Articles by Year - 2007
Bobek, D.D., Roberts, R. W., Sweeney, J. T. (2007). "The Social Norms of Tax Compliance: Evidence from Australia, Singapore, and the United States." Journal of Business Ethics, 74:49-64.. go to summary
Chawla, N., Neighbors, C., Lewis, M.A., Lee, M.A., Larimer, M.A. (2007) "Attitudes and Perceived Approval of Drinking as Mediators of the Relationship Between the Importance of Religion and Alcohol Use" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(3): 410-418. go to summary
Cialdini, R. (2007). "Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control." Psychometrika, vol. 72, No. 2, 263-268. go to summary
Dunnagan, T., Haynes, G., Linkenbach, J, Summers, H. (2007). "Support for Social Norms Programming to Reduce Alcohol Consumption in Pregnant Women." Addiction Research and Theory, 15(4):383-396. go to summary
Fisher, T.D. (2007). "Sex of Experimenter and Social Norm Effects on Reports of Sexual Behavior in Young Men and Women." Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36:1, 89-100. go to summary
Ford, Jason. (2007). "Alcohol Use among College Students: A Comparison of Athletes and Non-athletes".Substance Use and Misuse. 42, 9, 1367-1377. go to summary
Goldstein, N.J., Griskevicius, V., and Cialdini, R.B. (2007). "Invoking Social Norms: A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels' Linen-Reuse Programs." Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2): 145-150. go to summary
Larimer, Mary E., Lee, Christine M., Kilmer, Jason R., Fabiano, Patricia M., Stark, Christopher B., Geisner, Irene M., et al. (2007). Personalized Mailed Feedback for College Drinking Prevention: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 2, 285-293. go to summary
Lewis, M.A., and Neighbors, C. (2007). "Optimizing Personalized Normative Feedback: The Use of Gender-Specific Referents." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(3):385-392. go to summary
Lewis, M. L., Lee, C. M., Patrick. M. E., Fossos, N. (2007). "Gender-specific Normative Misperceptions of Risky Sexual Behavior and Alcohol-related Risky Sexual Behavior." Sex Roles, 57:81-90. go to summary
Lewis, Melissa A.; Neighbors, Clayton; Oster-Aaland, Laura; Kirkeby, Benjamin S.; and Larimer, Mary E. (2007). Indicated Prevention for Incoming Freshmen: Personalized Normative Feedback and High-Risk Drinking. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 11, 2495-2508. go to summary
Lewis, T. F. (2007). "Perceptions of Risk and Sex-Specific Social Norms in Explaining Alcohol Consumption among College Students: Implications for Campus Interventions." Journal of College Student Development, Vol. 48, No. 3., 297-310. go to summary
Martens, M.P., Ferrier, A.G., and Cimini, M.D. (2007). "Do Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate the Relationship Between Drinking Motives and Alcohol Use in College Students?." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 106-114. go to summary
McAlaney, J., McMahon, J. (2007) "Normative Beliefs, Misperceptions, and Heavy Episodic Drinking in a British Student Sample." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 228-237. go to summary
Neighbors, C., Fossos, N., Woods, B.A., Fabiano, P., Sledge, M., and Frost, D. (2007). "Social Anxiety as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Norms and Drinking." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 91-96. go to summary
Neighbors, C., Lee, C.M., Lewis, M., Fossos, N. (2007). "Are Social Norms the Best Predictors of Outcomes Among Heavy-Drinking College Students?" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68:556-565. go to summary
Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T. W., Whiteside, U., Fossos, N., Walker, D.D., Larimer, M. E. (2007). "
Injunctive Norms and Problem Gambling among College Students." Journal of Gambling Studies, 23:253-273. go to summary
Park, H.S, Smith, S.W. (2007) "Distinctiveness and Influence of Subjective Norms, Personal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms, and Societal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms on Behavioral Intent: A Case of Two Behaviors Critical to Organ Donation" Human Communication Research,33(2):194-218. go to summary
Perkins, H.W. (2007). "Misperceptions of Peer Drinking Norms in Canada: Another Look at the 'Reign of Error' and Its Consequences among College Students. " Addictive Behaviors, 32, 2645-2656. go to summary
Schultz, P.W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., Griskevicius, V. (2007). "
The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms." Psychological Science, Volume 18, No. 5, 429-434. go to summary
Thombs, Dennis L., Olds, R. Scott, Osborn, Cynthia J., Casseday, Sarah, Glavin, Kevin, Berkowitz, Alan D. (2007). Outcomes of a Technology-Based Social Norms Intervention to Deter Alcohol Use in Freshman Residence Halls. Journal of American College Health, 55, 6, 325-332. go to summary
Bobek, D.D., Roberts, R. W., Sweeney, J. T. (2007). "The Social Norms of Tax Compliance: Evidence from Australia, Singapore, and the United States". Journal of Business Ethics, 74:49-64. return to list
Abstract:
Tax compliance is a concern to governments around the world. Prior research has attributed unexplained inter-country differences in compliance rates to differences in social norms. Economics researchers studying tax compliance in the United States (U.S.) have called for more attention to social (as opposed to economic) influences on tax compliance. In this study, we extend this prior research by explicitly examining the role of social norms on tax compliance in three different countries. We test our research hypotheses using a hypothetical compliance scenario, which was administered in Australia, Singapore, and the U.S. There were differences in compliance rates and social norms among the three countries. Factor analysis of the social norm questions identified three distinct social norm constructs. Two of these factors were significant in explaining tax compliance behavior. The first and most influential factor was taxpayers' own personal moral beliefs, along with the beliefs of those close to them (e.g., friends and important others). The second significant factor represented societal views of proper behavior. We conclude that social norms help to explain tax compliance intentions and why tax compliance rates are higher than would be predicted by strictly economic models.
