Social Norms and Conformity

Social norms are implicit and explicit rules of behavior that develop through interactions among members of a group or society. They tell group members what they should and should not do under certain circumstances. When agreed to and accepted by the group, norms act as a means of influencing the behavior of group members with a minimum of [Page 1472]external control. Group members desire acceptance by the group, and because of this desire, they are susceptible to conforming to group norms. There is ample research evidence that groups can place strong pressures on individual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the group’s standard. For instance, there are pressures on organizations to comply with the norms collectively issued by the other occupants ...