300120 Social norms (S) (SoSe 2009)

For a long time social norms were the distinctive feature of sociology: In contrast to economists, sociologists claimed that humans are not selfish and opportunistic like the neo-classic “homo oeconomicus” but are always prone to adjust their desires and behavior to social norms. During the last three decades both disciplines are moving together. Within sociology action theoretical approaches based on derivatives of rational actor models are getting more prominent – e.g. the work of James S. Coleman or Siegwart Lindenberg –, and economists discover that humans are not only interested in their own well-being but also take social norms and the interests of others into account – e.g. the work of George A. Akerlof or Ernst Fehr. This course starts with the classical distinction between “homo oeconomicus” and “homo sociologicus” and reviews the debates on social norms within sociology and economics. The focus will be on game theoretical models, recent developments within behavioral economics, and those sociological models which aim to combine economic and sociological insights in human behavior.

Bibliography

Introductory Readings:
Hechter, Michael and Karl-Dieter Opp (Eds.), 2001: Social Norms. New York: Rusell Sage Foundation.
Fehr, Ernst and Herbert Gintis, 2007: Human motivation and social cooperation: experimental and analytical foundations. Annual Review of Sociology 33: 43-64.