Social norms and social influence

• Social norms are fundamental to interaction, culture, language and social life.
• Two kinds of norms matter: what people do, and what they are expected to do.
• The prejudice that people report is almost exactly what prejudice norms say they should feel.
• Norms strongly influence energy use, although people are unaware of their influence.
• Experiencing conflicting norms polarizes; it can both motivate and stymie behavior.

Psychology has a long history of demonstrating the power and reach of social norms; they can hardly be overestimated. To demonstrate their enduring influence on a broad range of social phenomena, we describe two fields where research continues to highlight the power of social norms: prejudice and energy use. The prejudices that people report map almost perfectly onto what is socially appropriate, likewise, people adjust their energy use to be more in line with their neighbors. We review new approaches examining the effects of norms stemming from multiple groups, and utilizing normative referents to shift behaviors in social networks. Though the focus of less research in recent years, our review highlights the fundamental influence of social norms on social behavior.