1. Social Norms Miyuki Kajiwara

2. What is social norms?  Set of rules based on social/cultural beliefs of the community  SCLOA principle that we are social animals and we feel the need to belong emphasize the desire to conform to group norms  Eg. Certain laws implemented in a country is not considered applicable to other

3. Social Learning Theory  Theory explaining HOW the community pass on its norms to individuals.  “Humans Learn behavior through observation of their environment”  Eg. Children observe their parent’s behavior and exhibit similar behavior

4. Example of SLT:  Bandura (1963) Bobo Doll Experiment  Observed children aged 3-6’s behavior after they watched an adult play with toys in the same room:  Video of an adult exhibiting violence  Video of an adult playing with toys  No video  Those who watched violent video exhibited more violent behavior  They were more likely to imitate those with same sex.

5. How does norm influence our conformity  Norm is the belief set within the community  If anyone goes against the norm, they are thought to be different an even isolated from the group  Fear  Embarrassment  These emotions makes the norm stronger by conformity  Conformity: Behavior to comply with standards or rules

6. Example of conformity to group norms:  Asch’s paradigm (1951)  Participant took a line judgment task with a group, who were confederates of the study.  “Which line is most like the target”  Each person had to state their answer.  Confederates purposefully stated wrong answers to see if they would conform.  Many knew their answers were wrong but still conformed.  Due to thoughts that they would ruin the experiment  They would be ridiculed

7. Conclusion:  Social Learning theory:  Bandura et al (1963)  We pass on the norm by observing others and imitating their behavior  Asch’s Paradigm:  Asch et al (1951)  We reinforce the norm through conformity due to fear and embarrassment