Social Norms
The Social Norms Project uses a theoretical approach and marketing strategies to correct misperceptions of alcohol & other drug use by students.
SOCIAL NORMS SURVEY:
The first step in the Social Norms project is to collect local data from students, parents and staff about youth behaviors and their perceptions of behaviors. All of the surveys were sent toNorthern Illinois University where the National Social Norms Center is located to be analyzed.
A Social Norms subcommittee reviews the data as results are received from Northern Illinois University. The committee utilizes the data to develope a Social Norms marketing campaign. The subsequent surveys had included additional questions to determine effectiveness of the media campaign. Each year the subcommittee reviews the survey data received from Northern Illinois University to evaluate progress, prior year’s campaign and to develop the marketing campaign for the next school year.
SOCIAL NORMS THEORY:
States that individual behavior are influenced by misperceptions of how peers think and act. For youth in particular, peer influences and perceptions have been found to be more influential in shaping individual choices for behavior than other factors. The theory states that over estimating problem behaviors discourages healthy behaviors. Correcting these misperceptions by promoting actual norms can result in decreased negative behaviors and increased prevalence of healthy protective behaviors. (Perkins, H. W. & Berkowitz, A. D. (1986) perceiving the community norms of alcohol use among students; some implications for campus alcohol education programming. International Journal of the Addictions. 21, 961-976.)
Social Norms Marketing:
This type of marketing has been widely used throughout the past several decades in many disciplines as a behavior changing strategy. Social norms marketing is the adaptation of commercial marketing technologies to programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences. (Andreasen, A. R. (1994). Social marketing: Its definition and domain. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. 13(1), 108-115.) A Social Norms marketing campaign may include posters placed throughout the high school and middle school, information in the middle and high school parent newsletters, ads in school event programs, local television ads, billboards throughout the community, social norms message on school computers log-in screen and website access pages, ads at local movie theater, local radio commercials, news articles in local newspapers and presentations to various community groups and organizations.
