Words and Deeds: A Focus Theory of Norms

Abstract

The paper presents a view of social norms as situationally contingent. We tend to obey a norm when it is made salient, and thus we can focus upon it. In turn, the salience of a norm is contingent upon the situation we are in. We respond, often in an entirely automatic way, to situational cues that focus our attention on a salient norm. And we are able to focus on a particular norm because situational cues activate a cognitive schema that tells us how to behave appropriately in the present context. I present the results of several experiments that lend credibility to this view. My conclusion is that the claim that norms influence behavior is vindicated by the experimental results. To use social norms in an explanatory and predictive role, however, we need much more knowledge than we presently have about which situational cues focus our attention on which norms.