28 August 2015

Explicit and Implicit Physical Cues for Social Norms

In many models describing human behaviour, including my own 4D model, social influences and the physical environment are seen distinctly. However, there are situations in which there are physical cues of social norms.

Sometimes these cues can be explicit and prescriptive. They are physical objects that clearly state what the (formal) norm is. In this example, the signs clearly means: 

Your dog shouldn’t poop in my front yard.




Other times, elements of the physical environment represent cues of descriptive social norms. If there’s trash on the street, then it is socially acceptable to throw some more trash. 

The presence of lots of cigarettes buds suggests that

 it is OK to smoke here.




Which one do you think is stronger? The Explicit Prescriptive norm or the Implicit Descriptive Norm?



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