[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# How Norms Depend on the Presence and Status of Observers: The Relational Contingency of Everyday Behaviors in 90 Societies

Simpson et al., 2026, American Sociological Review — Sociology

Patterns: [Relationships](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/relationships), [Perspectives](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/perspectives)

## In short

Whether a behavior is judged appropriate is set relationally by who is watching and from what social standing, so the observing relationship functions as a perspective that resets the norm.

## What they found (results)

Across more than 25,000 people in 90 societies, everyday behaviors judged acceptable in private became significantly more constrained when others were present, and even more so when the observer held higher status, with the presence-effect but not the status-effect varying across cultures.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224261464586)