Chawla, N., Neighbors, C., Lewis, M.A., Lee, M.A., Larimer, M.A. (2007). "Attitudes and Perceived Approval of Drinking as Mediators of the Relationship Between the Importance of Religion and Alcohol Use". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(3): 410-418. return to list
Objective:
Previous research has consistently demonstrated that religiosity and personal importance of religion are associated with lower levels of alcohol use among both adolescents and college students. Although a number of different mechanisms have been proposed to account for this, few studies have empirically examined potential mediators of this relationship. Given the extensive literature on the impact of social norms on the drinking behavior of college students, the present study evaluates the role of perceived drinking norms as a mediator of the relationship between the importance of religion and alcohol use. Specifically, we examined both personal attitudes and perceived injunctive norms with regard to reference groups that vary in their proximity to students (i.e., close friends and typical college students).
Method:
Participants were 1,400 undergraduate students (60.6% women) who were assessed using self-report measures of alcohol consumption, importance of religion, attitudes, and perceived norms.
Results:
Results indicated that, consistent with the hypotheses, personal attitudes were the strongest mediator of the relationship between importance of religion and alcohol use, followed by the approval of close friends, and, to a lesser extent, the approval of typical college students.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that importance of religion may have an indirect effect on alcohol use via personal attitudes and the perceived approval or disapproval of important others, and this relationship varies as a function of reference group. Implications for interventions that incorporate information on social norms are discussed.
Cialdini, R. (2007). "Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control". Psychometrika, vol. 72, No. 2, 263-268. return to list
Abstract:
Böckenholt and van der Heijden's results regarding compliance with insurance regulations-that the enforcement activities of a regulatory agency were relatively unpredictive of compliance-are consistent with findings from other domains (e.g., tax adherence), where personal factors and informal social controls have been shown to play a more significant role. However, the specific form of informal social control investigated in Böckenholt and van der Heijden's study (the perceived approval/disapproval of friends and family) is not the only kind of informal social control that has proven effective in spurring compliance. Descriptive social norms, which involve perceptions not of what others approve but of what others actually do, also influence compliance decisions powerfully. Yet, the role of descriptive social norms in rule adherence is often underappreciated by governed and governors alike. The consequences of this relative lack of recognition are discussed within the arena of compliance with pro-environmental regulations and requests.
Dunnagan, T., Haynes, G., Linkenbach, J, Summers, H. (2007). "Support for Social Norms Programming to Reduce Alcohol Consumption in Pregnant Women". Addiction Research and Theory, 15(4):383-396. return to list
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to see if misperceptions existed between the amount of alcohol consumed by pregnant Montana women (actual norms) and the amount they perceived was consumed by other Montana women their same age (peer norms).
Method:
On the basis of a stratified cluster sampling, 712 women completed the Montana prenatal questionnaire (PNQ) during the first trimester of their pregnancy. Researchers collected the surveys from 40 randomly selected rural and frontier counties around the state over a two-year period. No data was collected from the state's seven reservation sites. The researchers examined demographic and personal characteristics, the actual and perceived amounts of alcohol consumed by other women their same age before and during their pregnancy, magnitude (number of drinks per session) and frequency (number of times per month), and misperceptions (the difference between actual consumption and expected peer consumption patterns).
Results:
The results of the investigation showed a consistent pattern of overestimation of peer alcohol use norms compared to actual norms within a sample of pregnant Montana women. The women surveyed almost always overestimated how much alcohol is consumed by other women their same age before and during pregnancy. Before their pregnancy, women perceived that other women their same age normally drank more than four times as much alcohol as they actually consumed. However, during their pregnancy, women perceived that other women of their same age normally drank over 102 times as much alcohol as they actually consumed. Furthermore, as the actual drinking increased there was typically a concomitant increase in perceived drinking creating a pattern of misperception based on the actual behavior. In addition to these results, the study found that Native Americans overestimated alcohol consumption significantly more before and during pregnancy than their Non-Native counterparts. Also, women that were physically abused during their pregnancy overestimated significantly more before their pregnancy and during their pregnancy than women who were not abused. Finally, women in better health significantly overestimated alcohol consumption before their pregnancy than women classified as fair or poor health. The only comparison that revealed an underestimation in drinking was between married and non-married women.
Conclusions:
The information from the study supports the application of intervention strategies designed to correct misperceptions of drinking norms in pregnant women as a way to reduce actual drinking rates. These findings also provide preliminary information that that can be used to help in the development of targeted communications related to drinking misperceptions. For example, a sub-population of women who have a dramatic misperception about drinking are Native American women. This information would allow interventions to be directed to a particularly vulnerable portion of the entire population using race specific data, i.e., actual norms of Native American women. In reviewing the results, however, it is also important to note that misperceptions existed for all measures of alcohol consumption by all personal and demographic variables.
Implications for the Field:
Social norms theory provides another consideration for preventing substance abuse during a pregnancy by changing perceptions and modifying social and cultural influences. This approach is different than enforcement in that incentives rather than penalties are used to promote healthy behavior of the mother and unborn child. Social norms interventions could be used to moderate alcohol consumption in women of child bearing ages before and during their pregnancies and may also hold promise for addressing problems associated with alcohol consumption during a pregnancy including the health of the unborn child (i.e. fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), fetal alcohol effect (FAE), and low birth weight).
Fisher, T.D. (2007). "Sex of Experimenter and Social Norm Effects on Reports of Sexual Behavior in Young Men and Women". Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36:1, 89-100. return to list
Abstract:
Past studies indicate that men generally report having had more sexual experience and sexual partners than women, as well as an earlier age at first intercourse. At least some of these findings may partially reflect different responses to certain contextual variables in research. College students (266 men and 463 women) were asked to anonymously report their sexual attitudes and behavior after reading one of three fictitious statements about research findings regarding gender differences in sexuality. Some past findings were replicated, with men reporting somewhat more sexual experience and more permissive sexual attitudes than women. However, women reported a significantly younger age at first intercourse than did men. While there was no significant sex difference for total number of sexual partners, there was a significant interaction. With female research assistants (but not with male assistants), men reported more sexual partners when they were told that women are now more sexually permissive than men. This finding appeared to be largely a function of the men who scored higher on measures of hypermasculinity and ambivalent sexism. Women's reports were not significantly affected by the wording of the cover sheet, regardless of the sex of the research assistant. Even in this anonymous survey, the sex of the experimenter and the nature of the statement about research findings had an impact on the sex differences that were found. In light of these results, some previous conclusions about male-female differences in sexual behavior may need to be examined more closely.
