The social norms approach, or social norms marketing,
is an environmental strategy gaining ground in health campaigns.
[Perkins, H. W. (2003). ''The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse: A Handbook for Educators, Counselors, and Clinicians''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.]
While conducting research in the mid-1980s, two researchers,
H.W. Perkins and
A.D. Berkowitz,
[ reported that students at a small U.S. college held exaggerated beliefs about the normal frequency and consumption habits of other students with regard to alcohol. These inflated perceptions have been found in many educational institutions, with varying populations and locations. Despite the fact that college drinking is at elevated levels, the perceived amount almost always exceeds actual behavior.][ The social norms approach has shown signs of countering misperceptions, however research on changes in behavior resulting from changed perceptions varies between mixed to conclusively nonexistent.
]
Constructs
The social norms approach is founded upon a set of assumptions that individuals incorrectly perceive that the attitudes or behaviors of others are different from their own, when in reality they are similar. This phenomenon is known as pluralistic ignorance
In social psychology, pluralistic ignorance refers to a situation in which the minority position on a given topic is wrongly perceived to be the majority position or where the majority position is wrongly perceived to be the minority position. Thi ...
.[Berkowitz, A. D. (2005). "An overview of the social norms approach". In L. Lederman & L. Stewart (Eds.), ''Changing the culture of college drinking: A socially situated health communication campaign (193-214)''. Creskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press.] It is largely because individuals assume the most memorable and salient, often extreme, behavior is representative of the behavior of the majority. This may lead individuals to adjust their behavior to that of the presumed majority by adhering to the pseudo-norms created by observing such memorable behavior. These exaggerated perceptions, or rather misperceptions, of peer behavior will continue to influence the habits of the majority, if they are unchallenged.[ This means that individuals may be more likely to enact problem behaviors and suppress healthier practices, making support for healthy behaviors much less visible at an aggregate level. This effect has been documented for alcohol, illegal drug use, smoking, other health behaviors, and attitudes, such as ]prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
.[
A phenomenon known as false consensus is closely related to the idea of pluralistic ignorance, and refers to the incorrect belief that others are similar, when in reality they are not. For example, heavy drinkers will think that most others consume as much as they do, and will use this belief to justify their behavior. Berkowitz,][ an independent consultant who works full-time to promote these ideas, describes false consensus and pluralistic ignorance as "mutually reinforcing and self-perpetuating...the majority is silent because it thinks it is a minority, and the minority is vocal because it believes that it represents the majority" (p. 194).
These phenomena both have the potential to be addressed by a social norms intervention. Berkowitz][Berkowitz, A. D. (2004)]
''The Social Norms Approach: Theory, Research and Annotated Bibliography''
. Retrieved 1 July 2008 describes this possibility in relation to reducing alcohol use:
…social norms interventions have been found to be effective in changing the behavior of the moderate or occasional-drinking majority (pluralistic ignorance) as well as confronting and changing the behavior of the heavy drinking minority ( false consensus) (p. 9)
Thus, the social norms approach predicts that an intervention which aims to correct misperceptions by exposing actual norms will benefit society as well as individuals, because it will lead people to reduce problem behaviors or increase participation in healthy behaviors.[ There have been multiple studies which have indeed shown that social norms campaigns can have such positive effects on target populations. One study in particular, which utilized 18 different colleges over a three-year period, found that social norms campaigns were associated with lower perceptions of student drinking and lower consumption levels. Oddly, when the results of this same study were reported at a conference of alcohol educators, DeJong reported that ]alcohol consumption
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
increased' among both control participants and among the experimental group (those who got the social norms marketing treatment). This discrepancy in reported findings between a conference paper and published journal paper is difficult to reconcile.
Another intervention designed to reduce drinking amongst student athletes had similar results, reducing misperceptions of alcohol consumption. Also, within the time period of the intervention, there were declines in personal consumption, high risk drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. When critiquing this study, one should ask how many dependent variables were assessed, as this group of researchers often assesses as many as 20 or more outcome variables and finds change in 2 or 3 and calls the program successful.
A recent trial of a live, interactive, normative feedback program in which students used keypads to input information had positive effects in terms of reducing misperceptions and drinking behavior. There are many other examples of successful social norms campaigns, which cover various topics, population sizes, and media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
through which normative messages are conveyed.
Types of norms
Two types of norms are relevant to a social norms approach: ''injunctive norms'' and ''descriptive norms:''
* Injunctive norms reflect people's perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved by others. They assist an individual in determining what is acceptable and unacceptable social behavior.
