scholarly journals Cognitive form of social norms: a survey experiment

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-800
Author(s):  
N. S. Babich
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Mass Survey ◽  
Measured Variable ◽  
Verbal Representation ◽  
Independent Mechanism ◽  
Cognitive Accessibility ◽  
Logical Rules ◽  
Time Of Reaction

In the minds of members of society, social norms can exist in various forms. In their most general form, they are logical rules if, then. The theoretical framework most often used to study social norms is the focus theory of normative conduct which divides this logical rule into two types of norms - descriptive (the majority does this) and injunctive (I should do this). It is not known which of these three possible forms prevails (is most common or fundamental) in the minds of members of society, and this question should be answered empirically, for instance, by measuring the time of reaction to different descriptions of a social norm. If the description corresponds to the cognitive form of the norm, the reaction should be faster, since it takes less time and resources to compare and interpret wordings. The article presents the results of an experimental study of the cognitive accessibility of social norms in mass survey based on the method of split-ballot which implies the presentation of different versions of the questionnaire to randomly selected subsamples. The survey consisted of 10 questions about attitudes to social norms in a particular situation: half of situations described a common norm, half - a violation of the norm. Each situation was described in three ways: implication (if, then), common behavior, and imperative. The main measured variable was not the answers but the time for providing them. The results showed no statistically significant differences in timing of reactions to different forms of situation descriptions. Thus, the main result of the study is that three possible cognitive forms of social norms turn out to be equal, with no signs of prevalence or greater fundamentality. This can be explained in two ways: first, each cognitive form can use its own independent mechanism of actualization; second, the true cognitive form can differ from all three (for example, a non-verbal representation of actions). The choice between these two explanations requires further research.

Can Humanism be the Social Norm?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon D. Welch
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Individual Freedom ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
The Social

Assaults on truth and divisions about the nature of wise governance are not momentary political challenges, unique to particular moments in history. Rather, they demonstrate fundamental weaknesses in human reasoning and core dangers in ways of construing both individual freedom and cohesive communities. It will remain an ongoing challenge to learn to deal rationally with what is an intrinsic irrationality in human cognition and with what is an intrinsic tendency toward domination and violence in human collectivities. In times of intense social divisions, it is vital to consider the ways in which humanism might function as the social norm by, paradoxically, functioning in a way different from other social norms. Humanism is not the declaration that a certain set of values or norms are universally valid. At its best and most creative, humanism is not limited to a particular set of norms, but is, rather, the commitment to a certain process in which norms are continuously created, critically evaluated, implemented, sustained or revised. Humanism is a process of connection, perception, implementation, and critique, and it applies this process as much to itself as to other traditions.

The role of social norms in the relationship between anti-smoking advertising campaigns and smoking cessation: a scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Caroline Miller ◽  
Kerry Ettridge ◽  
Carlene Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Mass Media Campaign ◽  
Media Campaign ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract A systematic scoping review of anti-smoking mass media campaign literature provided opportunity to explore how social normative theories and constructs are used to influence smoking cessation. Synthesis of findings was constrained by significant heterogeneity. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader conceptualization of social norm is worthy of further exploration. Perceptions of what others think and do contributed in multiple ways to the relationship between anti-smoking messaging and quitting outcomes. Furthermore, integrating research on social norms, social identity and communication may improve understanding of why quitting intentions are enhanced in some circumstances but reactance and counter-arguing responses corresponding to lower quitting intentions occur in others. Integrating a broader theoretical understanding of normative influences into campaign development and evaluation may prove useful in demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in behaviour change campaigns.

Parental leave length, social norms, and female labor market re-entry frictions

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtech Bartoš ◽  
Barbara Pertold-Gebicka
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Employment Gaps ◽  
The Difference

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of employers in creating employment gaps among women returning to the labor market after parental leaves of different durations. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a controlled correspondence field experiment that orthogonally manipulates parental leave length and the quality of fictitious female job candidates. The experiment is complemented with a survey among human resource managers. Findings High-quality candidates receive more interview invitations when applying after a short parental leave, while low-quality (LQ) candidates receive more interview invitations when applying after a typical three years long parental leave. Survey results suggest that the difference in invitations between short and typical leave treatments is driven by a social norm that mothers should stay home with children younger than three. Productivity gains from employing a LQ job applicant with a shorter career break might not be high enough to outweigh the adverse social norm effect. Social implications The presented results point toward the strong effect of prevailing social norms on job search prospects of women returning to the labor market after parental leave. Originality/value A correspondence experiment has not been used before to study the relationship between time spent on leave and the labor market prospects of mothers. It also extends research on social norms to the domain of hiring decisions.

