Pāhonoa te oro

Norms are everywhere, defining what is “normal” and guiding our interpretations of social life at every turn. As a simple example, there is a norm in Anglo society to say Thank you to strangers who have just done something to (a)help, such as open a door for you, point out that you’ve just dropped something, or give you directions. There is no law that forces you to say Thank you. But if people don’t say Thank you in these cases it is marked. People edirections. There is no law tasy and natural.