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2009
DOI: 10.1086/599250
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The False Enforcement of Unpopular Norms

Abstract: Prevailing theory assumes that people enforce norms in order to pressure others to act in ways that they approve. Yet there are numerous examples of "unpopular norms" in which people compel each other to do things that they privately disapprove. While peer sanctioning suggests a ready explanation for why people conform to unpopular norms, it is harder to understand why they would enforce a norm they privately oppose. The authors argue that people enforce unpopular norms to show that they have complied out of g… Show more

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Cited by 184 publications
(156 citation statements)
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“…These explanations essentially suggest that cognitive difficulties prevent audience members from taking the enforcer's perspective even though the shoe is often on the other foot. 2 The experimental evidence presented by Willer et al (2009) is consistent with this suggestion. In their experiment, subjects were informed of a situation where three actors (1) were asked to privately evaluate a purportedly high-quality but actually nonsensical text, (2) had a public discussion in which one turned out to be a deviant and two turned out to be conformists, and (3) were asked to publicly evaluate their fellow group members.…”
Section: Theorymentioning
confidence: 52%
See 4 more Smart Citations
“…These explanations essentially suggest that cognitive difficulties prevent audience members from taking the enforcer's perspective even though the shoe is often on the other foot. 2 The experimental evidence presented by Willer et al (2009) is consistent with this suggestion. In their experiment, subjects were informed of a situation where three actors (1) were asked to privately evaluate a purportedly high-quality but actually nonsensical text, (2) had a public discussion in which one turned out to be a deviant and two turned out to be conformists, and (3) were asked to publicly evaluate their fellow group members.…”
Section: Theorymentioning
confidence: 52%
“…Deepening the Puzzle Willer et al (2009) offer two possible explanations for why enforcement creates an illusion of sincerity despite rational suspicions that the enforcer might be trying to hide her own deviance. 1 One idea comes from research that suggests that human beings often err by projecting their own motivations onto others (Miller and McFarland 1991;Prentice and Miller 1993).…”
Section: Theorymentioning
confidence: 99%
See 3 more Smart Citations