good behavior through conformity, which they can borrow against later. these idiosyncrasy credits provide a theoretical currency for understanding variations in group behavioral expectations. a teacher, for example, may more easily forgive a straight-a student for misbehaving—who has past "good credit" saved up—than a repeatedly disruptive student. while past performance can help build idiosyncrasy credits, some group members have a higher balance to start with. individuals can import idiosyncrasy credits from another group; childhood movie stars, for example, who enroll in college, may experience more leeway in adopting school norms than other incoming freshmen. finally, leaders or individuals in other high-status positions may begin with more credits and appear to be "above the rules" at times. even their idiosyncrasy credits are not bottomless, however; while held to a more lenient standard than the average member, leaders may still face group rejection if their disobedience becomes too extreme. deviance also causes multiple emotions one experiences when going against a norm. one of those emotions widely attributed to deviance is guilt. guilt is connected to the ethics of duty which in turn becomes a primary object of moral obligation. guilt is followed by an action that is questioned after its doing. it can be described as something negative to the self as well as a negative state of feeling. used in both instances, it is both an unpleasant feeling as well as a form of self-punishment. using the metaphor of "dirty hands", it is the staining or tainting of oneself and therefore having to self cleanse away the filth. it is a form of reparation that confronts oneself as well as submitting to the possibility of anger and punishment from others. guilt is a point in both action and feeling that acts as a stimulus for further "honorable" actions. a 2023 study found that non-industrial societies varied in their punishments of norm violations. punishment vary based on the types of norm violations and the socio-economic system of the society. the study "found evidence that reputational punishment was associated with egalitarianism and the absence of food storage; material punishment was associated with the presence of food storage; physical punishment was moderately associated with greater dependence on hunting; and execution punishment was moderately associated with social stratification." behavior whereas ideas in general do not necessarily have behavioral implications, martha finnemore notes that "norms by definition concern behavior. one could say that they are collectively held ideas about behavior." norms running counter to the behaviors of the overarching society or culture may be transmitted and maintained within small subgroups of society. for example, crandall (1988) noted that certain groups (e.g., cheerleading squads, dance troupes, sports teams, sororities) have a rate of bulimia, a publicly recognized life-threatening disease, that is much higher than society as a whole. social norms have a way of maintaining order and organizing groups. in the field of social psychology, the roles of norms are emphasized—which can guide behavior in a certain situation or environment as "mental representations of appropriate behavior". it has been shown that normative messages can promote pro-social behavior, including decreasing alcohol use, increasing voter turnout, and reducing energy use. according to the psychological definition of social norms' behavioral component, norms have two dimensions: how much a behavior is exhibited, and how much the group approves of that behavior. social control although not considered to be formal laws within society, norms still work to promote a great deal of social control. they are statements that regulate conduct. the cultural phenomenon that is the norm is the prescriber of acceptable behavior in specific instances. ranging in variations depending on culture, race, religion, and geographical location, it is the foundation of the terms some know as acceptable as not to injure others, the golden rule, and to keep promises that have been pledged. without them, there would be a world without consensus, common ground, or restrictions. even though the law and a state's legislation is not intended to control social norms, society and the law are inherently linked and one dictates the other. this is why it has been said that the language used in some legislation is controlling and dictating for what should or should not be accepted. for example, the criminalization of familial sexual relations is said to protect those that are vulnerable, however even consenting adults cannot have sexual relationships with their relatives. the language surrounding these laws conveys the message that such acts are supposedly immoral and should be condemned, even though there is no actual victim in these consenting relationships. social norms can be enforced formally (e.g., through sanctions) or informally (e.g., through body language and non-verbal communication cues). because individuals often derive physical or psychological resources from group membership, groups are said to control discretionary stimuli; groups can withhold or give out more resources in response to members' adherence to group norms, effectively controlling member behavior through rewards and operant conditioning. social psychology research has found the more an individual values group-controlled resources or the more an individual sees group membership as central to his definition of self, the more likely he is to conform. social norms also allow an individual to assess what behaviors the group deems important to its existence or survival, since they represent a codification of belief; groups generally do not punish members or create norms over actions which they care little about. norms in every culture create conformity that allows for people to become socialized to the culture in which they live. as social beings, individuals learn when and where it is appropriate to say certain things, to use certain words, to discuss certain topics or wear certain clothes, and when it is not. thus, knowledge about cultural norms is important for impressions, which is an individual's regulation of their nonverbal behavior. one also comes to know through experience what types of people he/she can and cannot discuss certain topics with or wear certain types of dress around. typically, this knowledge is derived through experience (i.e. social norms are learned through social interaction). wearing a suit to a job