Of Social Norms and Sanctioning

Abstract

“Social norms” is a term widely used in different areas of research like sociology, philosophy or multiagent systems. However, there is still not a clear definition of what social norms are and the types of problems they solve. This work presents a general classification and distinction of norms from a game theoretical perspective. The types of norms treated in this work are those norms created through the interaction of agents and that are not imposed by any central authority. The main differentiation is made between conventional norms and essential norms. The former are norms created to establish a convention in a situation where several solutions are equally feasible, but the society must decide on one, e.g., driving on one side of the road; the later norms solve problems of collective action. Finally, we analyze several aspects of sanctioning mechanisms and how these mechanisms affect in the emergence of norms.