Affective norms, deviance, and moral judgment

The present research provides support for Affective Norm Theory (ANT), a new theory proposing that cultural context and situational norms interact to define both what is considered an appropriate affective display, and how observers respond to affective norm violations, or instances where the affect a person displays is inconsistent with both situational norms and observer expectations. A series of studies supports the hypotheses put forward by ANT: that in European American cultural contexts, (H1) observers notice affective deviance and (H2) negatively evaluate individuals who display deviant affect, that (H3) one reason affective displays are so powerful is because observers can use deviant displays to draw inferences about moral values, and that (H4) observers narrow the range of affective expressions they find appropriate in response to a stimulus when they interpret it as having moral content. Discussion focuses on the role of beliefs about the meaning of affective displays, individual difference measures, and the importance of gender and cultural context in defining and understanding affective norms and expectations.