Social Norms

This article discusses the acquisition of a physical impairment/disability through voluntary body modification, or transability. From the perspectives of critical genealogy and feminist intersectional analysis, the article considers the ability and cis*/trans* axes in order to question the boundaries between trans and transabled experience and examines two assumptions impeding the conceptualization of their placement on the same continuum: 1) trans studies assume an able-bodied trans identity and able-bodied trans subject of analysis; and 2) disability studies assume a cis* disabled identity. The perception of transsexuality and transability as mutually exclusive phenomena results from a non-intersectional analysis of transsexuality as an issue of sex/gender, but not ability, and of transability as an issue of ability, but not sex/gender. Difficulty recognizing continuities between these phenomena thus stems from an ableist interpretation of sex/gender and a cis(gender)normative* interpretation of ability. This article aims to: 1) enrich intersectional analysis in trans and disability studies and transability scholarship; 2) complicate disability studies, in which disabilities are often presumed “involuntary”, and encourage the decentering of a cis* subject; 3) encourage trans studies to decenter an able-bodied subject; and 4) advocate for increased dialogue and the creation of alliances between trans and disability studies and movements.

Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hypa.12113/abstract

Online music streaming has become a rapidly increasing social phenomenon in past few years with as many as 103.1 million people currently paying for music streaming services worldwide. However, the literature highlights a specific issue regarding online consumer behaviour. Recent figures published by popular online streaming service providers show that the number of people that use music streaming services for free substantially eclipses this figure. Therefore, by using Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour Model, this study identifies which factors best determine a consumer’s willingness to pay for music online.
Through the use of quantitative, statistical methods, this study finds a strong association between a person’s age group and a willingness to pay for online music streaming. This study suggests that young people demonstrate a conscience for online music consumption activity due to an increased consciousness for normative social influences and are, therefore, more likely to engage in the social behaviour. Perhaps more importantly, this study demonstrates the usefulness of applying Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour Model to research within the social sciences due its demonstrated high construct validity in addition to its ability to explain the nature of social action within an Internet technology-related consumer behaviour context.
It is hoped that the findings of this study will be used to inform some of the key players within the music industries about taking a sociological approach to the understanding of online consumer behaviour. By gaining an understanding of the motivations behind a consumer’s willingness to pay for online music streaming, better marketing initiatives can be developed to improve the disparity between fee paying and fee free users.

In phenomenology, normality is neither an objectively measurable average nor a mere historical or social construct. Rather than being understood from without, looked at from the outside of lived experiences, normality is approached from within as a condition and mode of lived experience. In the first part of the paper, I will show why it is relevant to turn to a phenomenological investigation of normality if one is interested in normativity. This perspective, so I will argue, is needed if one wants to understand not only how external norms actually become part of subjective experience but also how norms develop in the first place through repeated practices. As such, the experience of normality, understood here as consisting of selfevident feelings of orientation and familiarity, can be interpreted as the result of an operative normativity. In the second part, I will present Husserl's theory of normality in more detail in order to demonstrate how it could be applied to a more systematic investigation of normality and norms on different genetic levels. Lived normality is seen here as a dynamic and fragile system of balances; a constant attempt to achieve an equilibrium with one's environment and fellow subjects. (Re)turning to normality allows us to see normativity at work, embedded in the need for constant development, appropriation, and transformations of regular structures in experience.

Major forms of corruption constitute a strong threat to the functioning of societies. The most frequent explanation of how severe corruption emerges is the slippery-slope metaphor-the notion that corruption occurs gradually. While having widespread theoretical and intuitive appeal, this notion has barely been tested empirically. We used a recently developed paradigm to test whether severely corrupt acts happen gradually or abruptly. The results of four experimental studies revealed a higher likelihood of severe corruption when participants were directly given the opportunity to engage in it (abrupt) compared with when they had previously engaged in minor forms of corruption (gradual). Neither the size of the payoffs, which we kept constant, nor evaluations of the actions could account for these differences. Contrary to widely shared beliefs, sometimes the route to corruption leads over a steep cliff rather than a slippery slope.

The major aim of this article is to examine how migrations affect private governance, taking as a case study the Prud'homie de pêche, a private order that has governed the fishery of Marseille for the past six centuries. Scholarship generally argues that social norms guarantee the efficiency of private orders and their ability to resist the arrival of newcomers. My data suggests that the Prud'homie has failed to accommodate social changes prompted by migratory flows, not despite but because of its social norms. This paper suggests that social norms are not only powerful tools of governance for private orders, but also forces of inertia that can prevent these orders from accommodating social changes.

