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The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Social norm strength and norm change
Aron Szekely1, Luca Tummolini2, Eva Vriens2
1Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Social norms vary both in terms of their content (e.g. don't talk to strangers, help the needy) and their strength. While most research focuses on the former, increasing evidence points to the relevance of the latter for norm change. Despite this potential, existing knowledge about norm strength is siloed into "macro" and "micro" perspectives, with the former studying aggregations of norms and the latter focusing on particular, individual, social rules. We argue that both approaches provide valuable insights into social norm strength. Using this reorientation, we integrate existing research strands and discuss foundational questions about the causes of social norm strength and its consequences for norm change, highlighting limitations and potential future directions.
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