* Descriptive norms involve perceptions of which behaviors are typically performed. They normally refer to the perception of others' behavior. These norms are based on observations of those around you.
In other words, injunctive norms represent what we ''think'' other people approve or disapprove of; descriptive norms represent how people ''actually'' behave, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved. For example, an injunctive norm that almost all people share is that littering is wrong, however, there are still plenty of cases in which people litter.
"Both kinds of norms motivate human action; people tend to do what is socially approved as well as what is popular. (105) When put together, these norms have a counterproductive effect.
For example a campaign that focuses individuals on the frequent occurrences of an offense against the environment has the potential to increase the occurrence of that offense".
These two norms are constructed from three sources: observable behavior, direct/indirect communication and self-knowledge. Miller and Prentice 1996
*Observable behavior: Observing others behavior is the easiest form of norm information. However it is susceptible to the fundamental attribution error. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency of individuals to view others' behavior as a trait rather than a factor influenced by situational variables (Ross 1997)
*Direct/Indirect: " direct (what words mean) and indirect (what words imply) communication, also has its flaws. Information may be distorted intentionally or unintentionally." (Ross 1997)
* Self: Personal attitudes and behaviors also have an influence over the perception of norms However it is highly susceptible to "''the false consensus effect"''
*The false consensus effect is when a person thinks that others think and act as they do. (Mullen and Hu)
*These different sources of information about norms can sometimes lead to inaccurate perceptions about other's behaviors and attitudes (Miller and Prentice 1996)
Borsari and Carey's[Borsari, B. & Carey, K. B. (2003) "Descriptive and Injunctive Norms in College Drinking: A Meta-Analytic Integration". ''Journal of Studies on Alcohol'', 64, 331-341.]meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
of studies showed that people misperceive injunctive norms more than they do descriptive norms, and that injunctive norms are more likely to predict drinking behavior and negative consequences of drinking. However, the use of both in social norms campaigns has shown that it is unclear which type of norm is more likely to change behavior.[
]
Assumptions
There are seven assumptions of the social norms approach:[
*Actions are often based on misinformation about or misperceptions of others' attitudes and/or behavior.
*When misperceptions are defined or perceived as real, they have real consequences.
*Individuals passively accept misperceptions rather than actively intervening to change them, hiding from others their true perceptions, feelings, or beliefs.
*The effects of misperceptions are self-perpetuating because they discourage the expression of opinions and actions that are falsely believed to be nonconforming while encouraging problem behaviors that are falsely believed to be normative.
*Appropriate information about the actual norm will encourage individuals to express those beliefs that are consistent with the true, healthier norm, and inhibit problem behaviors that are inconsistent with it.
*Individuals who do not personally engage in the problematic behavior may contribute to the problem by the way in which they talk about the behavior. Misperceptions thus function to strengthen beliefs and values that the "carriers of the misperception" do not themselves hold and contribute to the climate that encourages problem behavior.
*For a norm to be perpetuated it is not necessary for the majority to believe it, but only for the majority to believe that the majority believes it.
]
History
Since the 1986 study in which Berkowitz and Perkins reported the misperceptions about alcohol consumption amongst college student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...
s, the use and study of the social norms approach has grown. It has been used as a prevention technique for a variety of levels of prevention: universal, with large populations like entire college campuses; selective, with targeted subpopulations, and indicated, with individuals.[
The first social norms intervention was implemented in 1989 by Michael Haines at ]Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
, which targeted a universal campus population and over the years has shown significant success in terms of increasing healthy behaviors.[Haines, M. P, Barker, G. P. & Rice, R. (2003). "Using Social Norms to Reduce Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Midwestern High Schools". In H. W. Perkins (Ed.), ''The Social Norms Approach to preventing school and college age substance abuse: A handbook for educators, counselors, clinicians'' (Chapter 14). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.] This research at Northern Illinois University was done with a $64,000 grant from the U.S.Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE). Many other universities have since followed suit and have had similar success in the reduction of high-risk drinking behaviors, such as Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, and University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
, to name a few.[Montclair-SNorms "Social Norms - Wellness - Montclair State University"](_blank)
Montclair State University, 2008, states that Alan D. Berkowitz and H. Wesley Perkins first proposed the social norms approach. Alan Berkowitz is an independent "consultant who helps universities, colleges, public health agencies and communities design programs which address health and social justice" issues. Alan Berkowitz is Editor and founder of "The Report on Social Norms". Wes Perkins is a Professor of Sociology and spent much of his professional life studying and evaluating adolescents and young adults. H. Wesley Perkins has been evaluating Social Norms programs for thirty years.
