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A Naturalistic Study of Norm Conformity, Punishment, and the Veneration of the Dead at Texas A&M University, USA

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Abstract

Culturally inherited institutional norms structure much of human social life. Successfully replicating institutions train their current members to behave in the generally adaptive ways that served past members. Ancestor veneration is a well-known manifestation of this phenomenon whereby deference is conferred to prestigious past members who are used as cultural models. Such norms of respect may be maintained by punishment based on evidence from theory and laboratory experiments, but there is little observational evidence to show that punishment is commonly used. To test for punishment as a mechanism that maintains these norms, we examine a norm of ancestor veneration in a natural field experiment at the Memorial Student Center (MSC) at Texas A&M University. The MSC is a memorial to university war dead, and the expectation is that all who enter the building remove their hats out of respect. Observations reveal that hat removal is significantly more common at the MSC than at two control locations. Survey data indicate that most, but not all, subjects understand the norm to be veneration of the dead, and most expect others to follow the norm. Many report a strong negative emotional response when asked to imagine the norm being violated. Sixty-two percent report they would definitely or probably ask the noncompliant to uncover. Focal follow data show that punishment is relatively rare, however, with the majority of behatted subjects going unreproached as they pass through the building. Both survey and observational data indicate there is a motivated minority that enthusiastically enforces the norm.

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Data Availability

Available on request.

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Notes

  1. Those observed in a Corps of Cadets uniform were removed from analysis. Since corps members only wear their uniforms on campus, these individuals were only seen at Evans Library and the MSC and they always removed their hats.

  2. The term “t-sip” is a pejorative directed at students from Texas A&M’s archrival, the University of Texas (UT). “t.u.” is a derogatory way of referring to UT.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Michael Alvard

  2. Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Katherine Daiy

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Correspondence to Michael Alvard.

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Alvard, M., Daiy, K. A Naturalistic Study of Norm Conformity, Punishment, and the Veneration of the Dead at Texas A&M University, USA. Hum Nat 32, 652–675 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-021-09413-9

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