SP: Hot Topics

Question 1

mismatching norms

Answer 1

We follow social norms because doing so fulfills our desires for mastery and connectedness. It may come as no
surprise, then, that when our norms clash with the norms of communities or organizations we want to join, we may
find this upsetting. Recent research shows evidence for this at a physiological level. In this work, researchers focused
on first-generation college students in the U.S. (Stephens and others, 2012). These students often come from
backgrounds that foster and promote interdependent norms, such as relying on others or the community. American
universities, however, tend to emphasize independent norms—like having and expressing one’s own ideas. To
investigate whether this clash in norms might be troubling for these students, the researchers showed first- and
continuing-generation U.S. college students a letter supposedly written by their university’s president, characterizing
the college in either interdependent or independent terms. After reading this letter, students were asked to give a
brief speech about their college goals. The speeches were analyzed by judges for emotional content, and the stress
hormone cortisol was measured. When the college was described as independent, first-generation students showed
more negative emotions and a larger increase in cortisol than did continuing-generation students. But, in the interdependent
condition, the two types of students did not differ. This pattern suggests that it is the clash between the
norms and values of first-generation students and the independent norms of college that generates stress and
negative emotions.