Social Norms And Social Values

Social norms are the guidelines by which we, as a culture, look to for our actions. Using the norms to guide our social interactions in order to avoid embarrassment or ridicule. Different cultures have different norms, depending on their values, such a thing as personal space can be defined in different incriminates, and some may think it is six inches while others view it as three feet. These norms may even vary from situation to situation, such as an empty bus vs a crowded bus, it may not be socially acceptable to take a seat right next to someone on an empty bus, but it is socially acceptable to do so on a crowded bus. Social norms are relative depending on what social groups one is a part of one will prescribe to a different set of norms. Social norms have many different effects on our everyday lives, they can be used to foster pro-social behavior or they can be manipulated for wrongful purposes, and when breaking a social norm one will not always receive a negative reaction.
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In fact it has been found that breaking a social norm can illicit positive reactions around 17% of the time (Popa, Phillips &, Robertson, 2014, 356) In fact even the norms themselves are relative, a person believes that the norms that they hold as important are the same for others. This is a fallacy, it also contributes to the way people react to breaking these norms. If a person breaks a norm, which they see as significant, another person viewing this from the outside may not have such strong feelings about said norm. While the person breaking the norm expects negative reactions, others may not see it as a significant violation and even react positively to it. Praising the person for being brave or outgoing. Marketers even use this trick to try to gain more attention for their products, putting it out there as edgy or against the grain. Showing that it can be preferable to go against social norms, to an