Gendered visual communication is a major part of contemporary, mediated discourse, yet these expressions are seldom reflected upon from a designers' perspective. Whose voices are empowered in tabloid newspapers and gendered magazines? In what ways can we express gender? In this visual essay, I provide an auto-ethnographic perspective, and use personal reflections and visualisations to show a process of deconstructing, shaping and encoding gendered expressions on mobile platforms from my point of view, as a designer and a woman. The essay contributes to research writing methodologies, by questioning conventional ways in which scholarly research is presented. I draw on concepts of feministic speculative designs and gender-flips to demonstrate how the designer can change the meaning of digital spaces. I show this with two examples; an online newspaper design and a student project of an online women’s magazine. I found that an awareness of such gendered expressions can challenge existing norms, enable creativity, innovative designs and shape new meanings in popular cultural expressions.

Plan de l’article
Un contexte intellectuel et politique moteur
Sciences sociales et énergie : une recherche située dans un entre-deux
Les fondements théoriques d’un objet de recherche atypique
Une sociologie proposant une nouvelle définition de l’habiter
La sociologie de l’énergie vers une nouvelle alliance entre science et société ?

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is...

Social interactions provide a set of incentives for regulating individual behavior. Chief among these is stigma, the status loss and discrimination that results from the display of stigmatized attributes or behaviors. The stigmatization of behavior is the enforcement mechanism behind social norms. This paper models the incentive effects of stigmatization in the context of undertaking criminal acts. Stigma is a flow cost of uncertain duration which varies negatively with the number of stigmatized individuals. Criminal opportunities arrive randomly and an equilibrium model describes the conditions under which each individual chooses the behavior that, if detected, is stigmatized. The comparative static analysis of stigma costs differs from that of conventional penalties. One surprising result with important policy implications is that stigma costs of long duration will lead to increased crime rates.

The Chinese version of Rest’s Defining Issues Test II was administered to 113 subjects in Mainland China (n=113, average age=34.7). The scores on development of moral judgment were compared with those of the online mega sample of American participants from 2011 to 2014. Results are as followings: 1. Chinese participants show the same pattern with Americans by both sex and education. 2. Chinese participants show different pattern from Americans by religious orthodoxy and humanitarian. 3. Chinese participants score higher in meaningless items than Americans. 4. Chinese participants score higher in stage 3 while Americans score higher in stage 4. The authors draw the conclusions as follows: with Chinese participants, 1. There is a significant relationship between education and moral judgment developmental index scores. 2. There is also a significant relationship between sex and moral judgment developmental index scores. 3. There shows no significant relationship between religious orthodoxy and moral judgment developmental index scores. 4. It is more difficult for them to tell the meaningless items in DIT2. 5. Since Chinese culture thinks less of laws and norms, Chinese participants favour personal interest schema more than maintaining norms schema.

Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction and research on information seeking, we tested a mediation model of information seeking about marijuana across two samples of young adults from the United States (N = 498) and Israel (N = 426). Results of online surveys showed direct associations between information seeking and (nonmedical) marijuana use intention in both samples. In addition, across both samples, results showed indirect associations between information seeking and behavioral intention through changes in attitude and perceived normative pressure. Cross-comparative differences were also examined. Findings suggest that information seeking may shape determinants of behavioral intention to use marijuana nonmedically. Information seeking may serve as an indicator of risk behavior and as a target for drug prevention efforts.

This study explores how norms on social network sites evolve over time and how violations of these norms impact individuals’ self-presentational and relationship goals. Employing Expectancy Violations Theory (Burgoon, 1978) as a guiding framework, results from a series of focus groups suggest that both the content of the violation and the users’ relationship to the violator impact how individuals react to negative violations. Specifically, acquaintances who engage in minor negative violations are ignored or hidden, while larger infractions (that could negatively impact the individual) result in deletion of the offending content and—in extreme cases—termination of the Facebook friendship. Negative violations from close friends (that did not impact participants’ goals) resulted in confrontations, while similar violations from acquaintances were often ignored by participants in an effort to ‘keep the peace.’ Furthermore, positive violations were more likely to arise from acquaintances than close friends.

