One Country, One People? Racial Ethnic Minorities in the United States Perceive their Community Norms Stronger than European Americans

The United States (U.S.) is characterized as having relatively weak social norms compared to other countries. However, this characterization may be an oversimplification due to the cultural diversity that exists within the country. Four studies (N = 1,537) examined whether and why U.S. racial minorities (East Asian, Latinx, and African Americans) perceive their racial community’s norms to be significantly stronger than European Americans and White immigrants to the U.S. (Studies 1-4). This difference was not due to increased perceived discrimination (Study 3) or concerns about outgroup member punishment (Study 4). Instead, racial minorities’ stronger perceptions of community norms were motivated primarily by interdependence (Studies 1-4) and concerns about being punished by ingroup members for not following norms (Study 4). These findings illustrate differences in norm strength between racial groups in a single country, deepening our understanding of how social norm perceptions may vary in a multicultural society.