And one of the most worrying findings from the study is that we think under-saving for retirement is a very widespread norm: we think two-thirds of people are saving too little, when government estimates suggest only 43% of us are.
A widespread norm of situational decision making, perceiving events and making judgments while experiencing them, could also induce people to reserve their judgments and opinion formation until implementation [ 18] It is remarkable that more than 40% of respondents were unaware of any past government policy, despite longstanding struggles around the issue and much media coverage.
Given that embracing Palestinian suicide bombing had become a widespread social norm, it would have been essentially unthinkable for an important Muslim scholar to condemn the practice without losing his standing among Muslims worldwide.
Bobby Duffy, managing director of the social research institute at Ipsos Mori, said: "It's concerning that we think under-saving for pensions is a very widespread social norm, when that's not really the case.
The widespread cultural norm of patriotism makes it more difficult for citizens in each country to recognize the ways in which their respective nations have acted poorly toward others or would stand to benefit by learning from others.
Eventually, foreign aid practices turned into a widespread institutionalised norm: "…rich countries are expected to help poor countries to improve the social wellbeing of their populations" (Lancaster 2007: 61; Lancaster 2008: 59).
Some participants recalled being insulted in public by children, an especially painful affront, given that in many African communities it is a widespread social norm that children demonstrate respect for older generations.
As these attitudes become more widespread, social norms are respected only to the extent that they do not clash with personal needs.
However, widespread cultural norms that condone excess alcohol use and the production of illegal spirits will be harder to shift.
The president argued that "the law too often feels as if it is being applied in discriminatory fashion", but qualified those remarks by saying racial bias was neither widespread nor "the norm".
It seems very much affected by a stew of factors including widespread poverty, cultural norms, parental literacy, educational materials, local logistics, public finances and the list goes on.
