Abstract
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 rated as more appropriate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1481 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1481 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 5 Mar 2021 |
Bibliographical note
This research was funded by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond) [P17-0030:1]. The contributions of S.G. and M.H. were supported by the Czech Science Foundation [20-01214S] and the Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences [RVO: 68081740]. Open access funding provided by Stockholm University. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Other keywords
- Attention
- Comprehension
- Female
- Humans
- Judgment
- Male
- Negotiating
- Perception
- Social Behavior
- Social Norms
- Social Support
- Value of Life
- Violence
