The social norms marketing approach has been used in a variety of contexts to alter problematic behaviors that are believed to occur at least in part as a consequence of misperceived norms. Behavior change occurs by correcting the misperception that leads some individuals to engage in non-normal behavior because they believe it to be normal.
The approach has often been used to change health-related behaviors, especially alcohol consumption among college students. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Wechsler and associates documented and decried widespread patterns of heavy consumption or binge drinking among college students, at least partly out of concern for the harms associated with alcohol consumption. In response, many colleges and universities launched efforts to reduce problematic drinking among their students through various approaches, e.g., alcohol education, fear-based approaches, heightened enforcement, environmental management, social norming, etc. A number of those applying a social norming approach who attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of their campaigns found generally positive results, but others also reported negative results. However, the assessment of the impact on harms of any alcohol-related behavior change has been limited.
Article link: Social Norming and the Reduction of Harm from Heavy Drinking