Ford, Jason. (2007). "Alcohol Use among College Students: A Comparison of Athletes and Non-athletes".Substance Use and Misuse. 42, 9, 1367-1377. return to list
Objective:
Prior research indicates that college students who participate in athletics are more likely to engage in a wide range of risky behaviors and report binge drinking than are non-athletes. The goal of this study is to examine why this population is at a greater risk for binge drinking. Research shows that college athletes spend the majority of their time with fellow teammates and other athletes and are potentially socially isolated from the general student body. Thus, college students in these "peer-intensive" contexts are more likely to be influenced by group norms, as individuals feel greater pressure to conform to group expectations of behavior. Social norms are examined to determine if they are a predictor of alcohol use among athletes.
Method:
This study used data from the 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS), a national study examining substance use and other health risk behaviors of college students in the United States. The CAS contains information on over 14,000 students at 119 four-year colleges and universities in 39 states. The study includes a set of social norms predictor variables in an effort to better understand alcohol use by college athletes. First, the CAS measured the perceived drinking behavior of peers by asking respondents to state the proportion of their friends that are binge drinkers (0 = 0% to 10 = 90-100%). Second, since the attitudes and behaviors of peers have a greater impact for college students who are more highly integrated, students were asked the number of close friends (0 = none to 5 = five or more) and the number of hours per day spent socializing with friends (0 = zero hours to 5 = five or more hours). Third, respondents reported the importance of parties as part of a college lifestyle (1 = not important at all to 4 = very important). Finally, since prior research indicates that both alcohol use by parents and legal drinking age are predictors of alcohol use among college students, respondents were asked measures of ideal legal drinking age (1 = 21 years-old and over to 5 = under 18-years-old) and parents drinking behavior (0 = No, 1 = Yes). It was expected that athletes would be more likely to report binge drinking than were non-athletes. Therefore, researchers examined the relationship between athletic status and binge drinking through a chi-square test and the relationship between binge drinking, athletic status, social norms, and controls through a series of logistic regression models.
Results:
Research findings indicate that athletes were more likely to report binge drinking in the past two weeks (odds ratio = 1.278), in part, because they viewed alcohol use as being more normative. Social norms predictors offered a potential explanation for the higher rates of binge drinking among college athletes. Respondents who believed parties are an important part of a college lifestyle, believed the legal drinking age should be lowered, have parents who drank, have more friends that were binge drinkers, have more close friends, and socialize more with their friends were all more likely to report binge drinking. These findings suggest that respondents with norms that are more accepting of alcohol use and binge drinking are more likely to binge drink themselves. These findings highlight the importance of social norms as a mediating variable in the relationship between athletic status and binge drinking among college students.
Conclusions:
The findings indicate that college students involved in athletics are at a greater risk for binge drinking than non-athletes are because alcohol use is more normative in their peer and reference groups. The normative nature of alcohol use puts pressure on athletes to use alcohol in order to conform to group expectations of behavior. A failure to use alcohol may result in social censure from peers. The finding of higher levels of binge drinking among athletes is consistent with findings from previous research and highlights the importance of closely examining the peer networks of athletes to determine if athletes are more likely to isolate themselves into athlete-only peer groups.
Implications for the Field:
Based on these findings, substance use programs that target college athletes should incorporate elements of the social norms approach. Changing the perception of the normative nature of alcohol use among college athletes should decrease their levels of use. Social norms prevention programs should focus on educating college athletes about the actual prevalence of alcohol use among their close friends and teammates, as close friends have a greater impact on behavior.
Goldstein, N.J., Griskevicius, V., and Cialdini, R.B. (2007). "Invoking Social Norms: A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels' Linen-Reuse Programs". Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2): 145-150. return to list
Social psychology theory can be applied to such mundane purposes as encouraging guests to reuse their washroom towels. In contrast to the appeals now in use to persuade guests to reuse their towels, research found that applying the norm of reciprocation and the descriptive norm for proenvironmental action improved guests' participation in one hotel's towel-reuse program. The implication is that such research ca also be applied to other areas of hotel operation to benefit businesses, consumers, and the environment.
Larimer, Mary E., Lee, Christine M., Kilmer, Jason R., Fabiano, Patricia M., Stark, Christopher B., Geisner, Irene M., et al. (2007). "Personalized Mailed Feedback for College Drinking Prevention: A Randomized Clinical Trial". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 2, 285-293. return to list
Objective:
This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a mailed feedback and tips intervention as a universal prevention strategy for college drinking. The study extended previous studies by implementing the intervention with a large population of college students and conducting a follow-up one year post-intervention to assess the long-term effects on drinking. In addition, the authors evaluated theoretically relevant moderators and mediators or intervention efficacy. The authors expected that feedback would be associated with reduced drinking overall, reduced likelihood of heavy episodic drinking, and increased likelihood of remaining abstinent compared with assessment-only controls. They further hypothesized that perceived descriptive norms and increased use of protective behavioral strategies would mediate intervention efficacy and that women and heavier drinkers would be more responsive to the feedback intervention.
Method:
Participants (N=1,488) were randomly assigned to feedback (N=737) or assessment-only (N=751) control conditions. Five different assessments were given and participants were mailed a series of ten weekly generic postcards with additional information regarding alcohol’s effects, cost of drinking, and specific protective strategies they could use to avoid drinking-related negative consequences. The postcards also included additional personalized feedback provided through motivational enhancement and multi-component skill-based approaches.
Results:
Results indicated that the mailed feedback intervention had a preventive effect on drinking rates overall, with participants in the feedback condition consuming less alcohol at follow-up in comparison with controls. In addition, abstainers in the feedback condition were twice as likely to remain abstinent from alcohol and refrain from heavy episodic drinking at follow-up in comparison with control participants. This finding suggests that skills-based interventions can serve as a preventive function for abstinent students. Participants in the control condition were 1.4 times more likely to report heavy episodic drinking at 1-year follow up compared to those in the intervention condition. The authors suggest this finding may show that mailed feedback may be a viable low-cost intervention as a first step for preventing heavy episodic drinking on campuses. Neither gender nor severity of baseline drinking moderated the efficacy of the intervention in these analyses. Protective behaviors mediated the relationship between the intervention and drinking outcomes with participants who received the intervention being more likely to use strategies such as setting limits and alternating alcohol with nonalcoholic beverages. Contrary to prior research, perceived descriptive norms did not mediate intervention efficacy. Results for this study were limited by a low recruitment rate, high participant burden, attrition, low participant contact between assessments, a reliance on self-report, assessment reactivity, and an uncertainty of participant feedback processing.
