The DOI matches its Crossref record; 79 of the 79 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mapping the Social-Norms Literature: An Overview of Reviews
Open accessAbstract
The theoretical literature on social norms is multifaceted and at times contradictory. Looking at existing reviews, we aimed to offer a more complete understanding of its current status. By investigating the conceptual frameworks and organizing elements used to compare social-norms theories, we identified four theoretical spaces of inquiry that were common across the reviews: what social norms are, what relationship exists between social norms and behavior, how social norms evolve, and what categories of actors must be considered in the study of social norms. We highlight areas of consensus and debate in the reviews around these four themes and discuss points of agreement and disagreement that uncover trajectories for future empirical and theoretical investigation.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“However, the various conceptualizations and operationalizations in the TMT literature do not allow a clear distinction between when a primed concept is a social norm and when it is a personal norm.”
From Do Salient Social Norms Moderate Mortality Salience Effects? A (Challenging) Meta-Analysis of Terror Management Studies (2023) · cites this paper as Legros & Cislaghi, 2020
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Self-efficacy: The exercise of control
Bandura, A., Freeman, W. H., & Lightsey, R. (1999) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.13.2.158 · Cited by 46,835
Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415 · Cited by 18,567
Riggins, F. J., & Mitra, S. (1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-6637 · Cited by 16,590
Social Theory and Social Structure
Ross, E. J., & Merton, R. Κ. (1958) · The American Catholic Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/3709394 · Cited by 10,318
Gamst, F. C. (1991) · Anthropology of Work Review · doi:10.1525/awr.1991.12.3.19 · Cited by 8,036
Social Theory and Social Structure.
Bock, K. E., & Merton, R. Κ. (1969) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2091967 · Cited by 6,687
Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015 · Cited by 5,965
Butler, J. (2004) · doi:10.4324/9780203499627 · Cited by 5,556
A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment.
Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B. (1955) · The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0046408 · Cited by 4,819
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.41-3182 · Cited by 4,740
Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action
Lin, N. (2001) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511815447 · Cited by 4,535
Collective action and the evolution of social norms.
Ostrom, E. (2000) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.14.3.137 · Cited by 4,195
Suicide: A study in sociology.
Durkheim, É. (2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10406-003 · Cited by 3,944
Suicide: A Study in Sociology.
Alpert, H., Durkheim, É., Spaulding, J. A., Simpson, G. L., Solovay, S. A., Mueller, J. H., & Catlin, G. (1951) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2088294 · Cited by 3,910
Social dominance: an intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression
(2000) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.37-3413 · Cited by 3,374
Norm theory: Comparing reality to its alternatives.
Kahneman, D. J., & Miller, D. T. (1986) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.93.2.136 · Cited by 3,247
(1998) · Cited by 2,641
The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets
Hong, H., & Kacperczyk, M. (2009) · Journal of Financial Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.09.001 · Cited by 2,601
Social Capital: Theory and Research
Lounsbury, M. D., Lin, N., Cook, K. S., & Burt, R. S. (2002) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/3089402 · Cited by 2,281
The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms
Bicchieri, C. (2005) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511616037 · Cited by 1,991
Hogg, M. A. (2016) · Peace psychology book series · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-29869-6_1 · Cited by 1,696
The Psychology of Social Norms.
Hankins, F. H., & Sherif, M. (1937) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2084385 · Cited by 1,468
An Explication of Social Norms
Lapinski, M. K., & Rimal, R. N. (2005) · Communication Theory · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2005.tb00329.x · Cited by 1,424
Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation
Dalton, R. J. (2008) · Political Studies · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00718.x · Cited by 1,366
Sunstein, C. R. (1996) · Columbia Law Review · doi:10.2307/1123430 · Cited by 1,159
Sheeran, P., Maki, A., Montanaro, E., Avishai-Yitshak, A., Bryan, A., Klein, W. M. P., Miles, E., & Rothman, A. J. (2016) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000387 · Cited by 1,085
Social Dominance: An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression
Tilly, C., Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (2001) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2655372 · Cited by 1,069
Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology
Lange, P. A. M. V., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E. (2012) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446249222 · Cited by 1,035
The cultural evolution of prosocial religions
Norenzayan, A., Shariff, A. F., Gervais, W. M., Willard, A. K., McNamara, R. A., Slingerland, E., & Henrich, J. (2016) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x14001356 · Cited by 934
Advancing acculturation theory and research: the acculturation process in its ecological context
Ward, C. A., & Geeraert, N. (2015) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.021 · Cited by 622
Chung, A. H., & Rimal, R. N. (2016) · Review of Communication Research · doi:10.12840/issn.2255-4165.2016.04.01.008 · Cited by 575
Handbook of socialization : theory and research
Grusec, J., & Hastings, P. (2007) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.45-0345 · Cited by 569
Posner, E. A. (2002) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctv2d7x4q8 · Cited by 544
Collective action and the evolution of social norms
Elinor Ostrom, B. (2014) · Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research · doi:10.1080/19390459.2014.935173 · Cited by 537
Young, H. P. (2015) · Annual Review of Economics · doi:10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115322 · Cited by 497
Normology: Integrating insights about social norms to understand cultural dynamics
Morris, M. W., Hong, Y., Chiu, C., & Liu, Z. (2015) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.03.001 · Cited by 468
The psychology of social norms.
