A social norm is a sociological concept that refers to explicit or implicit rules that guide behaviors that occur in a social context. Social norms are transmitted through formal channels such as organizational policies, or by informal channels such as stories, rituals, role-modeling, or nonverbal communication. Norms vary by social group, and individuals may alter their behavior to conform with different groups.
There are two different but related kinds of social norms.
- Descriptive norms refer to how a majority in a group actually behaves.
- Injunctive norms refer to the beliefs among a majority about how people “ought” to behave.
For example, people living in a residential neighborhood may believe they ought to recycle as much of their waste as possible (injunctive norms). However, they see that only a few houses on their street have recycling bins next to the trash cans on trash pick-up day, leading to the perception that most people do not recycle (descriptive norm).