Since these achievements have become well-known, the social norms approach has been used successfully to reduce smoking, drinking and driving
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is inv ...
, and HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
risk behaviors, and to increase seat belt use.
It has also gained widespread use targeting adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majo ...
and high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
students, and has been used in an attempt to reduce drinking and smoking behaviors amongst those populations.
Recently, interventions
''Interventions'' is a book by Noam Chomsky, an American academic linguist and political activist. Published in May 2007, ''Interventions'' is a collection of 44 op-ed articles, post-9/11, from September 2002, through March 2007. The book's sub ...
have been tested to reduce sexual assault, and the results were reported to be "promising".
Criticisms
The social norms approach is not accepted by all scholars as an effective campaign method. Some criticize the approach by saying that the underlying assumptions are false. One study found that the perceived degree of alcohol use was not predictive of alcohol abuse if other normative
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
influences were considered, and another study found that misperceptions of drinking problems were unrelated to personal alcohol consumption.
The findings of both of those studies present opposition to the first assumption of the social norms approach: Actions are often based on misinformation about or misperceptions of others' attitudes and/or behavior.
Other scholars challenge the legitimacy of social norms interventions deemed successful. They say that many of these interventions had methodological
In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
problems which could influence the validity of their effectiveness (e.g., they did not control for other variables, did not have comparison groups, etc.).[Wechsler, H., Nelson, T. F., Lee, J. E., Seibring, M., Lewis, C. & Keeling, R. P. (2003). "Perception and reality: A national evaluation of social norms marketing interventions to reduce college students' heavy alcohol use". ''Journal of Studies on Alcohol'', 64, 484-494.]
Another common criticism is that they are simply ineffective: a nationwide study, which compared colleges with social norms interventions to those that did not have them, found that schools with interventions showed no decreases in measures of alcohol use, and actually found increased measures in terms of alcohol consumed monthly and total amount consumed.[
There are also a handful of studies that document failed social norms campaigns at specific colleges.
]
Lifecycle
A social norms approach determines the exaggerated and actual norms of a population through formative research, and then informs the population of the actual norms through a message campaign. The next step is determining the effectiveness of the messages through a summative evaluation. Finally, the results from the evaluative research can also be used to craft new messages to revise the message campaign, and thus the campaign is cyclical. The following provides a more in-depth description of the steps involved in a social norms campaign.
Formative evaluation
Formative evaluation is the first step in a social norms campaign and consists of surveying the population, as well as message creation based on the survey results. The formative evaluation phase is the time when information regarding perceived norms and actual behaviors is garnered from the audience. In order for a social norms approach to be the appropriate means for intervention, two conditions must first be satisfied:
*There must be misperceptions between actual behavior and perceived behavior – This simply means that there must be a difference between what people do and what they think other people do or believe. This difference must be a misperception in the direction of overestimation of problem behavior. If there is no difference, the social norms approach is not appropriate. A caveat is that there is almost always a difference. Sometimes a more sensitive instrument is necessary to uncover the misperceptions.
*At least half of the population must behave "correctly" – If over half of the population behaves in a way that is contrary to the intervention, a social norms approach is not the best interventional strategy. Because a social norms approach assumes that individuals want to be normal, if most of the individuals (i.e., over 50%) behave in a way that is harmful, a social norms message campaign might encourage the harmful behavior. It is important to ask questions about both descriptive and injunctive norms.
Surveying
The most effective way to establish the baseline levels of behavior and perceptions is through the use of surveys. Internet surveys, for example, are an often-used method of generating a substantial response rate. They are especially suited for college students because of their familiarity with the technology, the containment of the population (i.e., all are part of a specific community), and the ability of the students to take the survey at their own pace and during the time that works best for them. Not only are web surveys ideal for students, but they are also highly advantageous for researchers. They provide quick turnaround for data analysis, higher response rates, less missing data, and they eliminate interviewer effects. Other possible methods of administering a survey are pencil and paper surveys, phone surveys, or personal interviews.
