Everybody’s doing it!
Understanding social norms theory
What percentage of Y4s and Y6s report having
never or only infrequently been bullied in the
last year?
• 45%
• 58%
• 73%
What percentage of Y8s in Gloucestershire have
never or not often smoked a cigarette?
• 51.4%
• 72.9%
• 96.5%
NB This has increased
from 91.9% in 2006
What percentage of Y10 in Gloucestershire report
being very good, good or OK at making and
keeping friends?
• 73.2%
• 83.2%
• 93.2%
What percentage of Y4s and Y6s report that
they try their best in school?
• 68.0%
• 79.1%
• 90.4%
What percentage of Y8 in Gloucestershire report
having never or not often drunk alcohol?
• 45.3%
• 62.1%
• 85.1%
• …and over half of Year 10 (53.8%)
What is the role of knowledge in shaping
our decisions?
“People don’t
smoke for the
reasons they
shouldn’t smoke”
Do traditional
approaches to
health education
work?
e.g. show them
what it’s like to be
drunk!
Do traditional approaches to health
education work?
Teach them about
responsible
drinking – safe
units and all that!
Do traditional approaches to health
education work?
Tell them the risks
and they
won’t want to do it!
Do traditional
approaches to health
education work?
Let’s make it really
scary!...
Do traditional
approaches to
health education
work?
…and tell them
how bad the
scale of the
problem is!
What are social norms?
Social norms theory is
based on two key
principles:
• Humans are group
oriented
• We are largely
influenced by and
conform to peer norms
Humans are group oriented
But what about the perception of peer norms?
But what about the perception of peer norms?
The false theory:
…is that peer
norms
influence
behaviour
when actually
the
perception of
peer norms
influences
personal use.
Types of norm
Injunctive
(attitudes – what people think)
Descriptive
(behavioural – what people do)
Causes of
misperception
• Natural tendency to
generalise observed
behaviours
• Cultural – entertainment,
advertising, news and
health advocacy media focus on the problem
• We notice extremes of
behaviour because they
are different from the
norm
Spot the odd one out
Spot the odd one out
Spot the odd one out
What’s the problem with this?
The social norms model:
Social norms interventions
• Get the positive messages out there…
In 2012 85.1% of Year 8s
in Gloucestershire said
they drank alcohol never
or infrequently (less than
once a month)*
* Source: Gloucestershire Online
Pupil Survey 2012
Social norms marketing – getting the
positive messages out there about the
behaviour of the majority of young people!
Social norms marketing – getting the
positive messages out there about the
behaviour of the majority of young people!
Does it work? The evidence
Figure 8: Over time, as students’
misperceptions of drinking norms
are reduced, actual drinking
behaviour among students becomes
more moderate
www.alcoholeducationproject.org
Does it work? The evidence
www.alcoholeducationproject.org
Does it work? The evidence
www.alcoholeducationproject.org
Hotel linen re-use
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
Dosage, dosage, dosage
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
postcards home,
posters in toilet cubicles
bumper stickers,
screen savers,
Covers for text books/exercise books,
scrolling info across the school website
notices in registers
Dosage, dosage, dosage
• painting on the ground,
• silent numbers
• figures to be used in lessons on
statistics / percentages in maths
lessons
• messages on canteen trays,
• viral texting,
• School twitter accounts
• Y6 – Y7 transition days
When is the social norms
approach most effective?
• Clear positive norms messages
• Credible data
• Absence of competing scare
messages
• Dosage is high
• Synergistic strategies
• Broad population receives
messages in addition to highrisk target groups
Behaviours
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
Everybody’s doing it!
Understanding social norms theory