Norms


 * Definition **

In the social sciences, norms are generally defined as “the customs, traditions, standards, rules, values, fashions and all other criteria of conduct which are standardized as a consequence of contact with individuals” (Sherif, 1936, p. 3). The concept of a norm is defined differently based on the context by which it is used. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a norm as “a standard or pattern of social behavior that is accepted or expected of a group” when used in general contexts, but “the product of a complex number and its conjugate, equal to the sum of the squares of its real and imaginary components” in mathematics (Norms, 2012).

In contemporary work, views of norms have become less stringent. Modern scholars largely reject the idea that norms are strict, codified rules (Biccieri, 2006, p.8). This is because the emphasis on social norms focuses less on the objective value of an issue and more on the attitudes  toward an issue (Kraut et al., 1998, p. 439) which tend to be more flexible.

Norms have been described by some scholars as the least visible and most potent form of social control  (Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1985, p.350). Moreover, some scholars argue that human cooperation is a result from norms enforced by socially created rewards and punishments (McElreath, Boyd & Richerson, 2003, p.128), which allows for a civil society.


 * Social Norms **

The role of communication in normative influence can be derived from a number of theoretical perspectives, including cultivation theory (Gerbner, et al., 1994), the diffusion of innovations (Rogers, 1995), social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and uncertainty reduction theory (Berger, 1987; Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Social norms tend to be segmented into various types to better understand their origin, as well as their behavioral influence. Social norms are components within multiple theories in the social sciences: The Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975), the Theory of Normative Social Behavior (Rimal & Real, 2005), and the Social Norms Approach (Perkins & Berkowitz, 1986). These theories utilize the concepts of descriptive, injunctive, and subjective norms.

Theories like Psychological Reaction Theory (Brehm, 1966), and Expectancy Violation Theory (Burgoon, 1978) have also been used to inform understanding of social normative influence.


 * Subjective, Descriptive, and Injunctive Norms **

A subjective norm refers to the pressure an individual feels to behave a certain way because of what others expect (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975). Parks and Smith (2007) conceptualize subjective norms as what important others think should be done, and/or what behavior should or should not be enacted.

Collective norms refer to information that comes from a larger source, such as a community, the media, etc. (Lapinsky & Rimal, 2005). Perceived norms refer to information that comes from an individual’s social group or important others (Lapinski & Rimal, 2005).

Descriptive norms refer to belief about what is actually done by most others in an individual’s social group (Lapinskyi & Rimal, 2005), or the popularity of a behavior among important people. Injunctive norms refer to people’s beliefs about what ought to be done or social approval of the act (Cialdini, Reno, & Kalgreen, 1990).

 **Norms in Practice**

Sometimes called folkways or conventions, norms are believed to arise in societies, cultures <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and groups as a result of some set of recurrent needs that need to be satiated (Sumner, 1907, pp. 2-4). Many scholars argue that norms are not inherently good or bad; according to Shudson (1984), norms can be assimilated without being directly taught to an individual (p. 639).

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Norms created and followed in <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">organizational <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> settings are created to ease an otherwise arduous workload. While one study found that norms could be developed in an organization to discern the appropriate workplace <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">communication technologies <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> for increased efficiency (Guo et al., 2010), another saw organizational norms as largely responsible for generating racial <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">disparities in police profiling (Barnum & Perfetti, 2010).


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Children and Norms **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Children are aware of norms as early as the age of 4, and they try to punish each other when they perceive another child to violate a norm – this is often referred to as “tattling” at this age (Ingram & Bering, 2010). Many times the norms violated are affect-based to someone else (i.e. property loss, physical harm), but the great majority of third person talk by children of this age has been observed to reflect norm violation tattling (Ingram & Bering, 2010). There is evidence that there may be an innate cognitive bias <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> in identifying breaches of norms, especially in children (Ingram & Bering, 2010), but because norms are often developed due to their increased utility <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Kraut et al., 1998), it is possible to see why this <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">bias <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> may occur.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Norms and Culture**

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Norms are not deterministic but rather represent a changing, and socially negotiated order (Kraut et al., 1998). This “social negotiation” is highly contingent upon the <span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">culture <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and needs of a segment of people; for these reasons, norms vary widely from location to location. One of many international examples of this variation is the practices of the United States, as compared to England. When a public official resigns in England, it is a <span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">cultural <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> norm for officials to tell the public the litany of reasons for that individual’s resignation. In America, however, established norms favor privacy and publicity avoidance. This is likely due to a difference in cultural values and norms. Whereas England has a norm of accommodating and keeping the public informed, the United States has a norm that accommodates careerism (Shudson, 1984).


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Norms and Group Membership **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Even within America, different cultures and sub/co-cultures have different ideas of what they believe to be a norm. Norms can change depending upon one’s group <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, and __<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">group __<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> membership is not mutually exclusive. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Groups <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> can be divided by age, race <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, ethnicity <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, socioeconomic status, religious attendance, and other factors (Mollburn, 2009).


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Norm Violation **

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Conforming to a norm that one does not have any stake in is largely conditional on expectations about others' <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">behaviors <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and beliefs <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Biccieri, 2006). Experiencing embarrassment reflects a person’s expectations of negative reactions from other people for violating a norm and not necessarily an internalization of that norm (Mollburn, 2009). The embarrassment felt is usually contingent on the type of convention violated, with different social norms leading to different conditions of embarrassment (Shudson, 1984).

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When people violate a widely held norm, there may be understood ways of handling that violation. The customary way to deal with norm violations is often referred to as meta-norms (Axelrod, 1986). In the case of certain organizations <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, if a norm is violated by one person and another abstains from any attempt at retribution or correction, then they are seen as a defector <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, themselves, and a violator of this meta-norm. Meta-norms, such as these, have long been one of the most potent forms of norm enforcement (Axelrod, 1986).

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 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">References **

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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Park, H. S., Smith, S. W. (2007). Distractiveness and Influence of Subjective Norms, Personal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms, and Societal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms on Behavioral Intent: A Case of Two Behaviors Critical to Organ Donation. //Human Communication Research,// 33, 194-218.

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