The following describes a typical and thorough process used to survey a population:
#Plan
#*Decide what topics will be covered
#*Decide when to administer the survey
#*Develop useful questions
#Acquire incentives to provide for respondents - There are two different types of incentives: Individual rewards and lottery rewards. Individual rewards are given to every person who completes the survey (e.g., a coupon for a free pizza). Lottery rewards are awarded to individuals at random (e.g., 10 people receive a $50 gift certificate). Individual rewards are more expensive but provide higher response rates.
#Survey
Survey may refer to:
Statistics and human research
* Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population
* Survey (human research), including opinion polls
Spatial measurement
* Surveying, the techniq ...
Design
#Notifying the Sample
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
– Often, a double-barreled method
Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to:
*Scien ...
is used:
#*Pre-letter or pre-email notification – A personalized letter notification delivered several days before the survey opens. The letter includes the purpose and goal of the research, when and at what email address they will receive the email notification, how long the survey will be active, access information (IDs, pass codes), what they will get out of it (i.e., incentives), how their privacy will be protected, and contact information for the surveyors.
#*Email notification – This email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...
repeats much of the information of the original letter, but also provides a link for the survey.
#*Reminder – A reminder often mentions previous notifications, sympathizes about why the respondent might not have completed the survey, mentions the importance of the survey, and includes the incentive information again.
Creating a campaign
After completing data collection, researchers then analyze the data and search for patterns, looking for inconsistencies between actual behavior, attitudes, and perceived norms. When these differences are consistent with the campaign and the majority of students adhere to the beneficial idea, they are then used in the next round of message creation. For example, the data could show that college student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...
s report they consumed 0–4 drinks the last time they partied, but they believe that the average student consumed 5 or more drinks. After discovering this statistic, a researcher may craft a message like, "Most students drink 0–4 drinks when they party", to correct the misperceived descriptive norm.
The most important descriptive researchers look for in the data is the 51% or greater statistic, or items where "most" (i.e., over 50%) of the population adheres to the beneficial behavior. These statistics could occur in injunctive norms (i.e., "Most students believe passing out from drinking too much is wrong."), protective/healthy behaviors (i.e., "Most students use a designated driver
The terms "designated driver" and "designated driving" (commonly known as DD) refer to the selection of a person who remains sober as the responsible driver of a vehicle whilst others have been allowed to drink alcoholic beverages.
Thus as a prac ...
, even when only having one or two drinks."), or other numerous behaviors.
There are different message components that can be varied, which are experimented with during pre-testing. For example, researchers test different vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
(e.g., "66%" vs. "Most" vs. "Majority), using different behaviors to find out which ones are the easiest and most acceptable to perform (e.g., "eating while drinking" vs. "keeping track while drinking"), and using varying degrees of citations
A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
(e.g., large citations
A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
vs. small citations of data source). These preliminary messages are pretested on small groups in order to refine them before they are presented to the entire population. Other aspects examined in pretesting include which messages are most socially acceptable, which are believed to be the most effective, and which messages have the highest believability.
Believability
Believability is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for an effective campaign. If believability of messages is low, change will probably not occur because the persuasive
Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours.
...
messages are falling into the audience's latitude of rejection. In other words, the audience will reject the message without even considering it. It is also important to note, however, that if believability is extremely high (e.g., over 90%), change is also unlikely to occur because the message is not challenging enough. In other words, it serves only as a reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher fr ...
rather than an element of change. Thus, while there are no specific guidelines
A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. A guideline aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. Guidelines may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or pri ...
, it is ideal to aim for believability above 50%.
In an assessment of the believability of a social norms campaign, Polonec, Major, and Atwood found that students' own drinking experiences and the experiences of their friends contributed to disbelief in the message "Most students on campus choose to have 0 to 4 drinks when they party." Another study found that disbelief may be due to preconceived notions about drinking that students develop even before they arrive on campus.
Evaluation
After implementing a campaign, researchers then perform a summative evaluation which measures the success of the campaign. This step consists of examining and evaluating the progress made by an intervention through assessing the outcome and impact, cost and benefits, and cost effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a form of economic analysis that compares the relative costs and outcomes (effects) of different courses of action. Cost-effectiveness analysis is distinct from cost–benefit analysis, which assigns a monetar ...
of a program. It is typical for researchers to use surveys similar to those used in formative evaluation. The following are questions that a summative evaluation can answer:
*Did change occur in perceptions
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
? A social norms approach is based on correcting misperceptions before changing behavior. The changes in behavior are thought to occur as an outcome of corrected perceptions. The goal is thus for the population to understand the prevalent behavior so they do not feel they have to live up to misperceived norms of behavior. If there is a reduction in misperceptions, then the campaign has been implemented in a manner consistent with the social norms approach.