scholarly journals The Ethics of Stigma in Medical Male Circumcision Initiatives Involving Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Rennie ◽  
Adam Gilbertson ◽  
Denise Hallfors ◽  
Winnie K Luseno
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Human History ◽  
Health Prevention ◽  
Medical Male Circumcision ◽  
Demand Creation ◽  
Ethics Research

Abstract Ongoing global efforts to circumcise adolescent and adult males to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV constitute the largest public health prevention initiative, using surgical means, in human history. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs in Africa have significantly altered social norms related to male circumcision among previously non-circumcising groups and groups that have practiced traditional (non-medical) circumcision. One consequence of this change is the stigmatization of males who, for whatever reason, remain uncircumcised. This paper discusses the ethics of stigma with regard to uncircumcised adolescent males in global VMMC programs, particularly in certain recruitment, demand creation and social norm interventions. Grounded in our own experiences gained while conducting HIV-related ethics research with adolescents in Kenya, we argue that use of explicit or implicit stigma to increase the number of VMMC volunteers is unethical from a public health ethics perspective, particularly in campaigns that leverage social norms of masculinity. Ongoing global efforts to circumcise adolescent and adult males to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV constitute the largest public health prevention initiative, using surgical means, in human history. VMMC programs in Africa have significantly altered social norms related to male circumcision among previously non-circumcising groups and groups that have practiced traditional (non-medical) circumcision. One consequence of this change is the stigmatization of males who, for whatever reason, remain uncircumcised. This paper discusses the ethics of stigma with regard to uncircumcised adolescent males in global VMMC programs, particularly in certain recruitment, demand creation and social norm interventions. Grounded in our own experiences gained while conducting HIV-related ethics research with adolescents in Kenya, we argue that use of explicit or implicit stigma to increase the number of VMMC volunteers is unethical from a public health ethics perspective, particularly in campaigns that leverage social norms of masculinity.

Corruption and the criminal law: assurance and deterrence

2021 ◽  
pp. e20210014
Author(s):  
Vincent Chiao
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Systemic Corruption ◽  
Substantial Degree

In this article, I consider the degree to which criminal justice interventions may be expected to ameliorate systemic corruption. I distinguish between two ideal types of corrupt actors – conditional cooperators and autonomous defectors – and argue that the prospects of reform through criminal justice is greatly affected by the relative preponderance of each type. When conditional cooperators predominate, the criminal law serves primarily to provide assurance that a perceived social norm is effective, in that the norm is both widely adhered to, and adhered to because people endorse the propriety of that norm. When autonomous defectors predominate, the criminal law serves primarily to deter would-be cheaters by attaching costs, at least in expectation, to cheating. Because patterns of compliance based upon a social norm tend to be self-reinforcing, unlike patterns of compliance motivated by fear of sanction, I argue that the prospects of sustainable reform through criminal justice interventions is likely to depend to a substantial degree upon convincing people to trust social norms rather than rely upon their private judgments of what is in their interest – that is, to become conditional cooperators.

scholarly journals SHRIEKING SIRENS: SCHEMATA, SCRIPTS, AND SOCIAL NORMS. HOW CHANGE OCCURS

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Bicchieri ◽  
Peter McNally
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Spreading Activation ◽  
Open Defecation ◽  
Genital Cutting ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract:This essay investigates the relationships among scripts, schemata, and social norms. The authors examine how social norms are triggered by particular schemata and are grounded in scripts. Just as schemata are embedded in a network, so too are social norms, and they can be primed through spreading activation. Moreover, the expectations that allow a social norm’s existence are inherently grounded in particular scripts and schemata. Using interventions that have targeted gender norms, open defecation, female genital cutting, and other collective issues as examples, the authors argue that ignoring the cognitive underpinnings of a social norm can hamper the effectiveness of behavioral interventions.