Doob, L. W. (1937) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/h0051966 · Cited by 458
Advanced social psychology: The state of the science
Baumeister, R. F., & Finkel, E. J. (2010) · Cited by 408
Diffusing the internet in the arab world: the role of social norms and technological culturation
Loch, K. D., Straub, D. W., & Kamel, S. H. (2003) · IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management · doi:10.1109/tem.2002.808257 · Cited by 371
Norms: The Problem of Definition and Classification
Gibbs, J. P. (1965) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/223933 · Cited by 306
Beyond Homo Economicus: New Developments in Theories of Social Norms
Anderson, E. (2000) · Philosophy & Public Affairs · doi:10.1111/j.1088-4963.2000.00170.x · Cited by 273
Using social norms theory for health promotion in low-income countries
Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2018) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/day017 · Cited by 251
Self-citationContested Knowledge: Social Theory Today
Seidman, S. (1994) · Cited by 250
de Groot, J. I. M., & Schuitema, G. (2012) · Environmental Science & Policy · doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2012.03.004 · Cited by 235
Identity, Oppression, and Power
Samuels, G. M., & Ross-Sheriff, F. (2008) · Affilia · doi:10.1177/0886109907310475 · Cited by 231
Collective Errors and Errors about the Collective
Miller, D. T., & Prentice, D. A. (1994) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167294205011 · Cited by 217
On the Genealogy of Norms: A Case for the Role of Emotion in Cultural Evolution
Nichols, S. (2002) · Philosophy of Science · doi:10.1086/341051 · Cited by 194
Arnett, J. J. (2007) · Cited by 185
Applications of social norms theory to other health and social justice issues.
Berkowitz, A. D. (2003) · Cited by 172
Social Norms: Internalization, Persuasion, and History
Etzioni, A. (2000) · Law & Society Review · doi:10.2307/3115119 · Cited by 166
Current trends in the study of gender norms and health behaviors
Fleming, P. J., & Agnew-Brune, C. B. (2015) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.05.001 · Cited by 160
Vallacher, R. R., & Wegner, D. M. (2012) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446249215.n17 · Cited by 143
A Conceptual and Measurement Model for Norms and Roles
Jackson, J. M. (1966) · The Pacific Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/1388305 · Cited by 143
Cislaghi, B., Denny, E. K., Cissé, M., Gueye, P., Shrestha, B., Shrestha, P. N., Ferguson, G., Hughes, C., & Clark, C. J. (2019) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-019-00998-3 · Cited by 128
Self-citationSocial Norms and Health Behavior
Reid, A. E., Cialdini, R. B., & Aiken, L. S. (2010) · Handbook of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09488-5_19 · Cited by 124
Pulerwitz, J., Blum, R. W., Cislaghi, B., Costenbader, E., Harper, C., Heise, L., Kohli, A., & Lundgren, R. (2019) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.01.014 · Cited by 124
Self-citationCultural values in international advertising: An examination of familial norms and roles in Mexico
Gregory, G. D., & Munch, J. M. (1997) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6793(199703)14:2 · Cited by 116
Behavioral Norms: Variants and Their Identification
Anderson, J. E., & Dunning, D. A. (2014) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12146 · Cited by 101
Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2018) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000618 · Cited by 100
Self-citationAristotle, G. A. (2009) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781444305661 · Cited by 92
Social Norms: Do We Love Norms Too Much?