Conclusions:
The authors believe that the findings from this study support this type of intervention as a low-cost universal prevention approach that is appropriate for a variety of student drinking patterns and is associated with both maintenance of abstinence and prevention of heavy episodic drinking and overall drinking in comparison with controls. The results suggest that mailed feedback, including skills information and personalized normative feedback, could potentially replace other universal strategies not found to be effacious in drinking prevention.
Implications for the Field:
This study evaluated the efficacy of a mailed feedback and tips intervention, an approach designed to activate existing self-regulatory processes, in part through highlighting discrepancies between the individual's current behavior and his or her goals, values, or desired state of being. Developing these discrepancies is believed to promote readiness to change behavior as well as actual behavior change in order to reduce the discrepancy. Feedback is also designed to help correct misperceptions and myths related to high-risk drinking, such as misperception of the normative nature of heavy drinking, and introduce protective behavioral strategies the participant can use to reduce drinking and related risks.
Despite its efficacy and theoretical support, the authors acknowledge that there are several practical barriers to widespread implementation of motivational feedback and skills-based individual interventions on college campuses. These interventions require specialized training and ongoing supervision, and many campuses do not have the staffing and resources needed to implement researched approaches. In addition, many students are not interested in seeking in-person alcohol prevention services. Interventions that require students to make a substantial investment of time may have considerable difficulty reaching students. In addition, provision of in-person motivational or skills interventions as a preventive intervention for students who currently do not drink or drink very little is not resource efficient. Some research has indicated these interventions serve a preventive role for abstinent and light-drinking students, whereas other research has suggested they are more efficacious for heavier drinkers.
Lewis, M.A., and Neighbors, C. (2007). "Optimizing Personalized Normative Feedback: The Use of Gender-Specific Referents". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(3):385-392. return to list
Objective:
Many brief interventions include personalized normative feedback (PNF) using gender-specific or gender-neutral referents. Several theories suggest that information pertaining to more socially proximal referents should have greater influence on one's behavior compared with more socially distal referents. The current research evaluated whether gender specificity of the normative referent employed in PNF related to intervention efficacy.
Method:
Following baseline assessment, 185 college students (45.2% women) were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: gender-specific feedback, gender-neutral feedback, or assessment-only control. Immediately after completing measures of perceived norms, alcohol consumption, and gender identity, participants in the gender-neutral and gender-specific intervention conditions were provided with computerized information detailing their own drinking behavior, their perceptions of student drinking, and actual student drinking.
Results:
After a 1-month follow-up, the results indicated that normative feedback was effective in changing perceived norms and reducing alcohol consumption for both intervention groups for women and men. The results provide support, however, for changes in perceived gender-specific norms as a mediator of the effects of normative feedback on reduced drinking behavior for women only. Additionally, gender-specific feedback was found to be more effective for women higher in gender identity, relative to the gender-neutral feedback. A post-assessment follow-up telephone survey administered to assess potential demand characteristics corroborated the intervention effects.
Conclusions:
Results extend previous research documenting efficacy of computer delivered PNF. Gender specificity and gender identity appear to be important elements to consider for PNF intervention efficacy for women.
Lewis, M. L., Lee, C. M., Patrick. M. E., Fossos, N. (2007). "Gender-specific Normative Misperceptions of Risky Sexual Behavior and Alcohol-related Risky Sexual Behavior". Sex Roles, 57:81-90. return to list
Objective:
This study examined gender-specific normative perceptions of risky sexual behavior and alcohol-related risky sexual behavior among college students and their relationship with one’s own sexual behavior. As found with drinking behavior, normative perceptions for same-sex peers may be especially important when evaluating risky sexual behavior and alcohol-related risky sexual behavior, as it represents a more proximal referent.
Method:
Undergraduate students from the United States (N = 687; 57.6% female) completed baseline measures and follow-up surveys at 3-, 6-, and 9-months assessing perceived sexual behavior and their personal engagement in risky sexual behavior and alcohol-related risky sexual behaviors. Students were randomized to either an intervention or assessment-only control condition and were surveyed on their normative perceptions of other’s engagement in risky behaviors, including sex, illicit drug use, and alcohol consumption. .
Results:
The findings of this study demonstrated that both male and female students perceived others as engaging in more risky sexual behavior than they do and that perceived norms were positively associated with one’s own behavior. Women displayed a greater normative misperception for number of sexual partners and frequency of casual sexual intercourse for their male peers. Same-sex perceptions were associated with greater frequency of casual sexual intercourse and alcohol-related risky sexual behavior; whereas, opposite-sex norms were not associated with risky sexual behavior or alcohol-related risky sexual behavior. These findings are consistent with Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) and Social Impact Theory (Latane, 1981), which suggest that more socially proximal normative referents (i.e., same-sex) should have greater influence on one’s behavior compared to more socially distal normative referents (i.e., opposite-sex).
Conclusions:
Little research has examined the association between perceived risky sexual behavior and actual sexual behavior. The present study extends previous research showing that college students perceived that same-sex and opposite-sex peers engaged in more risky sexual behavior and alcohol-related risky sexual behavior than they do. Moreover, these results show that same-sex perceptions of risky sexual behavior and alcohol-related risky sexual behavior are related to one’s own sexual behavior and alcohol consumption..
Implications for the Field:
The present results are consistent with research examining perceived drinking norms, suggesting that perceived risky sexual behavior norms may influence risky sexual behavior in the same manner that perceived drinking norms influence drinking behavior (Neighbors et al., 2006a). As found with drinking, perceived behavior may precede and therefore influence one’s actual behavior. The research also demonstrates normative misperceptions for risky sexual behavior, thus providing initial support for incorporating personalized normative feedback (PNF) behavior into brief interventions that aim to reduce risky sexual behavior among college students. Providing PNF to students demonstrating that sexual behavior is not as prevalent or as widespread as they thought may cause students to reevaluate their own behavior. These findings suggest that correcting misperceptions is more likely to reduce risk behavior than to foster complacency or resistance among individuals who engage in these high-risk behaviors.
