The motivating force may be the soldier s belief in the importance of retaining his personal honor, of saving a buddy, of helping the unit, of serving a cause, or a combination of these. Formal norms are official standards or laws that govern behavior. Traffic signals, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and Geneva Conventions are formal norms that direct the behavior of Americans soldiers. They dictate what actions are required or forbidden. Uniform regulations, safety codes, and unit SOPs are also formal norms.
Informal norms are unwritten rules or standards that govern the behavior of group members.
An example would be a combat patrol, were the commander stresses the informal norm that casualties are never to be left by the rest of the patrol. At the root of this norm is a shared valued about the importance of caring for each other. The soldiers find comfort in knowing they will be cared for if they became casualties. Understanding the importance of your own values and attitudes and how they affect others are imperative when communicating with your commander, other soldiers, family members and civilians. To be effective, you must be able to understand other s value systems and their impact on human behavior.