342 ChapteR 10 Behavior in Social and Cultural Context
a role requirement is? You know when you violate
it, intentionally or unintentionally, because you
will probably feel awfully uncomfortable, or other
people will try to make you feel that way.
Watch the Video The Big Picture: The Social
World at MyPsychLabThe requirements of a social role are in turn
shaped by the culture you live in. Culture can be
defined as a program of shared rules that govern
the behavior of people in a community or society,
and a set of values, beliefs, and customs shared
by most members of that community and passed
from one generation to another (Lonner, 1995).
You learn most of your culture’s rules and values
the way you learn your culture’s language: without
thinking about it.
One cultural norm governs the rules for con-
versational distance: how close people normally
stand to one another when they are speaking
(Hall, 1959, 1976). In general, Arabs like to stand
close enough to feel your breath, touch your
arm, and see your eyes—a distance that makesrole A given social posi-
tion that is governed by
a set of norms for proper
behavior.
culture A program of
shared rules that govern
the behavior of members
of a community or soci-
ety, and a set of values,
beliefs, and customs
shared by most members
of that community.
as invisible as they are strong. Every society has
norms for just about everything in human experi-
ence: for conducting courtships, for raising chil-
dren, for making decisions, for behavior in public
places. Some norms are enshrined in law, such as
“A person may not beat up another person, except
in self-defense.” Some are unspoken cultural un-
derstandings, such as “A man may beat up another
man who insults his masculinity.” And some are
tiny, unspoken regulations that people learn to
follow unconsciously, such as “You may not sing at
the top of your lungs on a public bus.”
When people observe that “everyone else”
seems to be violating a social norm, they are more
likely to do so too—and this is the mechanism
by which entire neighborhoods can deteriorate.
In six natural field experiments conducted in the
Netherlands, passersby were more likely to lit-
ter, to park illegally, and even to steal a five-euro
bill from a mailbox if the sidewalks were dirty
and unswept, if graffiti marked the walls, or if
strangers were setting off illegal fireworks (Keizer,
Linderberg, & Steg, 2008). But people’s behav-
ior will become more constructive if they think
that’s the norm. When hotels put notices in guest
bathrooms that say “the majority of guests in this
room reuse their towels” (in contrast to simply
requesting the guest to do the same because it’s
good for the environment), more than half agree
to participate in the reuse program (Goldstein,
Cialdini, & Griskevicius, 2008).
In every society, people also fill a variety
of social roles, positions that are regulated by
norms about how people in those positions should
behave. Gender roles define the proper behavior
for a man and a woman. Occupational roles deter-
mine the correct behavior for a manager and an
employee, a professor and a student. Family roles
set tasks for parent and child. Certain aspects of
every role must be carried out or there will be
penalties—emotional, financial, or professional.
As a student, for instance, you know just what
you have to do to pass your psychology course
(or you should by now). How do you know whatMany roles in modern life require us to give up our
individuality. If one of the members of this colorful
marching band suddenly broke into a tango, his career
would be brief—and the dazzling effect of the parade
would be ruined. But when does adherence to a role go
too far?Get Involved! Dare to Be Different
Either alone or with a friend, try a mild form of norm violation (nothing alarming, obscene, dangerous, or
offensive). You might stand backward in line at the grocery store or cafeteria; sit right next to a stranger in
the library or at a movie, even when other seats are available; sing or hum loudly for a couple of minutes in
a public place; or stand “too close” to a friend in conversation. Notice the reactions of onlookers, as well
as your own feelings, while you violate this norm. If you do this exercise with someone else, one of you can
be the “violator” and the other can write down how other people respond; then switch places. Was it easy
to do this exercise? Why or why not?