About this Research Topic
Norms have long been recognized as an important social construct that specifies the rules for acting the right way in society. Yet the extent of their importance for governing behavior has remained uncertain as it is often difficult to disentangle norms from other factors that potentially influence behavior. With the development of incentive-compatible methods for eliciting norms, economists have started to rely on norm-based explanations of human behavior. This research area in economics is rapidly evolving, offering new insights into how norms shape individual decision-making processes and influence broader societal outcomes.
This research topic aims to deepen our understanding of how norms interact with decision-making processes. Its primary goal is to discern the circumstances under which norms emerge as the predominant determinant of behavior. Additionally, it aims to elucidate the role of domain-specific norms such as those related to health, education, and charitable giving, in shaping individual and collective action within society.
We aim to collect papers that study norms and norm-following behavior. We are particularly interested in submissions that use experimental or empirical data. The areas that we invite contributions for include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The predictive ability of social, personal, and/or descriptive norms for decision-making
• Norm-following behavior across different domains of life
• Interaction of norms and formal rules
• Cross-country studies with a focus on norms
• Methodological studies on norm elicitation methods
This research topic aims to deepen our understanding of how norms interact with decision-making processes. Its primary goal is to discern the circumstances under which norms emerge as the predominant determinant of behavior. Additionally, it aims to elucidate the role of domain-specific norms such as those related to health, education, and charitable giving, in shaping individual and collective action within society.
We aim to collect papers that study norms and norm-following behavior. We are particularly interested in submissions that use experimental or empirical data. The areas that we invite contributions for include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The predictive ability of social, personal, and/or descriptive norms for decision-making
• Norm-following behavior across different domains of life
• Interaction of norms and formal rules
• Cross-country studies with a focus on norms
• Methodological studies on norm elicitation methods
Keywords: social norms, personal norms, descriptive norms, norm-following, context-dependent norms
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
