The 5 types of social norms: how society modulates behaviors

Although we may not be aware of it, the influence of others shapes everything we do.

Social norms are the parameters that tell us how to act according to the moment or circumstance we are in. They are fundamental processes in our interaction and in how we perceive ourselves within a group, and we can identify several types and a great multiplicity of expressions.

In the following we will review what they are, what they are for, and what types of social norms are the most common in our societies..

What are social norms?

Social norms are a set of frames of reference that are shared by the people who make up a group.. A framework is something that delimits (that establishes a series of limits) and a reference is something that serves as a model, that is, that establishes a relationship.

Thus, we can say that social norms are the series of limits that serve as a model, both mental and behavioral, to relate to the world. They are implicit in our relationships and shape a large part of our expectations. They are implicit because, although they are always present (otherwise we would not know how to behave or relate), it is not always necessary to express their presence out loud.

Thus, we act and even think according to a set of expectations, we act and even think according to a set of social norms in accordance according to the group to which we belong (endogroup), and also according to the relationships we establish with other groups (exgroup). We may even share certain norms with a certain group, and not with another that seems very different to us. This happens without necessarily being aware of it.

But social norms are not formed out of nothing, they arise from our own action. If they exist and are maintained, it is because we constantly repeat them, and for the same reason we have a certain margin of action to transgress or modify them. we have a certain margin of action to transgress or modify them..

What are they good for?

Social norms are shared among the members of a group, they make people recognize each other as part of it; that is why social norms are easily internalized. That is why they are also necessary for socialization, which leads us to consider that social norms are also a type of regulation of power relations, which varies according to the history and conditions of each context.

In sum, social norms are also a psychosocial processbecause they are not only visible in observable behavior (individual or group), but also generate expectations of action and ideas about oneself. That is, they connect thought with action, and the individual with groups.

5 types of social norms

The types of social norms are differentiated by the degree of correlation that can exist between normative expectations and actions. between normative expectations and normative actions.. There is not always an explicit correlation between the two. Sometimes social norms are only translated into actions when they are expectations shared by an entire group, either a membership group or a reference group.

The types of norms presented below are based on the work of Muzafer Sherif, one of the founders of modern social psychology. We consider them as different types of social norms because they relate expectations of action to possibilities of action. according to the interactions that occur within a particular group..

However, there may be many more types and the classification depends largely on the author, because in social and human studies themselves there are different social norms that delimit the information we present.

1. Values

Quality conferred to things, actions, people. These are a series of ideological or moral principles shared by a society and that guide it. For example, honesty, solidarity, punctuality. These values may be shared by some societies or groups and not by others. Likewise, depending on life history, they may be more present or more important for some people than for others.

To give a more specific example, there are social groups that have quite internalized punctuality as an indispensable social norm for coexistence, and in contrast, there are groups for whom punctuality may be in the background.

2. Customs

Customs are a set of habitsAs such, they have been acquired, shared and naturalized by a group or society. They even come to form the distinctive character of that group and of the people who compose it.

For example, eating manners. In some societies it is allowed to eat on the floor or to chew noisily, while doing the same in other societies can be read as a lack of respect and can affect coexistence. In other words, a transgression of the social norm of the group.

3. Fashions

In statistical terms, the "mode" is the value that has the highest frequency within a set of data; which could be translated as "that which is followed by the majority". In sociological terms, fashion is a custom that members of a group follow on a temporary or passing basis.. They can be expressed in different ways and are present in all societies. They imply a certain currency, thus momentarily reinforcing our sense of belonging to a group, and differentiating us from other groups or other members of a group.

Perhaps the clearest example is the use of certain clothing and the adoption of certain aesthetics and interests according to the time and the particular group, which constitutes a social norm because it allows us to establish relationships with the members of the group and identify with them.

4. Stereotypes

Stereotypes are images or models accepted by a majority as patterns or qualities intrinsic to the behavior and personality of some members of the group, or of other groups.

Stereotypes allow us to activate a series of ideas, expectations, predispositions and possibilities of action when we see or think of a person or group. when we see or think of a person or group of people, even without having lived with them or really knowing them, but by the simple fact that we automatically attribute certain qualities to them.

For example, it is very common to see in the Western media, and in much of the business advertising, many stereotypes about female beauty, where what is reinforced is the expectation of a slim body, having a certain height, a certain color, a certain aesthetic, etc.

5. Roles

The word "role" refers to the role that someone plays in a particular group, i.e. their function and the behaviors expected of them. and the behaviors that are expected of them.

An example is the traditional gender roles where the family is composed of a heterosexual couple, where the man is the provider and the woman is in charge of family and domestic care. These roles are social norms because they generate expectations and possibilities for action and relationships that are specific to some that are specific for some people and not for others depending on the particular society.

Bibliographical references:

• Rodríguez, A. (2009). The social norm on the expression of explicit prejudice towards different social groups. Revista de Psicología Social, 24(1): 17-27.
• Sheriff, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. New York, USA: Harper Bros.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2011). Social Norms. Retrieved May 17, 2018. Available at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/social-norms/.