Introduction to Social Norms - John McAlaney

1. Introduction to Social NormsIntroduction to Social Norms
Dr John McAlaney
University of Bradford

2. Social normsSocial norms
 How we behave as individuals is strongly influenced by
what we perceive to be the norm for our peers
 This is especially true for young adults, where perceived
norms can actually be the single strongest predictor of
behaviours like alcohol and smoking
 However, as demonstrated in the American college
system and more recently in Europe, people very often
misperceive how other people behave
 Young adults in particular markedly overestimate
substance use in their peers

3. ExampleExample
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Never or
veryrarely
Less than
once a
month
Once a
month
2 - 3 days a
month
1 daya
week
2 days a
week
3 - 4 days a
week
5 - 6 days a
week
Everyday
Frequency of drinking (days per month)
Percentageofresponses
Personal behavior
Perceived norm in other students

4. Students in the UKStudents in the UK
• Survey of university and college students at 200 UK sites
Behaviour/ attitude Reported norm Perceived norm
Frequency of alcohol consumption
Number of drinks
Twice a month
6 drinks
Three to four days a week
8 drinks
Smoking in last 30 days 30% 50 – 59%
Leaving drinks unattended
Leaving belongings unattended
Riding with a drunk driver
Never
Never
14%
Sometimes
Sometimes
30 – 39%
Cannabis use
Approval of cannabis use
Other drug use
Approval of other drug use
Never
Disapprove
Never
Strongly disapprove
Five to six times a year
Neither
Rarely
Disapprove
Number of sexual partners
Unsafe sex
1
Never
3
Three to four times a year

5. Causes of misperceptionCauses of misperception
 Pluralistic ignorance – Individuals believe themselves to
be different than their peers, such as a light, infrequent
drinker who observes their peers in a bar and assumes
that they are regular drinkers
 False consensus – Individuals believe their behaviour to
be more common than is the case, such as a heavy
drinker believing that most of their peers also drink
heavily
 Media – TV programmes and news reports may also
reinforce misperceptions

6. Media coverageMedia coverage
• Third of Brits binge drink once a week… a
quarter of over 45s drink EVERY day’ – The Sun,
UK
• ‘Teens in grip of grog’ – The Herald Sun,
Australia
• ‘Danish teenagers drink three times more than
Russians’ – Danish news website

7. Types of normTypes of norm
 Descriptive norms refer to beliefs about what other
people actually do – for example the perception of how
many people in your peer group use drugs
 Injunctive norms refer to beliefs about the attitudes
that other people hold – for example the perception of
whether people in your peer group condone drug use
 To date research has focussed primarily on descriptive
norms but projects which incorporate both types are
becoming more common

8. Traditional approachesTraditional approaches

9. Traditional approachesTraditional approaches

10. Traditional approachesTraditional approaches

11. Social norms approachSocial norms approach
 Traditional forms of drug education often rely on
depicting extreme negative consequences of drug use
 Whilst people may have a high recall rate for these
types of messages there is little evidence that they are
effective in changing behaviour
 The social norms approach uses an alternative
technique based on a very simple premise – if you can
correct the misperceptions that people hold then
alcohol and drug use will fall

12. Social norms approachSocial norms approach

13. Social norms approachSocial norms approach

14. Online and personalised messagesOnline and personalised messages

15. School activitiesSchool activities
Full report available at www.eudap.net

16. School activitiesSchool activities
Full report available at www.eudap.net

17. Social norms approachSocial norms approach
 There are several key differences between the social norms
approach and traditional behaviour change strategies:
 It does not use scare tactics
 It does not contain a moral undertone on how the
population ‘should’ behave
 It is a participatory process which includes members of the
target population
 Overall the approach operates by praising the healthy
behaviour of the majority, rather than focussing on the
negative behaviour of the minority

18. Efficacy of the approachEfficacy of the approach
 Over a six year period of using the approach the
University of Virginia have noted:
 A 113% increase in students experiencing no alcohol-
related negative consequences
 A 57% decrease in experiencing multiple alcohol-related
negative consequences
 A 24% decrease in students reaching an eBAC of 0.08
when partying
 Further evidence has also been provided by a recent
systematic review by Moreira & Foxcroft (2009)

19. BehavioursBehaviours
 Social norms research has now been conducted on a
range of behaviours including –
 Smoking
 Drug use
 Sexual health
 Cancer screening
 Bullying
 Body image
 Recycling
 Driving
 Energy conservation

20. Hotel linen re-useHotel linen re-use
Goldstein et al (2007)Goldstein et al (2007)
 Cards were left in hotel rooms to encourage linen re-
use
 Benefit to the hotel card – 16% reduction
 Social responsibility card – 30% reduction
 Environmental appeal card – 30% reduction
 Social norms card – 44% reduction
 The card with the social norms message was the most
effective, despite the fact that hotel guests had never
met the person who had stayed in the room previously
or observed their towel use

21. Challenges and limitationsChallenges and limitations
 The social norms approach appears to be effective in
changing behaviour in the majority, but it is not
intended as a substitute for clinical treatment in the
heaviest users of drugs
 It is based on a goal of reduction rather than
eradication, which may not always be popular with
stakeholders
 The precise mechanisms through which misperceptions
can be created and manipulated are still partly
speculative, there is a need for more research

22. Reactions to the social normsReactions to the social norms
approachapproach
 ‘Idea of the Year’ – New York Times Magazine,2001
 “…we need to use the strengths of the social norms
approach, together with the strengths of other experiences,
to overcome huge behavioural challenges” Robert
Madelin, EU Director General for Health and
Consumer Protection, 2009
 “I am convinced that it is a relatively simple and cost-
effective means of achieving behavioural change. Most
importantly, it is positive rather than negative. It does not
condemn, preach or use scare tactics, and it works!” Dr Bill
Wilson, MSP, 2008