"Kirjoittajat tarkastelevat suomalaisen kasvatuksen ja koulutuksen päämääriä ja käytäntöjä kriittisen pedagogiikan valossa. Suomessa kriittinen kasvatustieteellinen tutkimus ja kasvatusajattelu nojautuvat moniin perinteisiin. Tästä syystä kriittisellä pedagogiikalla ei tässä kirjassa tarkoiteta mitään tiettyä teoriasuuntausta, vaan kyseenalaistavaa suhtautumista kasvatuksen ja koulutuksen vallitseviin normeihin ja oletuksiin.

Kaikelle kriittiselle pedagogiikalle on ominaista, että tutkimuksen avulla pyritään kasvatus- ja koulutuskäytäntöjen muuttamiseen. Tällöin tutkitaan erityisesti kasvatuksen, koulutuksen ja tiedon kietoutumista valtaan ja yhteiskunnan arvojärjestelmiin. Kriittinen arviointi kohdistetaan oman elämänmuotomme vakiintuneisiin ennakko-oletuksiin. Keskeisiä tavoitteita ovat ihmisten yksilöllisen ja sosiaalisen toimintakyvyn tukeminen sekä yhteiskunnan demokraattisuuden ja oikeudenmukaisuuden vahvistaminen."

Corruption in the form of bribery continues to be a major societal challenge around the world. The current lab-in-the-field study tested whether descriptive norms messages on posters can help to reduce bribery. Before, during and after placing posters throughout a medium sized South African town, incentivized measures of social norms and bribery were assessed in a mobile lab. A total of 311 participants stemming from the general population took part. In line with the preregistered predictions, the results reveal (a) that people perceive bribery to be less common and (b) engage in bribery in a corruption game less frequently when the posters were displayed. The discussion outlines how social norms nudging campaigns can be leveraged to spur collective action against corruption.

This article aims to explore the contribution that a dialogue between Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault could make to the literature on the “force of words”. Firstly, it addresses Bourdieu’s critique of the linguistic reductionism, showing that – although legitimate – it risks resulting in an unacceptable form of sociological determinism. It then explores the perspective inaugurated by Jacques Derrida and taken up by Judith Butler, who inscribe in the very functioning of the performative its capacity to break with the context of enunciation. Finally, after highlighting the limits of such a perspective, it suggests, drawing on Stanley Cavell’s insights, that we should give a greater importance to J.L. Austin’s notion of perlocutionary effect, and argues that Foucault’s work on ancient parrēsia constitute a valuable “laboratory” in which to study the force that words and acts of resistance actually possess.

Efforts to increase men and boys' engagement in preventing violence against women are expanding worldwide. Systematic understandings of the strategies organizations use to recruit men and boys as well to deepen and sustain engagement are missing from the literature. This study presents descriptive findings from in-depth interviews with 29 representatives of organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America that engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls.

Lorsqu’il est question d’influencer le comportement des individus à l’aide de politiques publiques ou d’interventions gouvernementales, certains préfèreront parler de contrôle social, nous pouvons remarquer que la première décennie du xxie siècle est marquée par la volonté de développer et tester des politiques réglementaires envisagées et évaluées selon le critère de l’efficacité, sans que celui-ci ne soit nécessairement explicité. De telles politiques sont habituellement regroupées sous le concept général de nudges, inventé par Cass Sunstein et Richard Thaler. Ils expliquent qu’un nudge est une «initiative qui préserve la liberté de choix tout en orientant les décisions des gens dans la bonne direction.» Le dernier élément de cette définition peut sembler surprenant : pourquoi faudrait-il orienter les décisions des gens dans la « bonne » direction ? Ceux-ci ne sont-ils pas rationnels et autonomes ? Ne seraient-ils pas en mesure de prendre des décisions en accord avec leurs valeurs et leurs projets de vie ?

The theory of planned behavior and the social norms approach both stress the important influence that normative perceptions have on behavioral intentions and behavior. These 2 approaches were used to examine the behavioral intention to limit drinking to 0 to 4 drinks. Further, this study examined whether perception of subjective norms, university-and U.S.-level descriptive norms, and university-and U.S.-level injunctive norms represented separate dimensions for this behavioral intention. A representative sample of 1,100 undergraduate students completed a Web-based survey. The results confirmed that the 5 types of norms were all unique constructs and showed that individuals' intentions to limit their alcohol consumption to 0 to 4 drinks were predicted by positive attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, U.S. descriptive norms, and U.S. injunctive norms. Subjective norms also moderated the relationship between perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention. University descriptive norms served as a moderator between attitudes and behavioral intentions and between perceived behavioral control and behavioral intentions. This study has important implications for norms-based theories and campaigns.

