Human Community Norm
A Human Community Norm is a social norm that applies to human communities.
- AKA: Societal Norm.
- Context:
- It can (often) be unspoken but understood by Society Members.
- It can (often) influence and regulate behavior.
- It can (often) be learned through Socialization Processes.
- It can (often) be bundled in a Lifestyle.
- It can vary across different societies.
- It can be related to various aspects of social life such as morality, law, religion, and social roles.
- It can, when violated, lead to various forms of social punishment or isolation.
- …
- Example(s):
- Religious Norm: Such as adhering to a set of religious beliefs commonly accepted by a given society.
- Career Norm: Such as pursuing careers in law or medicine due to societal prestige and economic benefits.
- Marriage Norm: Such as marrying and having children as it's traditionally expected in many societies.
- Education Norm: Such as accepting the system of standardized tests and rote learning in the educational system.
- Role Norm: Such as conforming to societal expectations related to gender roles and behavior.
- Consumerism Norm: Such as accumulating material possessions as a symbol of success and status in society.
- a norm against cannibalism.
- a Social Attire Norm, such as a female social attire norm.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- Personal beliefs or practices that are not shared or accepted by the majority in a society.
- Actions that are considered as criminal or illegal by society.
- A society without defined or enforced norms.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Substantive Norm, Societal Punishment, Societal Reward, Social Psychology, Sociology, Social Construct, Cultural Norm, Mores, Taboo.
References
2023
- (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_norm Retrieved:2023-5-29.
- Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups.[1] Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or social norms, are deemed to be powerful drivers of human behavioural changes and well organized and incorporated by major theories which explain human behaviour.[2] Institutions are composed of multiple norms.[3] Norms are shared social beliefs about behavior; thus, they are distinct from “ideas", “attitudes", and “values", which can be held privately, and which do not necessarily concern behavior.[4] Norms are contingent on context, social group, and historical circumstances.
Scholars distinguish between regulative norms (which constrain behavior), constitutive norms (which shape interests), and prescriptive norms (which prescribe what actors ought to do). The effects of norms can be determined by a logic of appropriateness and logic of consequences; the former entails that actors follow norms because it is socially appropriate, and the latter entails that actors follow norms because of cost-benefit calculations.
Three stages have been identified in the life cycle of a norm: (1) Norm emergence – norm entrepreneurs seek to persuade others of the desirability and appropriateness of certain behaviors; (2) Norm cascade – when a norm obtains broad acceptance; and (3) Norm internalization – when a norm acquires a "taken-for-granted" quality.[3] Norms are robust to various degrees: some norms are often violated whereas other norms are so deeply internalized that norm violations are infrequent.[4][2] Evidence for the existence of norms can be detected in the patterns of behavior within groups, as well as the articulation of norms in group discourse.[4]
- Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups.[1] Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or social norms, are deemed to be powerful drivers of human behavioural changes and well organized and incorporated by major theories which explain human behaviour.[2] Institutions are composed of multiple norms.[3] Norms are shared social beliefs about behavior; thus, they are distinct from “ideas", “attitudes", and “values", which can be held privately, and which do not necessarily concern behavior.[4] Norms are contingent on context, social group, and historical circumstances.
2015
- (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/norm_(social) Retrieved:2015-11-28.
