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Publication Detailed Description
How norms depend on the presence and status of observers: The relational contingency of everyday behaviors in 90 societies
Journal Title
American Sociological Review
Year (definitive publication)
2026
Language
English
Country
United Kingdom
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Abstract
Norms are fundamental to social life, but basic questions about how they are affected by social context remain. Specifically, how do normative constraints depend on the presence and status of observers, and how do such relational contingencies vary across cultures? Using data from more than 25,000 individuals across 90 societies, we test several hypotheses linking normative constraints on everyday behaviors (like arguing, laughing, cursing, kissing, and crying), to the presence and status of observers. We find that behaviors widely viewed as appropriate in private become more constrained in the presence of others (an observer effect), and even more so when those others are higher in status (a status effect). Both observer and status effects are culturally universal, but the observer effect shows more variation across cultures. In particular, we find that observer effects are larger in societies that emphasize individualizing moral foundations, that is, avoiding harm and unfairness to others, because these societies are more permissive of actions when others are not around. The relative stability of status effects across cultural contexts suggests a universal tendency to defer in social hierarchies. These findings shed light on the relational contingency of everyday norms and underscore the role of such norms in the maintenance of social order and reproduction of inequality.
Acknowledgements
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Keywords
Social norms,Status hierarchies,Cross-cultural sociology,Moral foundations,Social psychology
Fields of Science and Technology Classification
- Psychology - Social Sciences
Funding Records
| Funding Reference | Funding Entity |
|---|---|
| BG-RRP-2.004-0007-С01 | Comissão Europeia |
| 62631 | John Templeton Foundation |
| 2023095 | Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| 2022.0191 | Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation |
| HSE-BR-2025-52 | HSE Basic Research Program |
| NKFIH-OTKA-K 135963 | National Research and Development Fund |
| 2023-01306 | Swedish Research Council |
| 48766 | Open University of Israel |
| JP21K02983 | JSPS KAKENHI |
| 2019/35/B/HS6/01421 | Narodowe Centrum Nauki |
| FR-22-15319 | National Science Foundation |
| GA23-06170S | Czech Science Foundation |
| UIDB/03125/202 | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia |
| 451-03-66/2024-03 | Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovations of the Republic of Serbia |
| CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004583 | DigiWell grant |
| 7744418 | Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia |
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