Social Norms
About social norms
‘Social norms’ are people’s beliefs about what’s normal in a given situation. Beliefs can cause people to change their behavior; this can be useful or destructive, depending on how accurate the perceptions are.
About social norms and drinking
Students overestimate the quantity and frequency of drinking among their peers, underestimate health-protective behaviors and believe their peers’ attitudes are more permissive than they really are.
Others, including parents, community members and university staff, are carriers of the misperception that students drink a lot, a lot of the time.
The reality is most students hold moderate attitudes toward drinking and engage in low to moderate drinking practices, but some may try to live up to the false idea that ‘everyone is doing it.’
These factors contribute to a ‘reign of error’ and create an environment that supports high risk drinking. Communicating the truth decreases alcohol-related consequences over time.
FAQs
- What is the social norms marketing campaign?
- How does it work?
- Why not ‘just say no’?
- Where’d you get the facts?
- What if people don’t believe the message?
What is the social norms marketing campaign?
The social norms campaign you’re seeing everywhere is a project of the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (CCC). Materials are focusing on UMass Amherst undergrads and alcohol use.
Here, like at many other schools, there’s a big gap between students’ perceived and actual drinking behaviors.
People believe most UMass students are drinking a lot, a lot of the time, when in fact, the majority drink moderately, if at all.
How does it work?
Research shows that people who identify with a particular group, and care what those people think will be most influenced by the norms of that group. For example, students are more likely to be influenced by other students than the general public.
Why not ‘just say no’?
Social norms communications focus on the positive. Instead of using scare tactics or other approaches that make people feel bad, they work by reinforcing positive behaviors.
Where’d you get the facts?
We got them from you, through independent surveys of student alcohol use. This data is being used to create programs and services to meet campus needs.
What if people don’t believe the message?
That’s to be expected. If everyone who saw the message agreed, there’d be no gap between perception and reality.
Social norms messages generate skepticism, because they often contradict people’s thoughts or beliefs. As time goes on, people process the information and many ultimately change their minds.