- Norms are cultural products (including values, customs, and traditions)[5] which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do.[6] Sociologists describe norms as informal understandings that govern individuals' behavior in society.[7] On the other hand, social psychology has adopted a more general definition, recognizing smaller group units, such as a team or an office, may also endorse norms separate or in addition to cultural or societal expectations.[8] In other words, norms are regarded to exist as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct.[1]
Furthermore, in the field of social psychology, the roles of norms are emphasized which can guide behavior in a certain situation or environment as "mental representations of appropriate behavior".[9] For example, it has been shown that normative messages can promote pro-social behavior, including decreasing alcohol use[10] and increasing voter turnout.[11] According to the psychological definition of social norms' behavioral component, norms have two dimensions: how much a behaviour is exhibited, and how much the group approves of that behavior. Both of these dimensions can be used in normative messages to alter norms and subsequently alter behaviors; for example, a message can target the former dimension by describing high levels of voter turnout in order to encourage more turnout. At the same time, norms also can be changed contingent on the observed behavior of others (how much behavior is exhibited). In fact, in Sherif (1936), one confederate was able to affect the development of a group norm related to the autokinetic effect. Norms running counter to the behaviors of the overarching society or culture may be transmitted and maintained within small subgroups of society. For example, Crandall (1988) noted that certain groups (e.g., cheerleading squads, dance troupes, sports teams, sororities) have a rate of bulimia, a publicly recognized life-threatening disease, that is much higher than society as a whole. Social norms have a way of maintaining order and organizing groups.[12]
- Norms are cultural products (including values, customs, and traditions)[5] which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do.[6] Sociologists describe norms as informal understandings that govern individuals' behavior in society.[7] On the other hand, social psychology has adopted a more general definition, recognizing smaller group units, such as a team or an office, may also endorse norms separate or in addition to cultural or societal expectations.[8] In other words, norms are regarded to exist as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct.[1]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lapinski, M. K., & Rimal, R. N. (2005). “An explication of social norms". Communication Theory, 15(2),127–147..
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:3 - ↑ Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. NewYork: Harper.
- ↑ Cialdini,R. D. (2003) "Crafting normative messages to protect the environment". Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(4), 105–109.
- ↑ Marshall, G. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology.
- ↑ Jackson, J. (1965). “Structural characteristics of norms". In I.D. Steiner & M. Fishbein (Eds.), Current studies in social psychology (pp. 301-309).
- ↑ Aarts, H., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2003). “The silence of the library: Environment, situational norm, and social behavior". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 18–28.
- ↑ Collins, S. E., Carey, K. B., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2002). “Mailed personalized normative feedback as a brief intervention for at-risk college drinkers". Journal of the Studies of Alcohol, 63(5), 559–567.
- ↑ Gerber, A. S., & Rogers, T. (2009). “Descriptive social norms and motivation to vote: everybody's voting and so should you". The Journal of Politics, 71(1), 178–191.
- ↑ Haung, Peter, Wu, Ho-Mou. "More Order without More Law: A Theory of Social Norms and Organizational Cultures". (1994)
2003
- (Clark, 2003) ⇒ Andrew E. Clark. (2003). “Unemployment As a Social Norm: Psychological Evidence from Panel Data.” In: Journal of labor economics 21, no. 2
- ABSTRACT: This article uses seven waves of panel data to test for social norms in labor market status. The unemployed's well‐being is shown to be strongly positively correlated with reference group unemployment (at the regional, partner, or household level). This result, far stronger for men, is robust to controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity. Panel data also show that those whose well‐being fell the most on entering unemployment are less likely to remain unemployed. These findings suggest a psychological explanation of both unemployment polarization and hysteresis, based on the utility effects of a changing employment norm in the reference group.
1987
- (Coleman, 1987) ⇒ James S. Coleman. (1987). “Norms As Social Capital." Economic imperialism
1936
- (Sherif, 1936) ⇒ Muzafer Sherif. (1936). “The Psychology of Social Norms."
- ABSTRACT: Most experiments in social psychology are considered defective because the investigators, lacking social perspective, set up their problems within the culture of their own communities. The writer has no sympathy for the controversy between the individual and the social approaches. The individual is regarded as basic, and any valid psychological principle should apply to the individual, alone, in a group, or in relation to his whole culture. Throughout psychology, in perception, in judgment, in affectivity, etc., the frame of reference is shown to be an important determinant of experience. Variations in culture are shown to be variations in frames of reference common to various groups. Social frames of reference (social norms, i.e. values, customs, stereotypes, conventions, etc.) are regarded first as stimuli which meet the individual in his associations with others and then become interiorized. The process of establishing a social norm is illustrated experimentally in an unstable perceptual situation (autokinetic phenomenon). Observing alone, the individual establishes his own frame of reference, which is modified in the direction of conformity when he observes in a group. Observing first in a group, frames of reference are set up which determine subsequent reports when the individual observes alone (illustrating the factual basis for the contentions that supra-individual qualities arise in group situations). Social values in relation to personal needs are discussed in the light of this experiment. A final chapter describes “human nature” as dependent upon the norms peculiar to the individual's group.