Bell, D. C., & Cox, M. L. (2015) · Journal of Family Theory & Review · doi:10.1111/jftr.12059 · Cited by 78
Social Norms, Social Cohesion, and Corporate Governance
Boytsun, A., Deloof, M., & Matthyssens, P. (2010) · Corporate Governance An International Review · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8683.2010.00829.x · Cited by 75
A Companion to Aristotle's "Politics.". David Keyt , Fred D. Miller
Bobonich, C. (1993) · Ethics · doi:10.1086/293507 · Cited by 69
A Review of Norms and Normative Multiagent Systems
Mahmoud, M. A., Ahmad, M. S., Yusoff, M. Z. M., & Mustapha, A. (2014) · The Scientific World JOURNAL · doi:10.1155/2014/684587 · Cited by 66
A Social Judgment Theory Approach to Conducting Formative Research in a Social Norms Campaign
Smith, S. W., Atkin, C. K., Martell, D., Allen, R., & Hembroff, L. A. (2006) · Communication Theory · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00009.x · Cited by 63
What do different beliefs tell us? An examination of factual, opinion-based, and religious beliefs
Heiphetz, L., Spelke, E. S., Harris, P. L., & Banaji, M. R. (2014) · Cognitive Development · doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2013.12.002 · Cited by 50
The Theory of Structural Ritualization
Knottnerus, J. D. (1997) · Cited by 48
Burke, M. A., & Young, H. P. (2011) · Handbook of social economics · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53187-2.00008-5 · Cited by 46
Prosocial Norms as a Positive Youth Development Construct: A Conceptual Review
Siu, A. M. H., Shek, D. T. L., & Law, B. M. F. (2012) · The Scientific World JOURNAL · doi:10.1100/2012/832026 · Cited by 40
Lawler, E. J., & Thye, S. R. (2011) · Advances in group processes · doi:10.1108/s0882-6145(2011)28 · Cited by 37
Of Social Norms and Sanctioning
Villatoro, D., Sen, S., & Sabater-Mir, J. (2010) · International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems · doi:10.4018/jats.2010120101 · Cited by 30
Locke's Political Anthropology and Lockean Individualism
Grant, R. W. (1988) · The Journal of Politics · doi:10.2307/2131040 · Cited by 27
Dannals, J. E., & Miller, D. T. (2017) · Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.139 · Cited by 26
Social Norms and Girls' Well-Being: Linking Theory and Practice
Vaitla, B., Taylor, A. B., Horn, J., & Cislaghi, B. (2017) · LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) · Cited by 22
Self-citationVeering From a Narrow Path: The Second Decade of Social Norms Research
Bingenheimer, J. B. (2019) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.01.012 · Cited by 21
Expanding the Classical in Classical Sociology
Wickham, G. (2007) · Journal of Classical Sociology · doi:10.1177/1468795x07082081 · Cited by 15
Popitz, H. (2017) · Genocide Studies and Prevention · doi:10.5038/1911-9933.11.2.1552 · Cited by 10
Goldstein, N. J., & Mortensen, C. R. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199743056.003.0007 · Cited by 5
Social norms: a how- to (and how-not-to) guide
Goldstein, N. J., & Mortensen, C. R. (2012) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Cited by 4
Research works printed but not linked: 6
- Berkowitz A., 2002, The social norms approach to preventing school and college age substance abuse: A handbook for educators, counselors, clinicians, 259
- Berkowitz A., 2004, Changing the culture of college drinking: A socially situated health communication campaign, 187
- Boyd R., 1994, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), 150, 72
- Hecter M., 2001, Social norms
- Hume D., 1978, A treatise of human nature
- Mackie G., 2015, What are social norms? How are they measured?
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Gender norms and social norms: differences, similarities and why they matter in prevention science
Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2019) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13008 · Cited by 697
Self-citationNorm Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Social Norm Emergence, Persistence, and Change
Gelfand, M. J., Gavrilets, S., & Nunn, N. (2023) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-033020-013319 · Cited by 213
Yamin, P., Fei, M., Lahlou, S., & Levy, S. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11205847 · Cited by 172
Ellsberg, M. C., Ovince, J., Murphy, M., Blackwell, A., Reddy, D., Stennes, J., Hess, T., & Contreras, M. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237965 · Cited by 97
Do Social Norms Influence Young People’s Willingness to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Sinclair, S., & Agerström, J. (2021) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.1937832 · Cited by 95
Metadata
- Authors
- Legros, S., & Cislaghi, B.
- Affiliations
- London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cislaghi, Beniamino
- Venue
- Perspectives on Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-11-07
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 62-80
- ISSN
- 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-6924
- PMC
- PMC6970459
- OpenAlex
- W2971923619
- Cited by
- 388
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 49 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 95 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 53 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 32.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Pro-Environmental Behavior and Attitudes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Keywords
- social norms, social norms theory, norm evolution, conceptual framework, theoretical debates, normative influence
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Review Literature as Topic, Social Behavior, Social Norms
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
