Moral ties, peer pressure and social norms of cooperation

We analyze the influence of networks on the adherence to social norms as a result of peer pressure and introduce a new concept termed moral ties. It combines the agents’ actions with network metrics and allows quantifying the capacity of agents to exercise peer pressure. The effects of moral ties on peer pressure are non-linear and independent from group size. Only isomorphic networks with respect to moral ties present identical peer pressure. We signpost the minimal and maximal effects of moral ties on peer pressure for networks of any topology and size and discuss policy implications for promoting cooperation.