SOCIAL NORMS OF COORDINATION AND COOPERATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerry Mackie
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Social Approval ◽  
Social Convention ◽  
Social Conventions ◽  
Sharp Distinction ◽  
Relevant Group ◽  
Scholarly Discourse ◽  
Thomas Schelling

Abstract:The scholarly discourse on social norms in the tradition of Thomas Schelling (1960) often makes a sharp distinction between social norms and social conventions. In attempting to apply that distinction to actual practices and to teach it to practitioners and students I encountered frequent difficulties and confusions, and finally concluded that it is untenable. I recommend a return to some version of Ullman-Margalit’s (1977) distinction between social norms of cooperation and social norms of coordination. Social norms, I say, are distinguished by beliefs in a relevant group that the rule is typical among them and approved of among them. I describe four ways that social norms of coordination, including conventions of social meaning, are influenced by social approval and disapproval. I contend that the effort by Southwood and Eriksson (2011) to show that social conventions and social norms are essentially different breaks down because their conception of social norms is overly moralized. I present a more social conception of social norms that does without the regnant distinction between “social norm” and “social convention” and instead allows for social norms of cooperation, social norms of coordination, and other kinds of social norms.

scholarly journals Social norms, attitudes and access to modern contraception for adolescent girls in six districts in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bukuluki ◽  
Peter Kisaakye ◽  
Maxime Houinato ◽  
Adekemi Ndieli ◽  
Evelyn Letiyo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Unwanted Pregnancy ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression Model ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Access To Contraception

Abstract Background Social norms continue to be entrenched in Uganda. Understanding social norms helps to uncover the underlying drivers that influence attitudes and behavior towards contraceptive access and use. This study therefore seeks to investigate the factors that influence the social norm – access to contraception by adolescent girls – in six districts in Uganda. Data and methods: Using data from a community cross-sectional survey in six districts (Amudat, Kaberamaido, Kasese, Moroto, Tororo and Pader) in Uganda, a binary logistic regression model was fitted to examine the variation in individual beliefs and socio-economic and demographic factors on ‘allowing adolescent girls to access contraception in a community’ – we refer to as a social norm. Results Results demonstrate that a higher proportion of respondents hold social norms that inhibit adolescent girls from accessing contraception in the community. After controlling for all variables, the likelihood for adolescent girls to be allowed access to contraception in the community was higher among respondents living in Kaberamaido (OR = 2.58; 95 %CI = 1.23–5.39), Kasese (OR = 2.62; 95 %CI = 1.25–5.47), Pader (OR = 4.35; 95 %CI = 2.15–8.79) and Tororo (OR = 9.44; 95 %CI = 4.59–19.37), those aged 30–34 years likely (OR = 1.73; 95 %CI = 1.03–2.91). However, the likelihood for respondents living in Moroto to agree that adolescent girls are allowed to access contraception was lower (OR = 0.27; 95 %CI = 0.11–0.68) compared to respondents living in Amudat. Respondents who were not formally employed (OR = 0.63; 95 %CI = 0.43–0.91), and those who agreed that withdrawal prevents pregnancy (OR = 0.45; 95 %CI = 0.35–0.57) were less likely to agree that adolescent girls are allowed to access contraception in the community. Respondents who agreed that a girl who is sexually active can use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy (OR = 1.84; 95 %CI = 1.33–2.53), unmarried women or girls should have access to contraception (OR = 2.15; 95 %CI = 1.61–2.88), married women or girls should have access to contraception (OR = 1.55; 95 %CI = 0.99–2.39) and women know where to obtain contraception for prevention against pregnancy (OR = 2.35; 95 %CI = 1.19–4.65) were more likely to agree that adolescent girls are allowed to access contraception. Conclusions The findings underscore the need for context specific ASRH programs that take into account the differences in attitudes and social norms that affect access and use of contraception by adolescents.

Rational reconstructions and the question of function

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-431
Author(s):  
Lina Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Norm Emergence

Social norm emergence is commonly explained by stating that norms serve certain functions – for example, solving cooperation or coordination problems. But critics argue that examples of norms that do not seem to serve functions show that functions cannot explain social norms. However, both sides tend to make assumptions about how explanations of social norms in terms of functions would work. By discussing four problems for these assumptions, I will show that they are over-simplified. Instead of asking whether norms serve functions, we need to ask more specific questions about the relationship between the norm and the function it supposedly serves.

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