Linking Norms and Culture

The goal of this paper is to propose a method of modelling the evolution of social norms in different cultural settings. We analyse the role of culture in shaping agents´ normative reasoning and hence their behaviour. The general notion of ´value´ is discussed from the perspective of the BDI framework as a means to represent cultural regularities in social interactions. Culture is described as a system of shared values, which are linked to the Hofstede dimensions of culture. This system is represented by so-called metanorms that define appropriate, culturally-varying, behaviour in different relational contexts. In this way culture affects the possibility of normative changes, in particular the acceptance of policies designed to issue new norms in a society. Throughout the paper a scenario related to the enactment of smoking ban policies in Europe is presented to discuss the evaluation of normative change in specific cultural settings.