Norms

Norms

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Social scientists invoke the concept of norms to explain a broad range of human behaviors. No universally agreed-upon definition of norms exists, but many definitions share three components (Horne 2001, pp. 3–5). First, norms are rules that prescribe or proscribe a behavior or set of behaviors. Second, norms are enforced by external sanctions (rewards and punishments furnished by a source other than their target). These sanctions can be material (e.g., financial bonuses or fines) or symbolic (e.g., expressions of approval or disapproval). Third, norms are consensual, group-level phenomena. Group members recognize the existence of norms and feel entitled to enforce them. Some debate remains over whether norms, once established, are unconditional, clear, and generally followed (as in many rational choice theories), or conditional, unclear, and constantly negotiated (as in many symbolic interactionist theories) (Hechter and Opp 2001, pp. 394–396).

This definition distinguishes between norms and similar concepts, such as values and attitudes. Norms differ from values in that they are enforced by external sanctions, whereas values are enforced only by internal sanctions, such as feelings of pride or shame (Hechter and Horne 2003). Norms differ from attitudes in that norms are consensually held and legitimated by the group, whereas attitudes are a property of individuals. Norms also differ from laws in that a central authority (such as the state) formally creates and enforces laws, while people informally create and enforce norms. Some scholars distinguish between norms and conventions, the primary difference being that the direction of conventions is arbitrary (Coleman 1990). For example, it does not matter whether people drive on the left or the right side of the road, so long as everyone follows the convention of driving on the same side.

Norms shape social behavior by constraining action, and may be beneficial or harmful. Beneficial norms make society possible by protecting people from exploitation. Humans existed for thousands of years without the protections of a formal legal system (de Quervain et al. 2004), and the actual exercise of law remains limited due to resource constraints (Ellickson 1991). In the absence of law, norms regulate behavior and prevent people from routinely using force and fraud for private gain (Ellis 1971). Such norms include those that ensure that people look after their neighbors’ children or livestock, punish laziness at work, respect cease-fire and arms-control agreements, reciprocate favors, help strangers, and otherwise contribute to a stable society.

Harmful norms may constrain individual achievements. Such norms include leveling norms that prevent advancement by members of disadvantaged ethnic groups (Portes 1998, pp. 15–18), or norms mandating that women confine their activities to domestic pursuits and forego the labor market. Norms can also sustain harmful practices that a majority of the group opposes, including informing on one’s neighbors in repressive regimes and binge drinking on college campuses (Centola et al. 2005). Some norms also encourage dangerous practices such as dueling (e.g., Axelrod 1986, p. 1095).

Norms constrain the behavior of corporate actors as well as individuals. Firms sometimes adopt rules or structural changes that conform to norms in order to enhance their legitimacy, even when these practices run counter to market pressures (Meyer and Rowan 1977). Territories gain recognition as states in part by conforming to international norms defining the requirements for statehood. Failure to do so can result in loss of statehood and the attendant privileges (Meyer et al. 1997).

Given the widespread use of norms as an explanatory device, an important task for the social sciences is to explain the conditions under which norms emerge, change, and persist. Early functionalist explanations of social norms argued that norms arise because they benefit society, but this view has been discredited and generally abandoned. Because actors enforce norms through sanctioning, a number of theories seek to understand why actors sanction particular behaviors.

Structural features of situations can influence norm emergence. Conformity tends to increase as the size of the majority in favor of the norm increases (Asch 1951). Such factors as low levels of trust and a high risk of exploitation motivate the creation of norms that reduce the risk of exploitation (Yamagishi 1988). Network density may help coordinate sanctioning (Coleman 1990), and the threat of collective punishment can produce norms that mitigate that risk (Heckathorn 1988). In addition, actors with greater structural power possess greater ability to create, enforce, or undermine norms that serve their own interests at the expense of vulnerable actors (Coleman 1990).

