Social norms affect
economic progress

Another problem is how to deal with a culture's nonrenewable resources and the selection of leaders who have the right to enforce conservation policies. Since children are necessary for cultures to survive, still another universal issue is that people make decisions about desirable and undesirable unions among men and women.

All cultures have norms, or socially agreed upon standards of behavior. Distinctions exist regarding the number of norms and the seriousness of consequences should they be broken.

The necessity for norms arises from a universal fact: We cannot predict the future. So there is uncertainty, and this can cause anxiety because people do not know how exactly to prepare for the future.

Should they stay in school and receive more formal education, or should they seek work experience? Should they get married now, or put this off for several more years until they have saved more money? There are arguments on both sides of these and hundreds of other questions. Nobody knows for sure.

To deal with uncertainty about the future, cultures develop in various ways. One approach is to develop as many norms as possible. We may not be able to predict all aspects of the future, but with many norms we can be sure that tomorrow's world will bear some resemblance to what is familiar today. Such norms deal with a wide range of behaviors: how men and women meet and interact with each other, workplace punctuality, dress standards, amount of deference shown to bosses, and so forth. These norms might be strictly enforced. People who are late to work and who publicly disagree with superiors can be disciplined. People who break norms concerning male-female interactions may find themselves shunned by others.

Another approach to dealing with an uncertain future is to have as few norms as possible. People don't know exactly what tomorrow will bring, but with few norms they can be flexible when faced with new challenges. If they can't solve problems using one approach, they can try another because multiple norms don't force them into rigidity.

Behavioral scientists use the term uncertainty avoidance for this analysis of the future and cultural norms. In high uncertainty-avoidant cultures, people want to be sure that what is familiar today will be seen in the future. As a result, they have many norms and they are strictly enforced.

Japan is a high uncertainty-avoidant culture, with many norms guiding behaviors in the school, workplace, and in interactions with other individuals. The United States is a low uncertainty-avoidant culture. There are relatively few norms and there is a great deal of slack given to people who break norms.

Complexity can certainly be added to the analysis of culture, norms, and the future. Norms refer to socially agreed upon behaviors. Norms and laws are different. If people do not follow norms, the sanctions are social disapproval. If people do not obey laws, the sanctions are fines or jail time.

All cultures have norms and there comes a time everywhere when norm breakers are considered socially unskilled. The analysis of uncertainty avoidance deals with the relative number of norms and the relative seriousness of how norm breakers are treated.

Another important point is that cultures can change over time. Japan has been described as high uncertainty-avoidant, but there are various challenges to this generalization, especially by young people. Many Japanese women are not accepting the traditional norm that they marry and have children before they are thirty years old. Men and women are graduating from college but many are not accepting the norm that they immediately find work in a corporation. Rather, many live at home, support themselves with part time work, and pursue interests in music, graphic arts, athletics, and entrepreneurial ventures.

The collective efforts of many young people may have a major impact on how the Japanese prepare for the future.