Abstract
Perverse norm: theoretical hypotheses. This paper discusses a new theoretical concept: perverse norm and the hypotheses that it involves. A perverse norm is an explicit social norm which involves sanctions, but which is not fulfilled by most of the group members. Experiments and other empirical sources suggest two main consequences of perverse social norms: they weaken the social structure of the group (particularly its mechanisms of social control) and, at the intergroup relations level, they cause new grups to split off from this loosened structure.
