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Abstract:
Social norms represent a fundamental grammar of social interactions, as they refer to shared expectations about behaviors of one's social group members (Bicchieri, 1990, 2005; Santos et al., 2018). Based on these expectations, particularly accurate predictions about another person's future behavior are possible—establishing the preconditions for cooperative interactions. Overall, group prosperity is enhanced when all members comply with social norms (i.e., norm compliance). However, social norms need to be enforced by sanctioning violators (i.e., norm enforcement). For instance, expectations of compliance with a norm of reciprocity may help overcome the fear of being betrayed by a social partner. As cooperation allows for better collective solutions than those attained by self-interested individuals, social groups are interested in enforcing compliance with social norms by their members, and developing tools for successful recognition of norm violators (Fehr and Schurtenberger, 2018). Thus, a fragile balance between incentives for norm enforcement and deterrents for sanctions of violators is required for a well-functioning society.
