Social norms as communicative phenomena: A communication perspective on the theory of normative social behavior

Abstract

: Much of human behavior is influenced by social norms. Although communication represents one important mechanism through which norms are formed and disseminated, the role of communication has not yet received sufficient attention in social norms research. The present paper develops a communication perspective on normative social influences by applying the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) as a guiding framework. Taking into account recent and significant changes in our media environment, propositions on the role of communication with referent others (online and offline) a) in the building of norms and b) for the moderation of normative social influences on behaviors are stated. We discuss the benefits and limitations of our communication perspective and raise questions that should be considered in future research. Ein Großteil menschlichen Verhaltens wird durch Normen beeinflusst. Obwohl Kommunikation ein wichtiger Mechanismus ist, über den Normen geformt und verbreitet werden, wurde der Rolle der Kommunikation bisher nicht ausreichend Aufmerksamkeit in der Normenforschung geschenkt. Der vorliegende Beitrag entwickelt auf Basis der Theory of Normative Social Behavior (TNSB) eine kommunikationswissenschaftliche Perspektive auf sozial-normative Einflüsse. Unter Berücksichtigung aktueller Medienentwicklungen werden Annahmen zur Rolle von Online- und Offline-Kommunikation mit relevanten Anderen bei a) der Bildung von Normen und b) der Moderation normativer Einflüsse auf Verhalten formuliert. Wir diskutieren Leistungen und Limitationen unserer kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Perspektive und verweisen auf offene Fragen, die in Abstract: Much of human behavior is influenced by social norms. Although communication represents one important mechanism through which norms are formed and disseminated, the role of communication has not yet received sufficient attention in social norms research. The present paper develops a communication perspective on normative social influences by applying the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) as a guiding framework. Taking into account recent and significant changes in our media environment, propositions on the role of communication with referent others (online and offline) a) in the building of norms and b) for the moderation of normative social influences on behaviors are stated. We discuss the benefits and limitations of our communication perspective and raise questions that should be considered in future research.