Inclusion Criteria: Any person can participate in this study. However only persons over the age of 18 may consent to have their data used for scientific research.
Study Aims: The purpose of this study is to understand what behaviors people see as social norms and what norms are more or less important than others.
What will I actually have to do? You will read a brief vignette about a couple of coworkers interacting with one another. We will then ask you several questions about your attitudes about the people and their behaviors. Finally, we'll ask you some demographic questions about yourself.
What benefits are there for me? This study is uncompensated. However, you're participation will help us understand how some of the most fundamental social processes work.
What happens to my data? All information you provide will be kept strictly confidential and only accessible to the research team performing this study. If you consent to having your data used for scientific research, your data will be published anonymously along with the study code as part of a replication package to ensure the highest quality scientific research.
Can I withdraw from the study? You can contact the researchers at any time to withdraw your consent from this study.
Risks from Participation: I do not foresee any risks for participating in this study, but if you experience any distress as a result of your participation, you may contact the researchers for assistance (see contact information below).
Why should I participate?: Norms are the glue of society, helping us understand everything from how to greet one another to identifying who is the most important person in the room. However, norms do not exist in a vacuum. They can be combined with one another in distinct ways to communicate how we feel about other people, assert control over others, and establish a definition for social situation. Moreover, norms vary substantially across cultures. What may be okay for one person in one culture may be considered rude in another. Our goal here is to establish a method for identifying norms across cultures, how to measure the social status associated with different norms, and how norms interact with one another. If we can prove this method works, we can replicate it for many norms across many cultures to produce a global map of cultural norms. This map would tell you how to greet people in every country without offending someone, how to identify decision-makers in a group, or how to thank people in culturally-appropriate ways.
Contact Details: If you have any questions, or require additional information please contact the Matthew Facciani at facciani@email.sc.edu.