Norms

Abstract

The paper focuses on the mechanisms that trigger norms, given different types of interactions and typical motives. It starts with the emergence of cooperation norms in social dilemmas, that lead to cooperation norms, which deploy either in symmetrical settings or asymmetrical ones. Norms are hereafter linked to sanctions that target, for practical reasons, specific people: consequently there is a mechanism whereby sanctions tend to contribute to the constitution of groups, which will appear as a social space where sanctions are likely to be applied. In this respect, cultural norms can intervene as a way of signalling the belonging to a cooperative group, as opposed to people who are not submitted to the same norms. This leads to a third mechanism: the one that makes a sharp distinction between the various groups and requires loyalty norms within the group and sometimes opposition to others when there is a perceived conflict of interests among the different groups.