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Norms are cultural products (including values, customs, and traditions)〔Sherif, M. (1936). ''The psychology of social norms''. NewYork: Harper.〕 which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what others do and think that they should do.〔Cialdini,R. D. (2003) "Crafting normative messages to protect the environment". ''Current Directions in Psychological Science'', 12(4), 105–109.〕 Sociologists describe norms as informal understandings that govern individuals' behavior in society.〔Marshall, G. ''Oxford Dictionary of Sociology''.〕 On the other hand, social psychology has adopted a more general definition, recognizing smaller group units, such as a team or an office, may also endorse norms separate or in addition to cultural or societal expectations.〔Jackson, J. (1965). "Structural characteristics of norms". In I.D. Steiner & M. Fishbein (Eds.), ''Current studies in social psychology'' (pp. 301-309).〕 In other words, norms are regarded to exist as collective representations of acceptable group conduct as well as individual perceptions of particular group conduct.〔Lapinski, M. K., & Rimal, R. N. (2005). "An explication of social norms". ''Communication Theory'', 15(2),127–147..〕 Furthermore, 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".〔Aarts, H., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2003). "The silence of the library: Environment, situational norm, and social behavior". ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'', 84(1), 18–28.〕 For example, it has been shown that normative messages can promote pro-social behavior, including decreasing alcohol use〔Collins, S. E., Carey, K. B., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2002). "Mailed personalized normative feedback as a brief intervention for at-risk college drinkers". ''Journal of the Studies of Alcohol'', 63(5), 559–567.〕 and increasing voter turnout.〔Gerber, A. S., & Rogers, T. (2009). "Descriptive social norms and motivation to vote: everybody's voting and so should you". ''The Journal of Politics'', 71(1), 178–191.〕 According to the psychological definition of social norms' behavioral component, norms have two dimensions: how much a behaviour is exhibited, and how much the group approves of that behavior.〔 Both of these dimensions can be used in normative messages to alter norms and subsequently alter behaviors; for example, a message can target the former dimension by describing high levels of voter turnout in order to encourage more turnout. At the same time, norms also can be changed contingent on the observed behavior of others (how much behavior is exhibited). In fact, in Sherif (1936), one confederate was able to affect the development of a group norm related to the autokinetic effect. Norms running counter to the behaviors of the overarching society or culture may be transmitted and maintained within small subgroups of society. For example, Crandall (1988) noted that certain groups (e.g., cheerleading squads, dance troupes, sports teams, sororities) have a rate of bulimia, a publicly recognized life-threatening disease, that is much higher than society as a whole. Social norms have a way of maintaining order and organizing groups.〔Haung, Peter, Wu, Ho-Mou. "More Order without More Law: A Theory of Social Norms and Organizational Cultures". (1994)〕 == Social control == Although not considered to be formal laws within society, norms still work to promote a great deal of social control. Social norms can be enforced formally (e.g., through sanctions) or informally (e.g., through body language and non-verbal communication cues.) Because individuals often derive physical or psychological resources from group membership, groups are said to control ''discretionary stimuli''; groups can withhold or give out more resources in response to members' adherence to group norms, effectively controlling member behavior through rewards and operant conditioning.〔Hackman, J.R. (1992). "Group influences on individuals in organizations". In M.D. Dunnette & L.M. Hough (Eds.), ''Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology'' (Vol. 3). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, 234-245.〕 Social psychology research has found the more an individual values group-controlled resources or the more an individual sees group membership as central to his definition of self, the more likely he is to conform.〔 Social norms also allow an individual to assess what behaviors the group deems important to its existence or survival, since they represent a codification of belief; groups generally do not punish members or create norms over actions which they care little about.〔〔Feldman, D.C. "The development and enforcement of group norms". ''Academy of Management Review'', 9(1), 47-55.〕 Norms in every culture create conformity that allows for people to become socialized to the culture in which they live.〔 As social beings, individuals learn when and where it is appropriate to say certain things, to use certain words, to discuss certain topics or wear certain clothes, and when it is not. Thus, knowledge about cultural norms is important for impressions,〔Kamau, C. (2009) Strategizing impression management in corporations: cultural knowledge as capital. In D. Harorimana (Ed) Cultural implications of knowledge sharing, management and transfer: identifying competitive advantage. Chapter 4. Information Science Reference. ISBN 978-1-60566-790-4〕 which is an individual's regulation of their nonverbal behavior. One also comes to know through experience what types of people he/she can and cannot discuss certain topics with or wear certain types of dress around. Typically, this knowledge is derived through experience (i.e. social norms are learned through social interaction).〔 Wearing a suit to a job interview in order to give a great first impression represents a common example of a social norm in the white collar work force. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Norm (social)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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