I'm familiar with the word normative and its sociological origins, or I would never have commented on your use of it. It sounded to me (both here, and on the "Brandon to Write Wheel of Time Book 12" thread) like you were confusing it with "normal" in the non-sociological sense of "common" or "ordinary" or "usual". My understanding is that the word has more of a "here's what behavior our group expects, approves of, and encourages" connotation, not just "here's what behavior frequently occurs within our group". It is a value judgment, roughly synonymous with "prescriptive".
But people get bored when other people quibble about definitions, so I'm happy to drop this argument. While you and I may disagree on the precise connotations of the word, I freely admit that I underestimated your knowledge of sociology and its terminology. I assumed, wrongly, that you were one of those annoying people who try to sound smart by misusing big words, saying things like "simplistic" when they mean "simple". I'm sorry.