Lewis, Melissa A.; Neighbors, Clayton; Oster-Aaland, Laura; Kirkeby, Benjamin S.; and Larimer, Mary E. (2007). "Indicated Prevention for Incoming Freshmen: Personalized Normative Feedback and High-Risk Drinking". Addictive Behaviors, 32, 11, 2495-2508. return to list
Objective:
This study evaluated the efficacy of a computerized personalized normative feedback (PNF) intervention on reducing alcohol consumption among high-risk drinking freshmen. The study examined whether students would demonstrate normative misperceptions for both gender-neutral and gender-specific norms (i.e., same-sex and opposite-sex norms) for freshmen and if same-sex gender-specific norms for freshmen would be more strongly related to personal behavior in comparison to gender-neutral or opposite-sex gender-specific norms for freshmen.
Method:
Three hundred and sixteen freshmen students enrolled in a first-year orientation course at a midsized Midwest university completed measures of perceived drinking norms and drinking behavior. The students were screened to identify freshmen drinking norms for the campus as well as potential participants for the longitudinal study. Students reporting at least one heavy-drinking episode in the previous month were recruited to participate in a baseline and three-and five-month follow-up assessment. Recruited students were randomized into one of three intervention conditions: freshmen-specific personalized normative feedback that was gender-specific or gender-neutral or to an assessment-only control group. The resulting sample consisted of 245 students.
Students completed a web-based survey and participants in the two personalized normative feedback conditions received feedback via the computer screen and printout. PNF feedback included information pertaining to personal drinking behavior, personal perceptions of typical student drinking behavior, and information regarding actual norms for typical student drinking behavior. Based on responses from the screening survey, participants in the gender-neutral PNF were provided gender-neutral norms (e.g., the typical freshman consumes 9.23 drinks per week) whereas participants in the gender-specific PNF condition received gender-specific norms (e.g., the typical female freshman consumes 7.95 drinks per week). Students receiving PNF were also provided with the percentile rank of their drinking in comparison to other students. The researchers evaluated whether there were intervention effects on drinking, on perceived norms, and whether intervention effects on drinking were due to intervention effects on perceived norms. Drinks per week and drinking frequency were examined separately.
Results:
The findings demonstrated that students exhibited normative misperceptions for typical freshmen drinking behavior and that the perceptions of typical same-sex freshmen drinking were positively associated with riskier drinking behavior. Women displayed greater misperceptions than men for drinks per week and drinking frequency. At follow-up, students randomly assigned to receive PNF reduced perceptions of typical freshmen drinking behavior and personal drinking behavior relative to those who did not receive PNF. Results indicated that both gender-neutral and same-sex gender-specific PNF were efficacious in reducing drinking behavior in comparison to the control group. Although there were no significant differences between feedback conditions as expected, the same-sex gender-specific PNF effects were noted on both outcome variables (drinking quantity and frequency) whereas gender-neutral feedback significantly impacted frequency but not quantity. For reducing drinking behavior, these findings suggest gender-specific feedback may be preferable to gender-neutral feedback, at least for freshmen students. This may be due to the increased believability or relevance of the normative information provided.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to demonstrate gender-specific normative misperceptions for freshmen-specific referents. These findings suggest that normative perceptions for more specific referents (i.e., typical same-sex freshmen) are more strongly associated with drinking behavior compared to less specific referents (i.e., typical freshmen). This research also replicates previous research documenting the efficacy of PNF as a single component intervention to reduce college student drinking; however, this is the first study to do so among heavy-drinking freshmen, using freshmen-specific norms. Results support the continuation of research aimed at enhancing effects of PNF through identifying optimal referent groups and assessing mediators of intervention efficacy.
Implications for the field:
The findings extend previous evaluations of computer-based PNF and suggest that computer-based PNF for incoming freshmen utilizing freshmen-specific norms that are gender-specific may constitute a promising prevention strategy.
Lewis, T. F. (2007). "Perceptions of Risk and Sex-Specific Social Norms in Explaining Alcohol Consumption among College Students: Implications for Campus Intervention". Journal of College Student Development, Vol. 48, No. 3., 297-310. return to list
The aim of this study was to expand the assessment of two explanatory models of drinking behavior-perceptions of risk and social norms-and determine their relationship to dimensions of alcohol involvement in a multivariate evaluation.
The Alcohol and Drug Survey was administered to a sample (N = 235) of college
students from a university in the Southeast. Results from the canonical correlation analysis revealed that perceived normative beliefs of closest friends of the same sex best explained dimensions of alcohol involvement. Perceptions of risk were associated with drinking involvement, although the direction of relationships was unexpectedly
positive. Implications for campus interventions are discussed.
Martens, M.P., Ferrier, A.G., and Cimini, M.D. (2007). "Do Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate the Relationship Between Drinking Motives and Alcohol Use in College Students?" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 106-114. return to list
Objective:
Heavy alcohol use among college students represents a public health problem on American college campuses. Use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) has been shown to be related to reduced alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems, but the relationship of PBS to other alcohol-related constructs is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of PBS mediated the relationship between positively and negatively reinforcing drinking motives and both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.
Method:
Data were collected on 254 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the northeast region of the United States. Approximately one third (n = 90) of the participants were volunteers, whereas the remaining individuals enrolled in the study as an option for satisfying an alcohol-related campus judicial sanction.
Results:
Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that use of PBS partially mediated the relationships between positively reinforcing (i.e., social and enhancement) drinking motives and both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Use of PBS did not mediate the relationship between negatively reinforcing (i.e., coping) drinking motives and alcohol use or alcohol-related problems. The theoretical models accounted for 26% of the variance in alcohol use and 24% of the variance in alcohol-related problems.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that PBS should be incorporated into theoretical models devoted to understanding college student drinking.
McAlaney, J., McMahon, J. (2007). "Normative Beliefs, Misperceptions, and Heavy Episodic Drinking in a British Student Sample". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 228-237. return to list
Objective:
Numerous studies have demonstrated the existence and effect of normative misperceptions on heavy episodic drinking behavior. However, there has been little work on these processes or application of normative-belief interventions outside the U.S. college system. The aim of the current study, therefore, was to investigate heavy episodic drinking and normative misperceptions in a U.K. university setting.
Method:
An email containing a link to a survey Web site was distributed to all current undergraduate students at the University of Paisley, Scotland. In addition to age and gender questions, the survey contained items on students' personal behavior and perception of the level of that behavior in three groups of increasing social distance: close friends, other students of the same age, and other people of the same age in U.K. society in general. Results: Completed surveys from 500 respondents were returned. In keeping with previous research, significant correlations were found between the respondents' behavior and the perception of that behavior in others, with beliefs about the most proximal individuals being the most strongly correlated. The majority of respondents were also found to overestimate alcohol consumption in other students. An age effect was noted, in which misperceptions appeared to decrease with age but did not vary between genders.
Conclusions:
The findings of the study indicate that the normative-belief alcohol consumption processes that have been found on U.S. college campuses also operate in U.K. university settings. This raises the possibility of applying social-norms interventions from the United States to the United Kingdom and potentially elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, the study noted apparent age effects in the degree of misperception, the implications of which are discussed.
Neighbors, C., Fossos, N., Woods, B.A., Fabiano, P., Sledge, M., and Frost, D. (2007). "Social Anxiety as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Norms and Drinking". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68: 91-96. return to list
Objective:
College students overestimate the drinking of their peers, and the more they overestimate, the more they drink. The present research was designed to evaluate social anxiety as a moderator of the relationship between perceived norms and drinking among college men and women.
Method:
Participants included 1,217 first-year residence-hall students (62.8% women) who completed Web-based assessments of social anxiety, perceived norms, and self-reported drinking.
Results:
Results replicated previous research in that students overestimated the drinking of their peers (d = 0.75, p < .001). Students who had higher social anxiety drank somewhat more but did not differ from students who had lower social anxiety on perceived norms. However, the relationship between perceived norms and drinking was stronger among students who had higher social anxiety (d = 0.92, p < .001) relative to less socially anxious students (d = 0.02, p = NS). Higher levels of social anxiety were associated with a stronger relationship between perceived norms and drinking for both men (d = 0.86, p < .001) and women (d = 0.50, p < .001) but stronger for men (d = 0.26, p < .001).
Conclusions:
These results corroborate previous literature, which suggests that social factors are important determinants of drinking in this population and suggest that social anxiety is associated with susceptibility to peer influences on drinking. Additional work evaluating whether reductions in social anxiety may ameliorate the impact of perceived norms on drinking would be worthwhile.
Neighbors, C., Lee, C.M., Lewis, M., Fossos, N. (2007). "Are Social Norms the Best Predictors of Outcomes Among Heavy-Drinking College Students?" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68:556-565. return to list
Objective:
This study was designed to evaluate the contribution of social norms, demographics, drinking motives, and alcohol expectancies in predicting alcohol consumption and related problems among heavy-drinking college students.
Method:
Participants included 818 (57% women) first-year undergraduates who reported at least one heavy-drinking episode in the previous month on a web-based screening survey. In addition to providing demographic information such as gender and fraternity or sorority membership, participants completed multiple web-based assessments of social norms (perceived descriptive norms regarding typical student drinking and injunctive norms regarding friends’ and parents’ approval), drinking motives (social, enhancement, coping, and conformity), and alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluations of positive and negative alcohol effects. These factors have all been shown to predict heavy drinking among college students and have been directly or indirectly incorporated in existing interventions. Researchers also examined alcohol consumption and problems and the extent to which the relationships between predictors and problems were mediated by consumption.
Results:
Regression results indicated that descriptive and injunctive norms of friends were among the best predictors of college student drinking. Coping motives accounted for the largest portion of unique variance and were related to alcohol-related problems but not consumption. Alcohol consumption mediated the relationships between predictors and problems for social norms, whereas coping motives, negative expectancies, and evaluation of negative effects were directly associated with alcohol problems despite having relatively weak or null unique associations with consumption.
Conclusions:
The results of the study substantiate descriptive norms as being among the best predictors of alcohol consumption in this population and suggest that drinking to cope is a better predictor of problems. The findings suggest that strategies that are effective in changing perceived norms might have a larger impact on drinking than strategies without a normative component. The results provide support for strategies that are effective in changing alcohol expectancies as a way to impact alcohol-related problems more directly as well as intervention strategies that directly address drinking motivations. Although the findings support both social norms and alcohol expectancies as possible mechanisms of change for reducing alcohol consumption and problems, social norms-based interventions can reach a larger audience with lower cost than expectancy challenge strategies such as motivational interviewing and personalized feedback.
Implications for the Field:
Identifying the relative strength of predictors of problem drinking has important practical implications for theory and intervention approaches. With respect to intervention implications, campuses have limited resources to plan programs designed to reduce harmful drinking practices. Identifying the relative priority of factors associated with drinking can inform policy makers in designing programs that directly target factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on drinking.
The present research extends previous examinations of the relationships among norms, consumption, and alcohol-related problems. The finding that consumption largely mediates the relationship between social norms and problems suggests that students who overestimate the drinking of their peers and who perceive their friends as more approving of alcohol have more problems because they drink more. This research reiterates the influence that friends and parents have on drinking. Results suggest that interventions that incorporate friends and parents in addition to descriptive norms for typical students might improve effectiveness. Additional discussions of strategies for addressing friends’ expectations regarding alcohol might be worthwhile.
Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T. W., Whiteside, U., Fossos, N., Walker, D.D., Larimer, M. E. (2007). "Injunctive Norms and Problem Gambling among College Students". Journal of Gambling Studies, 23:253-273. return to list
Abstract:
Two studies examined the relationships among injunctive norms and college student gambling. In study 1 we evaluated the accuracy of perceptions of other students' approval of gambling and the relationship between perceived approval and gambling behavior. In study 2 we evaluated gambling behavior as a function of perceptions of approval of other students, friends, and family. In study 1, which included 2524 college students, perceptions of other students' approval of gambling were found to be overestimated and were negatively associated with gambling behavior. The results of study 2, which included 565 college students, replicated the findings of study 1 and revealed positive associations between gambling behavior and perceived approval of friends and family. Results highlight the complexity of injunctive norms and the importance of considering the reference group (e.g., peers, friends, family members) in their evaluation. Results also encourage caution in considering the incorporation of injunctive norms in prevention and intervention approaches.
Park, H.S, Smith, S.W. (2007). "Distinctiveness and Influence of Subjective Norms, Personal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms, and Societal Descriptive and Injunctive Norms on Behavioral Intent: A Case of Two Behaviors Critical to Organ Donation". Human Communication Research, 33(2):194-218. return to list
The effects of the attitudinal, normative, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) components of the theory of planned behavior and personal- and societal-level descriptive and injunctive norms were investigated with regard to their impact on the intent to enroll on a state organ-donor registry and the intent to engage in family discussion about organ donation. The results indicated that the 5 types of norms were distinct across the 2 behaviors. Different types of norms served as predictors and as moderators for the 2 behavioral intentions. The effects of attitudes toward each behavior and PBC were moderated by personal descriptive norms for behavioral intention to sign and by subjective norms for behavioral intention to talk with family.
Perkins, H.W. (2007). "Misperceptions of Peer Drinking Norms in Canada: Another Look at the 'Reign of Error' and Its Consequences among College Students ". Addictive Behaviors, 32, 2645-2656. return to list
Objective:
The research linking misperceived norms to high risk drinking (and more accurate perceptions to more moderate drinking) has been largely confined to studies conducted within the United States. This study sought to expand the investigation of perceived drinking norms among university students by conducting research with data gathered in the Canadian context. The study examined such things as estimations of consumption, perceived norms and personal behaviors, perception of peers as a predictor of personal drinking, and withdrawal from social interaction and alienation from campus life based on the misperceptions of students’ who abstain or drink very lightly.
Method:
Data was collected in a 2003–2004 survey of students (N = 5280) attending 11 institutions across 7 provinces in Canada. The survey cannot be taken as a fully representative sample of undergraduates across Canada, however, as Quebec students were not represented in the aggregate data. Surveys were administered by The Student Life Education Company (SLEC) either to a random sample of students through the mail or to students attending a diverse selection of classes. The survey asked questions about a variety of personal attitudes and behaviors as well as about what students thought were the most typical drinking patterns of other students attending their institution. Specifically of interest concerning drinking were items about frequency of consumption of alcohol and quantities consumed. The survey also asked students how they spend their time, how much they participated in and felt a part of their academic institution, and standard demographic background questions.
Results:
The results demonstrate that regardless of the actual drinking norm on each campus, students most commonly overestimated the alcohol consumption norms (both quantity and frequency levels) in every instance. Students' perception of their campus drinking norm was the strongest predictor of the amount of alcohol personally consumed in comparison with the influence of all demographic variables. Perception of the norm was also a much stronger predictor of personal use than the actual campus norm for consumption on each campus or the actual norm for compliance with campus regulations. Among students who personally abstain or consume lightly, misperceptions of the student drinking norms contribute to alienation from campus life. Overestimates of the general student drinking norm by light and non-drinkers were also associated with a greater tendency to be unhappy at school most of the time, the belief that they did not fit in with other students on campus, and the belief that it was not important to work with other students to improve their school.
Conclusions:
The data collected from the Canadian college students demonstrate a pattern of peer drinking norm misperception consistent with that observed in nationwide studies of U.S. college and university students. Most students tend to misperceive their peer norms at each school and often overestimate both the frequency of drinking and the quantities consumed in social contexts. Misperceptions may pressure or encourage otherwise moderate drinking students to drink more heavily and may also allow students predisposed to high risk drinking to do so freely with the belief that they do not have a problem because they are just like everyone else. In addition, the exaggerated misperceptions of drinking norms that exist even among light drinkers and abstainers can have negative consequences as well. Those students preferring not to drink or to drink in small quantities may feel they are less like most other students than is really the case. These misperceptions may push them to feel that they have little in common with most peers if they think others are drinking frequently and regularly consuming large quantities in social occasions. Thus, the misperceptions may lead light drinkers and abstainers to feel more alienated from other students and their school in general than would otherwise be the case. The data suggest that a broad range of students—abstainers and light drinkers as well as moderate and heavy drinkers—may benefit from implementing intervention strategies that can correct or reduce these misperceptions.
Implications for the Field:
The data reported here provide further evidence supporting the implementation of intervention strategies that correct or reduce misperceptions of college drinking norms among students. Academic administrators and other college student personnel concerned with promoting student health and well-being among Canadian students may wish to consider initiatives that can reduce heavy drinking and misperceptions and give students a more realistic (more moderate) view of peer drinking. Such an initiative may help the already light drinkers and abstainers to feel more at home and participate more actively in campus life. Increasing participation in campus life for these students may also increase student retention.
Schultz, P.W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., Griskevicius, V. (2007). "The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms." Psychological Science, Volume 18, No. 5, 429-434. return to list
Objective:
Normative messages have had mixed success in changing behavior in field contexts, with some studies showing boomerang effects. The purpose of the study was to explore how normative information may differentially affect household energy consumption and conservation depending on whether the message recipients' behavior is above or below the norm.
Method:
The researchers selected 290 households from three census-block groups in San Marcos, CA, with visible energy meters. Prior to any experimental intervention, research assistants read the households' electricity meters twice within a 2-week period. The difference between these two readings was used to establish an initial baseline measure of daily energy usage for each household. The baseline was used for the descriptive normative feedback and to determine the injunctive feedback for the first written message (i.e., whether the household consumed more or less than the average). All households received feedback, in the form of informative doorhangers, about how much energy they had consumed in previous weeks and descriptive normative information about the average consumption of other households in their neighborhood. Households were divided into two categories at each observation period: those with energy consumption above average for the community and those with energy consumption below average for the community. Households were randomly assigned to receive either descriptive normative information only or descriptive normative information plus an injunctive message conveying that their energy consumption was either approved or disapproved. For households in the descriptive-norm-only condition, each message contained handwritten information about how much energy (in kilowatt-hours per day) they had used in the previous week(s), descriptive normative information about the actual energy consumption of the average household in their neighborhood during that same period (in kilowatt-hours per day), and preprinted suggestions for how to conserve energy. Households in the descriptive-plus-injunctive-information condition received the same information as did those in the descriptive-norm-only group, with one key addition. Households that consumed less than the average received a message displaying a positively valenced emoticon (
), whereas those that consumed more than the average received a message displaying a negatively valenced emoticon (
). The valence of the emoticon was used to communicate an injunctive message of approval or disapproval for the amount of energy being consumed.
