How Norms Depend on the Presence and Status of Observers: The Relational Contingency of Everyday Behaviors in 90 Societies
Abstract
Norms are fundamental to social life, but basic questions about how they are affected by social context remain. Specifically, how do normative constraints depend on the presence and status of observers, and how do such relational contingencies vary across cultures? Using data from more than 25,000 individuals across 90 societies, we test several hypotheses linking normative constraints on everyday behaviors (like arguing, laughing, cursing, kissing, and crying), to the presence and status of observers. We find that behaviors widely viewed as appropriate in private become more constrained in the presence of others (an observer effect), and even more so when those others are higher in status (a status effect). Both observer and status effects are culturally universal, but the observer effect shows more variation across cultures. In particular, we find that observer effects are larger in societies that emphasize individualizing moral foundations, that is, avoiding harm and unfairness to others, because these societies are more permissive of actions when others are not around. The relative stability of status effects across cultural contexts suggests a universal tendency to defer in social hierarchies. These findings shed light on the relational contingency of everyday norms and underscore the role of such norms in the maintenance of social order and reproduction of inequality.
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Authors: Brent Simpson, Kimmo Eriksson, Irina Vartanova, Pontus Strimling, Jully Paola Merchán Tamayo, Khalid Ahmed Abdi, Neta Ad, Alisher Aldashev, Habib Mohammad Ali, Maurizio Alì, Khatai Aliyev, Yasser Alrefaee, Alberth Estuardo Alvarado Ortiz, Per A. Andersson, Giulia Andrighetto, Gizem Arıkan, John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, Christian Lutete Ayikwa, Jonatan Baños-Chaparro, Davide Barrera, Birzhan Batkeyev, Azma Batool, Elizaveta Berezina, Stéphanie Ngandu Bimina, Marie Björnstjerna, Sheyla Blumen, Paweł Boski, Eva Boštjančič, Yap Boum, Marie Briguglio, Huyen Thi Thu Bui, Tomás Caycho‐Rodríguez, Yanyan Chen, Manase Kudzai Chiweshe, Hoonseok Choi, Carlos C. Contreras‐Ibáñez, Dinka Čorkalo, Christian E. Cruz-Torres, Andrea Czakó, Piyanjali de Zoysa, Zsolt Demetrovics, Bojana M. Dinić, Saša Drače, Rita W. El‐Haddad, Jan B. Engelmann, Ignacio Escudero Pérez, Hyun Euh, Xia Fang, Celine Frank, Esteban Freidin, Marta Fulop, Vladimer Gamsakhurdia, M. Jimenez, Ragna B. Garðarsdóttir, Alin Gavreliuc, Colin Mathew Hugues D. Gill, Biljana Gjoneska, Andreas Glöckner, Sylvie Graf, Ani Grigoryan, Katarzyna Growiec, Brian W. Haas, Geoffrey Haddock, Stavros P. Hadjisolomou, Nina Hadžiahmetović, Mohammad Ali, Eemeli Hakoköngäs, Peter Haľama, Given Hapunda, Andree Hartanto, Mahsa Hazrati, Boris Christian Herbas Torrico, Szilárd Holka, Martina Hřebíčková, John A. Hunter, Moudachirou Ibikounlé, Dzintra Iliško, Harpa Lind Jónsdóttir, Zivile Kaminskiene, Hansika Kapoor, Iva Kapović, Gassemi Karim, Kerry Kawakami, Narine Khachatryan, Julian B. Kirschner, Jonah Kiruja, Toko Kiyonari, Michal Kohút, Shazia Kousar, Besnik Krasniqi, Miguel Landa-Blanco, Barbara Landon, Žan Lep, Lisa M. Leslie, Yang Li, Kadi Liik, Ming‐Jen Lin, Marlon Elías Lobos-Rivera, Wilson López‐López, Edona Maloku
Institutions: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Iceland, University of South Carolina, University of Helsinki, University of Cologne, University of Novi Sad, Cardiff University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, Semmelweis University, Vilnius University, University of Otago, Shahid Beheshti University, University of Amsterdam, National Taiwan University, New York University, University of Georgia, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Uppsala University, Lund University, Université de Yaoundé I, Sungkyunkwan University, Université d'Abomey-Calavi, Linköping University, Universidad de Guanajuato, University of Turin, University of Ljubljana, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Flinders University, York University, Tallinn University, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Slovak Academy of Sciences, De La Salle University, Czech Academy of Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Zagreb, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, University of Sarajevo, Forman Christian College, Al al-Bayt University, Technische Universität Dresden, University of Colombo, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Institute of Psychology, Universidad Científica del Sur, Eötvös Loránd University, University of Gibraltar, Trinity College Dublin, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Zambia, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, University of Hassan II Casablanca, Centro Científico Tecnológico - Bahía Blanca, Hanoi National University of Education, University of Zimbabwe, Sunway University, Azerbaijan State University of Economics, Educational Research Institute, Singapore Management University, University of Prishtina, Yerevan State University, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Green University of Bangladesh, University of Hargeisa, Aoyama Gakuin University, West University of Timişoara, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Open University of Israel, Kazakh-British Technical University, University of Malta, Collegio Carlo Alberto, University of Trnava, Tohoku Gakuin University, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Martinique, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mälardalen University, Institute for Futures Studies, Galileo University, Université Protestante au Congo, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique Technique, Uniwersytet SWPS, American University of Kuwait, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur, Tbilisi State University, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Daugavpils University, Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation, Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador