Norms and Status in Groups
Outline
Norms
Norm Development
Analyzing Class Norms
Responding to Norm Violations
Status Basics
Achieved Status
Ascribed Status
Norms
Norms
Accepted ways of thinking, feeling, behaving
Shared expectations about how the members of a
group ought to behave
Why do we follow norms?
Make life easier
Rewards for following norms
Internalization of norms
Descriptive Norms
Rules for what is commonly done or thought in a
situation
e.g., kinds of clothes, rules of
conversation, certain aspects of beauty
Descriptive norms are great for fitting in
What is the downside of “fitting in?”
Mob mentality
Pluralistic ignorance  When people’s beliefs about the
descriptive norm do match reality
Injunctive Norms
Description of what is allowed or commonly
approved/disapproved of in a situation
What you “should do” instead of what people
“typically do”
Norms and Littering
Descriptive norms
People little more in a dirty parking garage than a
clean parking garage
Dirty parking garage provides evidence that littering
there is what people do
Injunctive norms
Less likely to litter after observing someone pick up
a piece of litter: reminds you what you should do
Results of an experiment on norms concerning littering. The prior existence of litter in a public
setting implies that littering is acceptable. This encourages others to “trash” the area. (From
Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990.)
A. Norm of reciprocity
When someone provides you with a benefit, it is
appropriate for you to return the favor
EXAMPLE: Regan (1971)
“Coke” study
B. Norm of social commitment
Keeping our promises and honoring our
commitments
C. Conforming to group norms
Tendency to follow attitudes and behavior of the
group
Group Norms:
Cooperation vs Competition
Norms of cooperation
Norms encouraging members to support each other toward
the achievement of the goals
Has positive benefits
Norms of competition
Norms supportive of members seeking personal goals at the
expense of other members
Often originates in leaders reward structure
Individualistic vs collectivist cultures
Between groups vs within group competition
Group Norms: Productivity Norms
Production norms
Norms specifying how hard to work and how much to
produce
Norms favoring production when
group’s identity is congruent with high production
group has shared goals related to production
personal goals are tied to group goals
group likes and values the leadership
Hawthorne studies
Norm Development
EXAMPLE: Sherif's (1936) autokinetic effect
studies
It moved about
3.5 inches
Autokinetic effect: the stationary dot of light
will seem to move
Looks like 1 inch
I’d say 2 inches
7.5 inches
What if people make their judgments with
others, and state estimates aloud?
Average distance
estimates
Person A
Convergence
Person B
Person C
Alone
Group
Session 1
Group
Session 2
Group
Session 3
A norm develops!
Initially, they differ; but over trials, they converge
Analyzing the Norms of our Class
Let’s say a new student joined our classroom right now
and to ease their entrance into the class group, you and
your group have to provide them with a handbook
about the group’s norms. Create two lists of specific
class norms for this student, one of formal norms and
one of informal norms. Include common penalties
delivered to group members that violate the norms.
What other norms should our class consider adopting
to deal with any problem member behaviors or
inefficiencies in how the class works.
Responding to Norm Violations in
the Group
Likely consequences:
1) Once a member violates a norm, others will take it as
permission to violate it as well
2) People may become angry with the leader if s/he
doesn’t respond to norm violations
Members are most likely to abide by a norm if:
they had a say in deciding on the norm
they understand and accept the reasons behind it
Status Basics
Status
Individuals’ positions in a
hierarchy of power relations
within a social group
3 major components
Asymmetrical amounts of
attention
Differential amounts of
respect and esteem
Differential amounts of
influence
Status Basics
Status system
Distribution of power and prestige
Status hierarchy often reflected in official structure
Achieved status
Status that is earned
Ascribed status
Status that is bestowed based on some prestigious/powerful
characteristic
Status Markers
 Nonverbal and verbal
behaviors that signify status
 Standing up straight
 Maintaining strong eye contact
 Speaking in a firm voice
 Speaking the most
 Criticizing, commanding, and
interrupting others
 Domineering/directive
behaviors
 Firm handshake
Achieved Status
Earn status by helping group achieve goal and
by sacrificing for group
Path to earning status depends on group
Earning status involves ‘working their way up’
the status hierarchy
High status are often those who have been in the
group longest
Status Dues System
What the group requires of members before
they are awarded higher status
New members must pay dues
Status violation
When low status members act as if they have high
status before they pay their dues
Your Experience with
Status Dues Systems
Think of the groups you have been a member
of. Identify any status dues that had to be paid
and what happened to new group members who
failed to understand the group’s status dues
systems
Ascribed Status
Individuals are often assigned high status merely
by looking and acting like they are high status
e.g., by displaying status markers
Two views on attaining status in groups
The Ethological Approach
Expectation States Theory
The Ethological Approach
Ethological approach
Approach that suggests stronger humans are
assigned high status in the group
Strength determined by
Size
Musculature
Facial expressions
etc…
Status contests are common
Negotiating status through verbal acts, gestures, and
postures
Expectation States Theory
Status is determined by expectations group members
have of each members ability and potential to
contribute to the group
These expectations are: Performance Expectations
Performance expectations affect
Extent to which members look to other members for
contributions
Perceptions regarding the value of members contributions
Who wins in the case of a disagreement
Status Characteristics
Specific-status characteristics
Skill or experience related status characteristics
Diffuse-status characteristics
Demographically derived (and visually obvious)
status characteristics, such as age, ethnicity, gender,
or attractiveness
How Did you Learn Norms as a
New Group Member?
Describe your experiences as a new group member in
an established group and the process by which you
learned the norms of the group.
For instance, consider experiences such as taking a new
job, joining an existing club, moving from one parent’s
home to another, or being a new member of a
romantic partner’s family group.
What might the group have done to help you learn the
norms more quickly?