Social Norm Assignment

Social Norm: Expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

Conformity: yielding to, or "going along with," a perceived social norm.

1) Is conformity a good thing, or a bad thing? Why?

2) List 20 social norms, and if they are specific to a certain group or context, describe it.

3) For norms listed in number 2, how many of them do you think are positive, negative, or neutral?

Positive _______ Negative _______ Neutral _________

4) Can you think of five social norms that you are glad they exist? Describe them.

5) What would social life be like if there were no social norms?

6) In your opinion, why do people conform?

7) What determines whether a particular norm is good or bad?

from Michael Schmitt