Intro to Social Norms | Ep #38

Health Comm Central

If the behavior you are trying to promote involves any social influences (and most do—to some extent!) you may wonder whether a “social norms” campaign or intervention is the right approach. In this episode, we talk about the difference between social norms as researchers identify them and other constructs like customs, habits, or laws, plus how norms are different than closely related concepts like social influence, social proof, and social desirability. Social norms can be more challenging to research and change than some of these other constructs, so it’s important to know what you’re dealing with!
We also discuss two common types of social norms campaigns: correction and transformation. This intro is designed to get your feet wet so that you’ll be better equipped to search for past interventions that may be relevant to your situation. To help determine whether the social aspect of a behavior you are trying to influence is a norm or something different (social influence, social proof, a trend, a custom, etc.) and which frameworks or theories may apply, download the handout for this episode at https://healthcommcentral.com/socialnormschecklist/.
Additional resources:
Health Comm Central Key Informant Interview Checklist: https://healthcommcentral.com/socialnormschecklist/
Prominent researchers:
Rather than giving you just one article from each, let me suggest looking for the work of some of the most prolific or seminal researchers on social norms interventions and campaigns:

• Robert Cialdini
• Rajiv Rimal
• Maria Lapinski
• Alan Berkowitz
• Cristina Bicchieri
• Icek Ajzen (and researcher collaborator Martin Fishbein)

Helpful publications:

• Recent article that differentiates between two types of social norms campaigns: The evolution of social norms interventions for health promotion: Distinguishing norms correction and norms transformation - PMC (nih.gov)
• Theory and practice of social norms interventions: eight common pitfalls | Globalization and Health | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
• Frontiers | A Critical Appraisal of the Social Norms Approach as an Interventional Strategy for Health-Related Behavior and Attitude Change (frontiersin.org)
• Using social norms to drive positive changes in health - STAT (statnews.com)

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