page_title: Social norm
hierarchical_section_title: Social norm
caption_attribution_description: English: It is good sportsmanship to shake hands with your opponent after playing a tennis match, whether or not you have won or lost. Français&#160;: Il est d'usage de serrer la main de son adversaire à la fin d'un match de tennis, que l'on soit le gagnant ou le perdant.
context_page_description: Social norms are regarded as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct. They can be viewed as cultural products which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do. From a sociological perspective, social norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. Social psychology recognizes smaller group units may also endorse norms separately or in addition to cultural or societal expectations.
  In the field of social psychology, the roles of norms are emphasized—which can guide behavior in a certain situation or environment as "mental representations of appropriate behavior". It has been shown that normative messages can promote pro-social behavior, including decreasing alcohol use, increasing voter turnout, and reducing energy use. According to the psychological definition of social norms' behavioral component, norms have two dimensions: how much a behavior is exhibited, and how much the group approves of that behavior. These dimensions can be used in normative messages to alter norms.
context_section_description: Social norms are regarded as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct. They can be viewed as cultural products (including values, customs, and traditions) which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do. From a sociological perspective, social norms are informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. Social psychology recognizes smaller group units (such as a team or an office) may also endorse norms separately or in addition to cultural or societal expectations.
  In the field of social psychology, the roles of norms are emphasized—which can guide behavior in a certain situation or environment as "mental representations of appropriate behavior". It has been shown that normative messages can promote pro-social behavior, including decreasing alcohol use, increasing voter turnout, and reducing energy use. According to the psychological definition of social norms' behavioral component, norms have two dimensions: how much a behavior is exhibited, and how much the group approves of that behavior. These dimensions can be used in normative messages to alter norms (and subsequently alter behaviors). A message can target the former dimension by describing high levels of voter turnout in order to encourage more turnout. Norms also can be changed contingent on the observed behavior of others (how much behavior is exhibited).
  Social norms can be thought of as: "rules that prescribe what people should and should not do given their social surroundings" (known as milieu, sociocultural context) and circumstances. Examination of  norms is "scattered across disciplines and research traditions, with no clear consensus on how the term should be used."
caption: Shaking hands after a sports match is an example of a social norm.
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