interview in order to give a great first impression represents a common example of a social norm in the white collar work force. in his work "order without law: how neighbors settle disputes", robert ellickson studies various interactions between members of neighbourhoods and communities to show how societal norms create order within a small group of people. he argues that, in a small community or neighborhood, many rules and disputes can be settled without a central governing body simply by the interactions within these communities. sociology in sociology, norms are seen as rules that bind an individual's actions to a specific sanction in one of two forms: a punishment or a reward. through regulation of behavior, social norms create unique patterns that allow for distinguishing characteristics to be made between social systems. this creates a boundary that allows for a differentiation between those that belong in a specific social setting and those that do not. for talcott parsons of the functionalist school, norms dictate the interactions of people in all social encounters. on the other hand, karl marx believed that norms are used to promote the creation of roles in society which allows for people of different levels of social class structure to be able to function properly. marx claims that this power dynamic creates social order. james coleman (sociologist) used both micro and macro conditions for his theory. for coleman, norms start out as goal oriented actions by actors on the micro level. if the benefits do not outweigh the costs of the action for the actors, then a social norm would emerge. the norm's effectiveness is then determined by its ability to enforce its sanctions against those who would not contribute to the "optimal social order." heinrich popitz is convinced that the establishment of social norms, that make the future actions of alter foreseeable for ego, solves the problem of contingency (niklas luhmann). in this way, ego can count on those actions as if they would already have been performed and does not have to wait for their actual execution; social interaction is thus accelerated. important factors in the standardization of behavior are sanctions and social roles. operant conditioning the probability of these behaviours occurring again is discussed in the theories of b. f. skinner, who states that operant conditioning plays a role in the process of social norm development. operant conditioning is the process by which behaviours are changed as a function of their consequences. the probability that a behaviour will occur can be increased or decreased depending on the consequences of said behaviour. in the case of social deviance, an individual who has gone against a norm will contact the negative contingencies associated with deviance, this may take the form of formal or informal rebuke, social isolation or censure, or more concrete punishments such as fines or imprisonment. if one reduces the deviant behavior after receiving a negative consequence, then they have learned via punishment. if they have engaged in a behavior consistent with a social norm after having an aversive stimulus reduced, then they have learned via negative reinforcement. reinforcement increases behavior, while punishment decreases behavior. as an example of this, consider a child who has painted on the walls of her house, if she has never done this before she may immediately seek a reaction from her mother or father. the form of reaction taken by the mother or father will affect whether the behaviour is likely to occur again in the future. if her parent is positive and approving of the behaviour it will likely reoccur (reinforcement) however, if the parent offers an aversive consequence (physical punishment, time-out, anger etc...) then the child is less likely to repeat the behaviour in future (punishment). skinner also states that humans are conditioned from a very young age on how to behave and how to act with those around us considering the outside influences of the society and location one is in. built to blend into the ambiance and attitude around us, deviance is a frowned upon action. focus theory of normative conduct cialdini, reno, and kallgren developed the focus theory of normative conduct to describe how individuals implicitly juggle multiple behavioral expectations at once. expanding on conflicting prior beliefs about whether cultural, situational or personal norms motivate action, the researchers suggested the focus of an individual's attention will dictate what behavioral expectation they follow. types there is no clear consensus on how the term norm should be used. martha finnemore and kathryn sikkink distinguish between three types of norms: regulative norms: they "order and constrain behavior" constitutive norms: they "create new actors, interests, or categories of action" evaluative and prescriptive norms: they have an "oughtness" quality to them finnemore, sikkink, jeffrey w. legro and others have argued that the robustness (or effectiveness) of norms can be measured by factors such as: the specificity of the norm: norms that are clear and specific are more likely to be effective the longevity of the norm: norms with a history are more likely to be effective the universality of the norm: norms that make general claims (rather than localized and particularistic claims) are more likely to be effective the prominence of the norm: norms that are widely accepted among powerful actors are more likely to be effective christina horne argues that the robustness of a norm is shaped by the degree of support for the actors who sanction deviant behaviors; she refers to norms regulating how to enforce norms as "metanorms." according to beth g. simmons and hyeran jo, diversity of support for a norm can be a strong indicator of robustness. they add that institutionalization of a norm raises its robustness. it has also been posited that norms that exist within broader clusters of distinct but mutually reinforcing norms may be more robust. jeffrey checkel argues that there are two common types of explanations for the efficacy of norms: rationalism: actors comply with norms due to coercion, cost-benefit calculations, and material incentives constructivism: actors comply with norms due to social learning and socialization according to peyton young, mechanisms that support normative behavior include: coordination social pressure signaling focal points descriptive versus injunctive descriptive norms depict what happens, while injunctive norms describe what should happen. cialdini, reno,