Legal Definitions - Prescriptive

Prescriptive

A prescriptive statement tells you how things should be, rather than how they actually are. A prescriptive theory is one that explains how people or things ought to function.

• "You should always say please and thank you." This is a prescriptive statement because it tells you how you should behave, rather than describing how you actually behave.
• "People should exercise for at least 30 minutes a day." This is a prescriptive statement because it tells you how people ought to behave, rather than describing how they actually behave.

These examples illustrate the definition of prescriptive because they both tell you how you should behave, rather than describing how you actually behave. They are prescribing a certain type of behavior that is considered desirable or appropriate.