What term describes individuals' perceptions of what behaviors are typical or acceptable within their social environment?

What term describes individuals' perceptions of what behaviors are typical or acceptable within their social environment?

• A. Descriptive norms
• B. Perceived norms
• C. Injunctive norms
• D. Social norms

Answer: (B)

Perceived norms describes what a person believes about the behaviors that are typical or acceptable in their social environment. This matters because behavior is often guided by what someone thinks others are doing and what they think others approve of. The idea here is that a person’s actions are influenced by their beliefs about both the prevalence of a behavior (descriptive norms) and whether it is socially sanctioned or approved (injunctive norms). Perceived norms is the umbrella term that captures those beliefs about what’s normal and what’s approved within the group. Descriptive norms refers specifically to what most people do, injunctive norms to what people think should be done, and social norms is the broad concept of the rules governing behavior in a group.

Perceived norms describes what a person believes about the behaviors that are typical or acceptable in their social environment. This matters because behavior is often guided by what someone thinks others are doing and what they think others approve of. The idea here is that a person’s actions are influenced by their beliefs about both the prevalence of a behavior (descriptive norms) and whether it is socially sanctioned or approved (injunctive norms). Perceived norms is the umbrella term that captures those beliefs about what’s normal and what’s approved within the group. Descriptive norms refers specifically to what most people do, injunctive norms to what people think should be done, and social norms is the broad concept of the rules governing behavior in a group.