Social Norms

September 7, 2006

Class Objectives

Define the concept of social norms. Address the following questions: When do norms have the greatest influence on behavior? How and why are norms perceived and misperceived?

What would happen if?

You cut into the middle of a line by yourself and stayed in line for at least 2 minutes? You sang loudly on a public bus? You positioned yourself 6 inches from an acquaintances nose during a conversation? You laughed during a funeral?
How would other people behave? How would you feel?

(1) Norms

Definition: Group norms are the informal rules that groups adopt to regulate group members behavior. Sanctions exist to punish those who do not comply. We can identify norms when they are violated:

Wait for your turn. Remain quiet on the bus. Maintain interpersonal distance. Assume a somber demeanor during a funeral.

How do norms form and what happens when these norms are broken?

Early Evidence of Norms

Sherif (1936) interested in the formation of group norms.

Norm: Individual and group judgments in an ambiguous situation. Autokinetic effect: A stationary point of light appears to move in a dark room without any external frame of reference. Individuals first asked to estimate how far the light moved alone (100 times) and then again as a member of a group.

Results (Individuals)

Individuals established a personal norm that guided their judgments about how far the light was moving. Each individual had their own estimate of distance based on their personal experience.
Question: Would each individuals judgments become more similar when making estimates as a group?

Results (In groups)

The group formed a new estimate of how far the light was moving that was unique to the group and different from the judgment of each individual. Over time the group agreed on how far the light move despite the fact that the light never actually moved at all.

Why do norms exist?

Norms ensure the survival of the group. Do you agree with this statement? Are all norms useful? Can you think of norms that persist despite the fact that they are dysfunctional? Tautological reasoning: The norms exist because they work and we know they work or else they wouldnt exist!

(2) When Do Norms Influence Behavior?

Do norms ACTUALLY influence behavior? Study of Littering Behavior:

Injunctive norm: People should litter or they should not litter. Descriptive norm: The parking garage is littered or it is not littered.

Norm Salience (Study 1):

Confederate carried a large handbill and threw it on the ground.

Two Important Predictions

Prediction 1:
Subjects who saw the confederate litter into the fully littered environment would litter more than those who did not see such littering.

Prediction 2:
Subjects who saw the confederate litter into the clean environment would be less likely to litter than those who did not see such littering.

Key Point: Contrary to conformity prediction.

Results

Confederate threw the handbill into the littered environment, thus calling attention to the descriptive norm:
IT IS OK TO LITTER HERE!

When littering norm was salient:

54% of the subjects actually littered.

When littering norm was not salient:

Only 32% of the subjects of the subjects littered.

Results (continued)

Confederate threw the handbill into the clean environment, thus calling attention to the descriptive norm:
IT IS NOT OK TO LITTER HERE!

When anti-littering norm was salient:

Only 6% of the subjects littered.

When anti-littering norm was not salient:

14% of the subjects littered.

More Littering Into Clean Environment

Percentage of Subjects Littering 50 40
Litter

41

40

30 20 10 0 0 1 2 4 8 16 Number of Pieces of Litter in Environment 18 10 20 23

Implications

Norms can often be very subtle.

Are you always aware the you are following a norm? Are there situations in which you are more aware than others? (E.g. Picnic vs. Funeral)

Norms have a powerful influence on behavior when people are focused on the norms in a given situation.
What are different strategies for calling attention to a norm? (E.g. Shoes in someones entry hall during a party).

How are norms perceived and are these perceptions accurate?

Gambling in Elm Hollow (Shank, 1932)

Members of the community nearly unanimous in their support of the churchs restrictions on gambling, smoking and drinking. Yet, the author often gambled, drank and smoked in the privacy of peoples homes.

Private attitudes did not reflect the public norm.

Pluralistic Ignorance

Definition: Individuals make systematic errors in their perceptions of the other members of a collective and their relation to those members. In other words,
No one believes, but everyone thinks that everyone else believes.

Pluralistic Ignorance at ILR

Are there any widely shared beliefs at ILR that might reflect pluralistic ignorance? How would you know?

Consequences of Pluralistic Ignorance

Mistaken feelings of alienation and deviance.

Gamblers felt estranged from the town without knowing that they were actually typical. Students who felt deviant because of their views on alcohol were less likely to attend their college reunion. Male students conformed to the misperceived norm by drinking more.

Individual versus the Group

The group has a reality above and beyond the individuals that compose it.
A college campus can be more pro-alcohol than its students. Two campuses can differ on their attitudes toward alcohol even if their students do not. Norms on campus can change even if the attitudes of its students have not.

Before you go

Complete brief survey about social issues for class on Tuesday.