Social Norms Flashcards
What is a social norm (1)
- Standards of the appropriateness of a behavior
- Perceptions are more important than the actual truth
- The social norms approach in health = people incorrectly perceive that attitudes/behavior of others are different from their own, when in reality they’re similar
What is a social norm (2)
Social norm interventions are used in middle/high school/college, assuming that people at this age want to fit in and be like their peers
Social norms can impact alcohol/drug use = health concerns with a social component
Types of norms
Descriptive norms: perceptions about what behaviors are performed by others ex. college kids think their peers drink heavily on a regular basis
Injuctive norms: perceptions about what behaviors are approved of or disapproved of by others ex. college kids think regular heavy drinking is socially accepted and can be expected among their peers
Norm congruency
When descriptive and injunctive norms happen at the same time, the influence of norms is even stronger.
Ex. college students think their peers binge drink (descriptive norm) AND they believe that binge drinking is accepted by their peers (injunctive norms)
Where do perceptions of norms come from?
- Observable behavior: watching others’ actions
- Direct/indirect communication with others: information can be distorted (un)intentionally
- The self: an individual’s own attitudes and behaviors
Social Norms Theory
People tend to overestimate the prevalence of risky behaviors in others and underestimate the prevalence of healthy behaviors in others.
Pluralistic ignorance: situations in which people incorrectly perceive behaviors/attitudes of peers to be different from their own, when they’re actually the same. Ex. some students feel left out bc they think their peers are hooking up more than they are, but actually hooking up is much less common than they think
False consensus: people tend to overestimate the extent that their behaviors are normal and typical among others. Ex. what I do is what everyone else does
When to use a social norms approach in health messages
If most people are making healthy choices but most people believe that their peers are making unhealthy choices. Social norms marketing campaign can reduce the misperception and further encourage healthy choices
Constructing social norms messages
- Conduct rigorous research to determine what social norms exist in the target population ex. large-scale survey using random sampling w/ anonymous responses (formulative research)
- Create messages that describe the social norms. Messages shouldn’t use scare tactics or stigmatize unhealthy behavior. They should also avoid moralistic judgments from authorities about how the target group should behave. They must present the healthy norms that already exists, neutrally
Will social norms messaging be effective?
Outcome expectations: belief of what someone will get out of doing a behavior. Positive OE = social norms messaging more likely to work. Negative OE = social norms messaging unlikely to work.
Group identity: for people to be influenced by social norms, they must feel a connection with the group. Strong sense of group identity = will work. Weak sense of group identity = won’t work.
Ego involvement: how much identity is connected with the behavior. High ego involvement = won’t work. Low ego involvement: will work.
Example: college students and alcohol
- Most college students overestimate alcohol use of their peers (pluralistic ignorance)
- Overestimation may cause: non-users to start drinking, mid-users might consume more, heavy users use this to justify their own drinking (false consensus)
Important considerations
The target population has to actually believe in the messaging.
- Poor data collection = unreliable data = poor choice of normative messaging
- Unreliable sources of data = unappealing message
Social capital
- Links, shared values and shared understandings in society that enable people to trust each other and work together
- People who feel connected to their communities are healthier and make healthier decisions than those who don’t
Types of social capital
Bonds: connections based on a sense of common identity (people like us)
Bridges: connection to others that go beyond shared sense of identity to dissimilar groups
Linkages: connections to leaders and decision-makers
Social capitial interventions
Opportunities for interaction that bring a community together can have a positive influence on health, even if the event is not focused on health.
- Reinforce bonds
- Build bridges: people who I think are different from me share my ideas and concerns
- Create linkages: I feel empowered to reach out to decision makers because I know that a lot of people feel the same way I do
People tend to make healthier decisions and maintain health-promoting behaviors if:
- They think their community cares about them
- They think other people share their concerns and values
- They think that others will hold them accountable
Social capitial interventions
Opportunities for interaction that bring a community together can have a positive influence on health, even if the event is not focused on health.
- Reinforce bonds
- Build bridges: people who I think are different from me share my ideas and concerns
- Create linkages: I feel empowered to reach out to decision makers because I know that a lot of people feel the same way I do
People tend to make healthier decisions and maintain health-promoting behaviors if:
- They think their community cares about them
- They think other people share their concerns and values
- They think that others will hold them accountable
