Press Releases, Op-Eds, Open Letters
Note: Here you will find press releases, op-eds and open letters related to various issues concerning the social norms approach. Some of the links presented here are to pieces that have been authored by experts in the field who are not directly affiliated with the National Social Norms Resource Center. These items, which are freely available on other sites, are referenced here because of the perspective they provide on various emergent issues in the area of social norms. October 21, 2002The Main Frame: Strategies for Generating Social Norms News (read online)
A practical, easy-to-use resource for social norms practioners who want to generate coverage of their projects and the social norms approach in general. This guide is designed to provide practical advice on generating news coverage and positively influencing the public discussion of health and safety issues. (Note: This is a pdf file that will open in a new window.)
July 22, 2001from USA Today
Facts Change Student Drinking
By Michael Haines, Director, National Social Norms Resource Center
"We've learned that by changing students' perceptions of what is 'normal' drinking behavior, we can reduce alcohol abuse. When students are armed with the truth about the moderate and responsible drinking habits of the majority of their peers, they tend to consume less themselves."
This op-ed piece highlights the effectiveness of the social norms approach in reducing college alcohol abuse. Mention is made of a number of institutions that have implemented or are about to implement a social norms campaign. They include: the University of Arizona, the University of Virginia, Hobart and Williams Smith Colleges, Northern Illinois University, and the California State University system, comprising 23 campuses and 370,000 students.
July 13, 2001:This summary of the July 2001 California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees' meeting begins with a press release regarding the Trustees' approval of its Comprehensive Systemwide Alcohol Policy. "One key component of the [adopted] recommendation is the use of the social norms approach, which uses information campaigns to correct student misperceptions of peers' drinking habits."
For background information, see the Agenda of the CSU Committee on Educational Policy, which includes the Alcohol Policies and Prevention Program Comittee's Final Report (on pages 5-6. Note: This a pdf file.)
March 21, 2001:A response to the Sample Op-Ed proposed by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) for Alcohol Awareness Month (April, 2001)
A statement issued by Michael Haines, Director of the National Social Norms Resource Center, rebutting the claim by NCADD's President that the social norms approach is an unproven prevention strategy entirely underwritten by the "public relations machine of the alcohol beverage industry." Mr. Haines argues that the social norms approach is of proven effectiveness, increases moderate alcohol use and abstinence, and is in fact primarily funded by the federal government.
For background information regarding the recent interest of the alcohol beverage industry in the social norms approach, see:
"Uneasy Alliance: On Many Campuses Big Brewers Play a Role In New Alcohol Policies,"
by Shailagh Murray and Bryan Gruley
from the November 2, 2000 issue of the Wall Street Journal.
Note: the link to the Wall Street Journal article is provided courtesy of the Anheuser-Busch Department of Consumer Awareness and Education.
October 2, 2000:A Response to the September 2000 issue of the Journal of American College Health
A statement issued by Michael Haines, Director of the National Social Norms Resource Center, in reaction to the articles and editorials in the September 2000 issue of the Journal of American College Health. Mr. Haines addresses Henry Wechsler's assertion that the existence of pervasive exaggerated misperceptions is a "myth," and comments extensively on the findings of Carter, Kahnweiler, Thombs and Werch that social norms approaches failed to change behavior in their various interventions.
September 2000:Study Confirms College Students Perceptions of Campus Drinking Rates are Inaccurate
An press release by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention regarding the results of a new national study confirming that college students overestimate the amount of alcohol consumed by their peers.
Telling It Like It Is: Using Social Norms Marketing Campaigns to Reduce Student DrinkingBy William DeJong, Ph.D., and Jeff Linkenbach, Ed.D.
Published in the December 1999 issue of the Bulletin of the American Association of Higher Education, this article provides an excellent overview of the theoretical basis of the social norms approach, discusses several successful social norms marketing campaigns, explores the implications of the social norms approach for college administrators, and explains why the term "binge drinking" is inaccurate and misleading for those who work in the field of health promotion.
The National Social Norms Resource Centerwww.socialnorm.org