People also follow and enforce norms in order to gain approval and signal that they are trustworthy interaction partners, thus encouraging others to profitably exchange with them (Homans [1951] 1992; Horne 2004). People increasingly enforce metanorms (by rewarding those who sanction deviants) as the direct and indirect benefits of exchanging with others increases (Horne 2004). Enforcing norms to gain approval can backfire, as when people enforce norms that the majority privately disdains because they falsely believe the norm to be popular (Centola et al. 2005).

Norms may also develop through a process of cultural evolution in which a norm, once established, provides greater average benefits to those who follow the norm than those who do not (Axelrod 1986; Bendor and Swistak 2001). Similarly, people may also learn to support norms via trial and error (Macy 1993).

Affective processes motivate norm enforcement. Emotional responses lead people to punish theft, walk away from profitable but unethical business deals, and help strangers in need, even when these actions contradict their short-term material interest (Frank 1988). Neurologically, people experience greater levels of activation in a reward center in the brain when they punish people who have behaved in an untrustworthy manner (de Quervain et al. 2004).

A number of important questions regarding norms remain. Broadly, it is important to continue to develop explanatory theories and empirical tests of norm emergence. Other pressing questions include how norms acquire content (Hechter and Opp 2001), how harmful norms emerge (e.g., Centola et al. 2005), and how norms and laws interrelate. Answers to these and related questions will deepen our knowledge of this fundamental but often opaque concept.

SEE ALSO Culture; Lay Theories; Social System; Values

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asch, Solomon E. 1951. Effects of Group Pressure upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgments. In Groups, Leadership, and Men: Research in Human Relations, ed. Harold Guetkow, 177–190. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.

Axelrod, Robert. 1986. An Evolutionary Approach to Norms. American Political Science Review 80: 1095–1111.

Bendor, Jonathan, and Piotr Swistak. 2001. The Evolution of Norms. American Journal of Sociology 106: 1493–1545.

Centola, Damon, Robb Willer, and Michael W. Macy. 2005. The Emperor’s Dilemma: A Computational Model of Self-enforcing Norms. American Journal of Sociology 110: 1009–1040.

Coleman, James S. 1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.

de Quervain, Dominique J.-F., et al. 2004. The Neural Basis of Altruistic Punishment. Science 305: 1254–1258.

Ellickson, Robert C. 1991. Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ellis, Desmond P. 1971. The Hobbesian Problem of Order: A Critical Appraisal of the Normative Solution. American Sociological Review 36: 692–703.

Frank, Robert H. 1988. Passions within Reason: The Strategic Role of the Emotions. New York: Norton.

Hechter, Michael, and Christine Horne. 2003. Values and Norms. In Theories of Social Order: A Reader, eds. Michael Hechter and Christine Horne, 91–100. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Hechter, Michael, and Karl-Dieter Opp. 2001. What Have We Learned about the Emergence of Social Norms? In Social Norms, eds. Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp, 394–415. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Heckathorn, Douglas D. 1988. Collective Sanctions and the Creation of Prisoner’s Dilemma Norms. American Journal of Sociology 94: 535–562.

Homans, George C. [1951] 1992. The Human Group. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Horne, Christine. 2001. Sociological Perspectives on the Emergence of Social Norms. In Social Norms, eds. Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp, 3–44. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Horne, Christine. 2004. Collective Benefits, Exchange Interests, and Norm Enforcement. Social Forces 82: 1037–1062.

Macy, Michael W. 1993. Backward Looking Social Control. American Sociological Review 58: 819–836.

Meyer, John W., John Boli, George M. Thomas, and Francisco O. Ramirez. 1997. World Society and the Nation-State. American Journal of Sociology 103: 144–181.

Meyer, John W., and Brian Rowan. 1977. Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony. American Journal of Sociology 83: 340–363.

Portes, Alejandro. 1998. Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 24: 1–24.

Yamagishi, Toshio. 1988. Seriousness of Social Dilemmas and the Provision of a Sanctioning System. Social Psychology Quarterly 51: 32–42.

Stephen Benard