Results:
As predicted by the researchers, a descriptive normative message detailing average neighborhood usage decreased energy consumption in households consuming more energy than their neighborhood average. This result is indicative of the constructive power of social norms, demonstrating that normative information can facilitate pro-environmental behavior. On the other hand, descriptive normative information increased energy consumption, producing an undesirable boomerang effect in households consuming less energy than their neighborhood average. This result is indicative of the destructive power of social norms, demonstrating that a well-intended application of normative information can actually serve to decrease pro-environmental behavior. Also as predicted, the undesirable boomerang effect was eliminated in households consuming less energy than their neighborhood average when researchers provided both descriptive normative information and an injunctive message that other people approved of their low-consumption behavior. These households continued to consume at low rates. This result is indicative of the reconstructive power of injunctive messages to eliminate the untoward effects of a descriptive norm.
Conclusions:
Overall, the results were consistent with predictions and displayed that normative interventions are effective over both the short and long term.The results suggest that for individuals who tend to engage in destructive behaviors, a descriptive normative message can be a guide to engaging in more constructive behavior; in contrast, for individuals who already engage in the constructive behavior, a descriptive normative message can be a spur to engaging in more destructive behavior. The results show that adding an injunctive element of approval helps to ameliorate these unwanted effects.
Implications for the Field:
The results offer an explanation for the mixed success of persuasive appeals based on social norms and suggest how such appeals should be properly crafted. Although social norm campaigns are typically aimed at individuals whose behavior is less desirable than the norm, the widespread nature of these campaigns nearly ensures that those whose behavior is more desirable than the norm will also receive the message.
Thombs, Dennis L., Olds, R. Scott, Osborn, Cynthia J., Casseday, Sarah, Glavin, Kevin, Berkowitz, Alan D. (2007). "Outcomes of a Technology-Based Social Norms Intervention to Deter Alcohol Use in Freshman Residence Halls". Journal of American College Health, 55, 6, 325-332. return to list
Objective:
The project was designed to address concerns about relying exclusively on self-report data. Researchers developed and implemented a prototype social norms intervention that was designed to assess and deter nighttime alcohol use in two freshmen residence halls. The researchers sought to determine whether credible and personally relevant normative feedback, provided via a secure website and based heavily on objective BAC data, could reduce alcohol intoxication levels as well as self-reported drinking behaviors and consequences in an intervention residence hall compared with a comparison residence hall.
Method:
For two academic years, the authors conducted nighttime interviews and breath tests in two residence halls, each housing about 96 students at a large public university in Ohio. One residence hall served as the intervention site and the other a comparison site. Approximately 384 freshmen participated in the study over the 2-year period. The authors devised a feedback method that assessed residents' blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at night and allowed the readings to be retrieved the next day via the Web. Residents in an intervention hall received their BAC readings as well as normative feedback. This information allowed students living in the intervention hall to: 1) learn how their nighttime drinking behavior compared with that of other students in their building, (2) gain additional information about alcohol, (3) have the opportunity to engage in interactive motivational activities, including self-assessments, and (4) consult with a clinician (anonymously via telephone, by e-mail, or during an office visit). In a comparison hall, residents could retrieve only the BAC readings. Upon deciding to participate, residents visited a lounge in their residence hall where a nighttime interviewer was stationed. Here they anonymously logged into a computer and were interviewed about the number of drinks consumed that day and the number of minutes since the last drink, if any. Students were breath-tested and instructed to go online the next day and complete a survey assessing negative consequences experienced as a result of alcohol consumption the previous night. Following the survey, students were provided their BAC reading from the previous night. If the BAC was >.10 mg/ml, the resident was informed only that: "your BAC was greater than or equal to .10 mg/ml." This was done to discourage risky, competitive drinking. The authors also recruited students from both halls to participate in a culminating individual interview about their perceptions of the effectiveness of the program.
Results:
During the 2-year project, the authors conducted a total of 7,087 nighttime interviews in the 2 freshman residence halls. Only 61% of students participating in the nighttime interviews visited the project website the next day. About 80-90% of the residents in both halls used the BAC service on at least one occasion. Overall feedback by students of the online BAC service was positive. The researchers hypothesized that the provision of normative feedback on the basis of BAC data would deter alcohol use in freshmen students. The findings did not support this hypothesis. On some quantitative measures, the intervention hall had a slightly higher level of alcohol involvement. In addition to these results, the intervention did not increase help seeking behavior among the residents of the intervention hall as hypothesized. Over the course of the study, no student contacted the clinician involved in the project and only 11 students in the intervention hall conducted an online self-assessment of their readiness to change their drinking behaviors.
Conclusions:
Qualitative findings suggest the intervention had an overall positive impact, but that the actions of a subgroup of rebellious drinkers might have obscured the effect. The authors intended for the normative feedback to reassure freshmen residents that nondrinking was the norm on the hall; however, the social norms interventions may have provoked some episodes of excessive drinking in students who found these messages objectionable. More research is needed to evaluate delayed BAC feedback.
Implications for the Field:
In college drinking studies, error in self-report may result from (1) an inability to accurately remember the frequency and quantity of drinking: (2) an impaired ability to recall the quantity of consumed drinks during heavy drinking episodes; (3) a lack of proficiency in estimating a standard alcoholic drink; and (4) an intentional misrepresentation. In addition, researchers cannot use self-report survey data to account for individual differences in alcohol metabolism, body weight, food consumption, and duration of consumption in documenting peak intoxication levels. This study supports using a direct assessment of blood alcohol concentration in the field by a breath-testing device as a way to reduce error in estimated BACs.