway, but even they can face consequences if they go too far.

When people break norms, they might feel guilt, a feeling that they have done something wrong. This can make them want to make things right again. Different societies handle rule-breaking in various ways, depending on their customs and way of life.

Behavior

Social norms are shared ideas about how people should act in groups. They help guide behavior in different situations. For example, some smaller groups might have norms that are different from the rest of society.

In social psychology, norms can help people know what behavior is expected in certain places or situations. Norms can encourage helpful actions, like using less energy or voting more often. Norms have two parts: how often a behavior happens and how much the group likes that behavior.

Social control

Social norms are like unwritten rules that help people know how to behave in different situations. They guide what is okay and not okay, helping everyone get along. These norms can be enforced in many ways, such as through how people act or talk to each other.

People often follow these rules because they want to fit in with their group or community. This helps everyone know what to expect from each other. Learning these norms is important for feeling comfortable and respected in different places and with different people.

Sociology

In sociology, norms are like rules that guide how people should behave. These rules can lead to rewards or punishments, helping to create patterns that make each society unique. They help us understand who belongs in a group and who does not.

Research shows that there are two types of norms: descriptive norms, which tell us what most people do, and injunctive norms, which tell us what we should do. For example, signs that say many people take something can accidentally encourage wrong behavior, while signs that ask us not to do something can help us make better choices. Different thinkers have different ideas about norms. Some believe they help everyone get along, while others think they support certain groups more than others. Learning through rewards and punishments also plays a big role in how we follow these rules, starting from a very young age.

Focus theory of normative conduct

Cialdini, Reno, and Kallgren created the focus theory of normative conduct to explain how people manage many different expectations about how to behave at the same time. They thought that what a person is paying attention to decides which expectation they will follow. This helps us understand why people sometimes act in ways that seem to change depending on the situation.

Types

There are different ways to think about norms, or shared rules of behavior. Some experts say there are three main types: rules that guide actions, rules that create new roles or groups, and rules about what we "should" do.

Norms can be stronger depending on how clear they are, how long they've existed, how many people follow them, and how widely they're accepted. People follow norms for different reasons — sometimes because others might punish them, or sometimes because they've learned it's the right thing to do through social learning.

Norms can describe what most people do (like not littering), or what people think we should do (like picking up trash). Some norms tell us what actions are encouraged, like saying thank you for a gift, while others tell us what actions are not allowed, which can differ between cultures.

Mathematical representations

Over the last few decades, some thinkers have tried to explain social norms using math and graphs. They wanted to see if they could predict whether people would follow the rules by looking at the costs and benefits of different choices.

Return potential model

The return potential model helps show group norms on a graph. It places the amount of a behavior on one axis and how much the group likes or dislikes that behavior on the other axis. This can show which behaviors are most approved of and which are not. For example, in a group of students, there might be a norm about how many cups of coffee to drink each day. The model can show that drinking too little or too much coffee is disliked, while a certain amount is most approved of.

Game theory

Main article: Game theory

Game theory is another way to understand social norms. It looks at how people make choices based on what they expect others to do. For a norm to stay the same, people’s actions need to match these expectations. When this happens, it is called a Nash equilibrium, where no one wants to change their behavior because it works for everyone. Different places may have different norms because of different situations or values. For example, some countries drive on the right side of the road, while others drive on the left.

Political norms

Political norms are special rules that guide how people behave in politics. They tell us what opinions and actions are okay in a group at a certain time. These rules are usually enforced by people reacting, rather than by laws. If someone does something that goes against these norms, others might frown upon it or avoid them, which can hurt their reputation. Because of this, many people choose to hide their true beliefs to avoid trouble.

Political norms are a part of larger social norms but focus more on how governments and leaders work. They help decide what behaviors are acceptable for leaders, citizens, and groups. For example, they include respecting election results and following rules set by the constitution. These norms often come from the general values of a community and can change over time, shaping what is seen as proper political behavior.