ABSTRACT

Why do international institutions promote emotional norms? In order to answer this question, the article, first, maps the legitimizing arguments put forward by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in promoting an emotionally loaded norm vis-à-vis Turkey, i.e., the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Second, the paper explores the reasons behind the promotion of this emotional norm by the European Parliament (EP) as justified by the MEPs. The article theoretically draws on the IR literature on emotions, and empirically, it relies on the data generated from the interventions by the MEPs at the plenary on the centenary of the Armenian genocide on 15 April 2015. Through claims analysis, it is demonstrated that the condemnation of genocide is a shared norm within the EP, which transcends national and ideological differences. Consequently, the MEPs aspire to render it an essential constitutive element of the emotional community at the EU level.

Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. More than one in three (about 250 million) entered into union before age 15. Boys are also married as children, but girls are disproportionately affected. Every year, an estimated 15 million girls aged under 18 are married worldwide with little or no say in the matter. Child marriage, also known as early marriage, is defined as “Any marriage carried out below the age of 18 years, before the girl is physically, physiologically, and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and childbearing.” Child marriage, on the other hand, involves either one or both spouses being children and may take place with or without formal registration, and under civil, religious or customary laws. However, when one spouse is female, this tends to have more negative impact, and therefore the emphasis on child marriages tends to focus on the girl child.

UNICEF defines Child marriage, as a formal marriage or informal union before age 18. Child marriage is widespread and can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage and deprivation. The start of marriage is an important social and demographic indicator and, in most societies, represents the point in a person’s life when childbearing first becomes acceptable. The duration of exposure to the risk of pregnancy depends primarily on the age at which women first marry. Women who marry early, on average, are more likely to have their first child at a young age and give birth to more children. In 2004 a UNICEF statistical study estimated that more than 100 million girls in the developing world would be married before the age of 18 by 2015 (UNICEF Early Marriage, 2005). UNICEF found child marriage to be a common practice in Africa with over 42% (though this over 60% in parts of East and West Africa) married before they reached the age of 18 years. In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15. (UNFPA). While both boys and girls are affected, child marriages impact on girls in far larger numbers and with more intensity.

Worldwide, more than 75 million young women aged 20 to 24 years, a quarter of them in Africa, entered their first marriage or union before they celebrated their 18th birthday. But the global profile of child marriage is changing. A growing child population combined with a slow decline in the practice of child marriage in Africa will put millions more girls at risk. If current trends continue, almost half of the world’s child brides in 2050 will be African.4

The study aims to contribute to the elimination of both forms of gender discrimination by their desired long-term impact of the programme which is to ensure that girls and young women are free from all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) and are economically empowered by 2030 in East Africa. Secondly it recognizes that child marriage affects both girls and boys, but of course the consequences are dire for the girl child as evidenced from other previous studies whereby the affected girls are often at risk of sexual, physical, psychological and economic violence. Such child marriage often ends the development opportunities of girls, especially in their education, which is evident in the high number of school dropout rates and out-of-school children in our communities as estimated by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics which estimates that the education of 750,000 of these children is affected.
To further understand the issues around child marriage, conducted a research Study on Social Norms Affecting Early Child marriages. This study report delves into several aspects of child marriage including drivers, barriers, perpetrators, knowledge on child marriage, and role of traditional and religious leaders as advocates against child marriage as well as making key recommendations for the better implementation of programs on child marriage.

This paper explains the emergence of a conditional norm of corruption on an mesosocial level between culture and structure. It considers corruption as a result of interactions between individuals through social norms. In a game theory perspective, we show that the tolerance of corruption is dependent on the social norms generated by mutual betting on other people's behavior in society. Players tend to align their own strategy with the strategy of others. Therefore, a social norm of corruption is determined by the proportion of players who adopt a corruption strategy. The choice between corruption and honesty depends on a specific social norm. Analysis of corruption in Lebanon shows that corruption as a phenomenon is contagious and frequent to the point of tolerating it as a social norm.

Urinboyev, R., 2017. Migration and Transnational Informality in Post-Soviet Societies: Ethnographic Study of ‘Po rukam’ Experiences of Uzbek Migrant Workers in Moscow. In: A.-L. Heusala and K. Aitamurto, eds. Migrant Workers in Russia: Global Challenges of the Shadow Economy in Societal Transformation. London: Routledge (forthcoming), 70–93.