*How much change occurred? Is the difference significant or is it equally likely to have been caused by chance?
*Is the change associated with the intervention? Are the changes observed the result of some other factor or is there reason to believe the program was the basis for the change? This question can be answered by comparing the results with nationwide averages.
*How much did it cost? This is a method of weighing the benefits achieved by a program against its cost.
An especially important part of summative evaluation is the assessment of market saturation
In economics, market saturation is a situation in which a product has become diffused (distributed) within a market; the actual level of saturation can depend on consumer purchasing power; as well as competition, prices, and technology.
Theory ...
and reach. Clearly, if a social norms campaign does not reach very much of its intended audience, then its potential effectiveness decreases. If researchers can demonstrate that their campaign had high reach, then that strengthens the connection of the intervention to positive outcomes. It also lets researchers know what methods are effective for distributing the campaign. It is necessary for an audience to be exposed to campaign messages frequently to change misperceptions. However, overexposure is possible, leading to a loss of credibility and habituation
Habituation is a form of non-associative learning in which an innate (non-reinforced) response to a stimulus decreases after repeated or prolonged presentations of that stimulus. Responses that habituate include those that involve the intact org ...
. Thus, it is important to determine the proper dosage of the campaign in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. Silk et al. provide a comprehensive evaluation of a socials norms campaign related to mental health among college students, revealing positive outcomes for students who were exposed to the social norms campaign (e.g., greater likelihood to visit the university's counseling center).
Once the evaluation is complete, it has the potential to help the intervention. Summative evaluation not only tells whether a program is working, but it can also feed new messages and new campaigns by providing new, updated data.
Glossary
The following are key terms discussed in this article that are relevant to the Social Norms Approach:
*Pluralistic ignorance
In social psychology, pluralistic ignorance refers to a situation in which the minority position on a given topic is wrongly perceived to be the majority position or where the majority position is wrongly perceived to be the minority position. Thi ...
: the false assumption of an individual that the attitudes or behaviors of others are different from their own, when in fact they are similar.[
* False consensus: the incorrect belief that others are similar to oneself, when in fact they are not.
* Norms: a ]pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...
or trait taken to be typical of the behavior of a social group
In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
.[
*Descriptive norms: Descriptive norms are concerned with what people actually do. They refer to the perceptions of "the most common actions actually exhibited in a ]social group
In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
,"[Perkins, H. W. (2002). "Social norms and the prevention of alcohol misuse in collegiate contexts". ''Journal of Studies on Alcohol'', 14, 164-172.](p. 165) such as the quantity and frequency of drinking, and are largely formed from observations of others' alcohol consumption. Park and Smith[Park, H. S., & Smith, S. W. (2007). "Distinctiveness and influence of subjective norms, personal descriptive and injunctive norms, and societal descriptive and injunctive norms on behavioral intent: A case of two behaviors critical to organ donation". ''Human Communication Research'', 93, 194-218.] found that descriptive norms can be perceived at both a personal and societal level, and define them as "individuals' beliefs regarding the popularity of the behavior in question", (p. 196)either among valued others or society at large.
*Injunctive norms: Injunctive norms are concerned with what people feel is right based on morals
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
or beliefs. Perkins[ defines them as "widely shared beliefs or expectations in a social group about how people in general or members of the group ought to behave in various circumstances" (p. 165). Park and Smith][ note that injunctive norms can also be perceived at a personal or a societal level, defining them as "individuals’ beliefs regarding approval or disapproval of the behavior in question", (p. 196) either by valued others or societal members.
*Formative evaluation: The first step in a social norms campaign, which consists of surveying the population, as well as message creation based on the survey results. The formative evaluation phase is the time when information regarding perceived norms and actual behaviors is garnered from the audience.
* Summative evaluation: The final step in a social norms campaign before the cycle begins again, which measures its success. It consists of examining and evaluating the progress made by an intervention through assessing the outcome and impact, cost and benefits, and ]cost effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a form of economic analysis that compares the relative costs and outcomes (effects) of different courses of action. Cost-effectiveness analysis is distinct from cost–benefit analysis, which assigns a monetar ...
of a program.
See also
* National Social Norms Resource Center
*Peer pressure
Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...
References
External links
National Social Norms Institute
''USAToday
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. July 23, 2003.
{{Public health
Perception
sr:Друштвене норме