Editing Social norm (section)

== Deviance from social norms ==
[[File:Normal is a bad word.jpg|thumb|"Normal = bad word", a [[graffiti]] in [[Ljubljana]], Slovenia]]
[[Deviance (sociology)|Deviance]] is defined as "[[Nonconformity (quality)|nonconformity]] to a set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a [[community]] or [[society]]"<ref name="appelbaum">Appelbaum, R. P., Carr, D., Duneir, M., & Giddens, A. (2009). "Conformity, Deviance, and Crime." Introduction to Sociology, New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., p. 173.</ref> More simply put, if group members do not follow a norm, they become tagged as a deviant. In the [[Bibliography of sociology|sociological literature]], this can often lead to them being considered [[Outcast (person)|outcasts of society]]. Yet, [[Deviance (sociology)|deviant behavior]] amongst children is somewhat expected. Except the idea of this deviance manifesting as a [[criminal]] action, the [[social tolerance]] given in the example of the child is quickly withdrawn against the criminal. Crime is considered one of the most extreme forms of deviancy according to scholar [[Clifford Shaw|Clifford R. Shaw]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Molinari |first1=Christina |chapter=Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_H3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |pages=108–118 |editor1-last=Dobbert |editor1-first=Duane L. |editor2-last=Mackey |editor2-first=Thomas X. |title=Deviance: Theories on Behaviors That Defy Social Norms: Theories on Behaviors That Defy Social Norms |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-3324-3 |access-date=2023-06-26 |archive-date=2023-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306013936/https://books.google.com/books?id=u_H3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |url-status=live }}</ref>

What is considered "normal" is relative to the location of the [[culture]] in which the [[social interaction]] is taking place. In psychology, an individual who routinely disobeys group norms runs the risk of turning into the "[[Institutionalization (abnormal psychology)|institutionalized deviant]]." Similar to the sociological definition, institutionalized deviants may be [[Prejudice|judged]] by other group members for their failure to adhere to norms. At first, group members may increase pressure on a non-conformist, attempting to engage the individual in conversation or explicate why he or she should follow their behavioral [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/expectation expectations]. The role in which one decides on whether or not to behave is largely determined on how their actions will affect others.<ref>Drobak, John N. "1. The Role of Social Variables." ''Norms and the Law''. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006. N. pag. Print.</ref> Especially with new members who perhaps do not know any better, groups may use [[Stimulus (physiology)|discretionary stimuli]] to bring an individual's behavior back into line. Over time, however, if members continue to [[Civil disobedience|disobey]], the group will [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/give_up give-up on] them as a [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/lost_cause lost cause]; while the group may not necessarily revoke their membership, they may give them only [[Superficial empathy|superficial consideration]].<ref name="hackman" /> If a worker is late to a meeting, for example, violating the office norm of [[punctuality]], a [[supervisor]] or other [[co-worker]] may wait for the individual to arrive and pull him aside later to ask what happened. If the behavior continues, eventually the group may begin meetings without him since the individual "is always late." The group generalizes the individual's disobedience and promptly dismisses it, thereby reducing the member's influence and footing in future group disagreements.

Group tolerance for deviation varies across membership; not all group members receive the same treatment for norm violations. Individuals may build up a "reserve" of good behavior through [[conformity]], which they can borrow against later. These ''[[idiosyncrasy credit]]s'' provide a theoretical currency for understanding variations in group behavioral expectations.<ref name="hollander">{{cite journal | last1 = Hollander | first1 = E.P. | year = 1958 | title = Conformity, status, and idiosyncrasy credit | journal = Psychological Review | volume = 65 | issue = 2| pages = 117–127 | doi=10.1037/h0042501| pmid = 13542706 }}</ref> A [[teacher]], for example, may more easily forgive a straight-A student for [[Anti-social behavior|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.<ref name="hollander" /> Individuals can import idiosyncrasy credits from another group; [[Child actor|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|high-status]] positions may begin with more credits and appear to be "above the rules" at times.<ref name="hackman" /><ref name="hollander" /> Even their idiosyncrasy credits are not bottomless, however; while held to a more [[Leniency bias|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 (emotion)|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.<ref>Greenspan, Patricia S. "Chapter 4: Moral Residues." ''Practical Guilt: Moral Dilemmas, Emotions, and Social Norms''. N.p.: Oxford UP, 1995. N. pag. Print.</ref> 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]]",<ref>Greenspan, Patricia S. "Chapter 6: Basing Ethics on Emotion." ''Practical Guilt: Moral Dilemmas, Emotions, and Social Norms''</ref> 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 "[[Honour|honorable]]" actions.

A 2023 study found that [[Third World|non-industrial societies]] varied in their punishments of norm violations. [[Punishment]] varied 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 [[Capital punishment|execution punishment]] was moderately associated with [[social stratification]]."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Garfield |first1=Zachary H. |last2=Ringen |first2=Erik J. |last3=Buckner |first3=William |last4=Medupe |first4=Dithapelo |last5=Wrangham |first5=Richard W. |last6=Glowacki |first6=Luke |date=2023 |title=Norm violations and punishments across human societies |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |language=en |volume=5 |pages=e11 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2023.7 |pmid=37587937 |pmc=10426015 |s2cid=258144948 |issn=2513-843X |doi-access=free }}</ref>