The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms
Abstract
In The Grammar of Society, first published in 2006, Cristina Bicchieri examines social norms, such as fairness, cooperation, and reciprocity, in an effort to understand their nature and dynamics, the expectations that they generate, and how they evolve and change. Drawing on several intellectual traditions and methods, including those of social psychology, experimental economics and evolutionary game theory, Bicchieri provides an integrated account of how social norms emerge, why and when we follow them, and the situations where we are most likely to focus on relevant norms. Examining the existence and survival of inefficient norms, she demonstrates how norms evolve in ways that depend upon the psychological dispositions of the individual and how such dispositions may impair social efficiency. By contrast, she also shows how certain psychological propensities may naturally lead individuals to evolve fairness norms that closely resemble those we follow in most modern societies.
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Stories signal to people their role in that context, helping them identify which script or performance to act out.
“Second, they signal to people their role in that context (e.g., the characters are dining), helping them identify which script or performance to act out (Bicchieri, 2005; Geertz, 1973).”
From Stories in Action. (2022) · cites this paper as Bicchieri, 2005
Social practices are not simply an agglomeration of private interests; people act in anticipation of what others will think.
“Social practices are not simply an agglomeration of private interests. Rather, people act in anticipation of what others will think (Bicchieri, 2005; Bursztyn et al., 2020).”
From Stories in Action. (2022) · cites this paper as Bicchieri, 2005
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- Authors
- Bicchieri, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bicchieri, Cristina
- ORCID
- Bicchieri, Cristina
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2005-12-12
- OpenAlex
- W1556726625
- Cited by
- 1,991
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 126 · 2025: 163 · 2024: 122 · 2023: 106 · 2022: 83 · 2021: 186 · 2020: 159 · 2019: 112 · 2018: 137 · 2017: 100 · 2016: 93 · 2015: 97 · 2014: 108 · 2013: 103 · 2012: 89
- FWCI
- 23.47
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Theory and Institutions
- Keywords
- social norms, norm formation, fairness, cooperation, reciprocity, psychological dispositions, social efficiency, norm evolution, experimental economics, evolutionary game theory, social psychology
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