The 5 types of social norms: how society modulates behaviors

Social norms are the parameters that tell us how to act according to the moment or circumstance in which we are enrolled. 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.

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

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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 frame 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, for relating to the world. They are implicit in our relationships and shape much 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.

So that, we act and even think according to a series of social norms according to the group to which we belong (in-group), and also according to the relationships we establish with the other groups (out-group). We can even share certain rules with some 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 thin air, 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.

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What are they for?

Social norms are shared among the members of a group, they make people recognize ourselves 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 will vary according to the history and conditions of each context.

In short, social norms they are also a psychosocial process, because 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 differ by the degree of correlation that may exist between normative expectations and normative actions. There is not always an explicit correlation between the two. Sometimes social norms only translate into actions when it comes to expectations shared by an entire group, be it a group of belonging or a reference group.

The types of norms presented below are based on the works 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 with possibilities of action according to the interactions that occur within a particular group.

However, there can be many more types and the classification is highly dependent on the author, because in the social and human studies themselves there are different social norms that delimit the information that we present.

1. Values

Quality that is given to things, actions, people. They are a series of ideological or moral principles that are 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, and depending on the life history, they may be more present or more important for some people than for others.

To take a more specific example, there are social groups that have quite internalized punctuality as a norm social essential for coexistence, and in contrast, there are groups for which punctuality can be second flat.

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2. Traditions

Customs they are a set of habits, which as such, have been acquired, shared and naturalized by a group or society. They even form the distinctive character of this group and the people that compose it.

For example manners when eating. In some societies it is allowed to eat on the floor or chew with a lot of noise, while doing This same in other societies can be read as a lack of respect and can affect the coexistence. That is, a transgression of the group's social norm.

3. Fashions

In statistical terms, the "mode" is the value that has the highest frequency within a data set; which could be translated as “what the majority follows”. In sociological terms, fashion is a custom that members of a group follow temporarily or temporarily. They can be expressed in different ways and are present in all societies. They assume a certain validity, with which they momentarily reinforce our sense of belonging to a group, and differentiate us from other groups or other members of the same.

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

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 of people, even without having lived with them or really know them, but for the simple fact that we automatically attribute certain qualities.

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

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5. Roles

The word "role" refers to the role that someone plays in a particular group, that is, their role and the behaviors expected of her part.

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

Bibliographic references:

• Rodríguez, A. (2009). The social norm on the expression of explicit prejudice towards different social groups. Journal of Social Psychology, 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 in https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/social-norms/.