Defining Social Norms and Related Concepts

This short United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) resource is designed to clarify what social norms are by providing clear and concise definitions of social norms and related concepts, offering examples that illustrate how norms influence behaviour. These examples are aligned with UNICEF priorities on topics such as female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, and menstruation.

Specifically, it outlines:

• What are social norms [and when is something not a social norm]?
• Why do social norms matter?
• What are descriptive norms? Injunctive norms? Outcome expectancies?
• What are moral norms? Gender norms?
• What are reference groups? Social networks?
• What is pluralistic ignorance?
• How are social norms different from attitudes?

A list of further reading concludes the resource.