The study of the powerful impact that norms have on both thought and behavior is a well-established area of research in the social sciences, especially in the fields of sociology and social psychology. Social norms are the behavioral expectation and cues within a society or group. It is “customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others.”(1) Social norms indicate the “approved” way of doing things such as the way you dress, speak, and appear in general. However, you must keep in mind that what is acceptable in one social group may not be accepted in another. Good and bad are defined by social and cultural norms and these definition change from region to region, generation to generation. Social norms are even established with body language and non-verbal communication. As most of us know, social norms, such as handshakes, nodding, winking the eye, opening doors, pulling out chairs for ladies, standing when a woman enters the room, looking someone in the eye, not looking someone in the eye, dressing up to go to church, or walking on the street side when accompanying a woman, are all examples of social norms formed from societal and cultural traditions. Failure to stick to the rules can result in severe punishments, the most feared of which is exclusion from the group.
This topic seems to fit right into what it is that I am trying to convey in my images. By going through social networking websites, I have noticed the types of pictures that people post of themselves online. They tend to follow “social norms” set on them by society. I haven’t been able to differentiate between all of the types of images posted online, some of the easier ones of point out would be the ones with a camera held at a higher angle, the ones of the persons reflection in the mirror, the ones taken with cell phones while driving, and the ones that accent the types of assets that are wanted in a person. I have a lot more work to do but it helps that there are so many different terms that are helping me along the way.
1. Becker, Howard S, 1982, "Culture: A Sociological View," Yale Review, 71(4): 513-27
2. Fine, Gary Alan, 2001, Social Norms, ed. by Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp, New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation
3. Greif, Avner. 1994. "Cultural Beliefs and the Organization of Society: A Historical and Theoretical Reflection on Collectivist and Individualist Societies." The Journal of Political Economy, vol. 102, No. 5: 912-50.
4. McElreath, R.; Boyd, R.; Richerson, P.J. (2003), "Shared norms and the evolution of ethnic markers", Current Anthropology (1): 122-129
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