Week 4- Social Norms

Question 1

‘Collective behaviour”

Answer 1

Refers to a behaviour that is common within a group, and can vary between groups

Question 2

When do collective behaviours arise

Answer 2

From shared collective beliefs
- if we understand the shared beliefs driving a collective behaviour, that may provide ways to change that behaviour

Question 3

What could understanding shared beliefs lead to?

Answer 3

This could lead to positive behaviour change, such as healthier diets, more sustainable lifestyles, higher mental and physical well-being.

Question 4

4 different kinds of beliefs

Answer 4

-factual beliefs
- personal moral beliefs
- social predictions
- social expectations

Question 5

What are ‘factual beliefs’

Answer 5

-beliefs based of evidence
- factual beliefs ref elect understanding of the world, but in reality someone’s factual beliefs might be true or false

Question 6

What are ‘personal moral beliefs’

Answer 6

-these are beliefs about how the world ‘should’ be
Example: vegans might hold a personal moral belief that it is wrong to exploit animals
(The belief is held and acted in even if it isn’t shared by others)

Question 7

What are ‘social predictions’

Answer 7

-refer to MY beliefs about what other people do
- these kinds of social predictions extend to social roles
Example: someone might believe most nurses will be women and most surgeons will be men

Question 8

What are ‘social expectations’

Answer 8

-these are MY beliefs about what others expect ME to do
- social expectations are often enforced by sanctions

Question 9

Social proof

Answer 9

Calidini text for social norm
-there are different types of beliefs

Question 10

What happens when people’s behaviour is motivated by social norms

Answer 10

• the norms act to create a uniform collective behaviour across the group
  (Compliance of conformity to the social norm)
• sensitivity to social norms, conformity and the threat of Sanctions for non-conformers, ensures group cohesion

Question 11

Reference network

Answer 11

Every social belief has a relevant reference network, the people who matter for that belief
- there will be different reference network for different decisions, in one case family,, in another case, the entire population

Question 12

How do we change a groups behaviour?

Answer 12

-we need to understand what beliefs are motivating the groups behaviour, and what the relevant reference networks are
- then an approach can be tailored to target the beliefs most likely to chaneg

Question 13

How could false beliefs about social predictions be addressed

Answer 13

Through education and ‘awareness-raising’ campaigns

Question 14

Addressing false beliefs in the case of open defecation

Answer 14

There were some communities where there were significant objections m, but no sanctions, or means of enforcing the social expectation to use latrines
- this was addressed in some communities through monitoring groups

Question 15

An effective technique to highlight examples of change in India

Answer 15

To update people’s social predictions, they ran a messaging campaign

Question 16

Effective technique to defeat child marriage

Answer 16

Move children’s activities, especially girls, into open public spaces where the values of education and ‘growing up’ could be highlighted

Question 17

What was the main message in the case studies

Answer 17

To change collective behaviour, we first try to understand the beliefs, then act in a targeted way to change the beliefs that should be most susceptible to change

Question 18

What does social norm acts maintain

Answer 18

Group conformity

Question 19

Downside of conformity

Answer 19

Could mean that a new collective behaviour becomes established, it can pick up momentum (children’s education rather than marriage)

Question 20

Cascade effects

Answer 20

When key members of the reference network take up the new behaviour, the social expectations will change aswell. More people will predict and expect that other people in their network will be taking up the new behaviour

These beliefs should increase the frequency of the new behaviour, which in turn raises the social expectations that people will engage in the new behaviour

Question 21

New behaviours

Answer 21

If a critical mass is achieved, then a virtuous cycle may start as the group starts to conform around the new behaviour

Question 22

Summary

Answer 22

• to change collective beliefs, we can use scientific methods to identify the beliefs and reference networks for a behaviour
• we can also scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of interventions seeking to change a collective behaviour

• HOWEVER, deciding how to best address the beliefs to be changed, are creative acts of influence
- these effective acts of influence will take advantage of adaptations for reciprocal altruism