Delivered at:: School of Psychology

Course type:: Elective course

When:: 3 year, 2 module

Abstract

This is a course on social norms, the rules that glue societies together. It teaches how to diagnose social norms, and how to distinguish them from other social constructs, like customs or conventions. These distinctions are crucial for effective policy interventions aimed to create new, beneficial norms or eliminate harmful ones. In these lectures, author introduce all the basic concepts and definitions, such as social expectations and conditional preferences, that help us distinguish between different types of social practices like customs, descriptive norms and social norms. Expectations and preferences can be measured, and these lectures explain how to measure them. Measurement is crucial to understanding the nature of the practice you are facing, as well as whether an intervention was or was not successful, and why.

Learning Objectives

To measure social norms and the expectations that support them
To decide whether they cause specific behaviors

Expected Learning Outcomes

Undersand how to diagnose social norms
Know the tools for assessing and intervening on various social behaviors
Undersand how to diagnose social norms.
Know the tools for assessing and intervening on various social behaviors.

Course Contents

Interdependent & Independent Actions + Empirical Expectations
Welcome Social Norms, Social Change. This course aims to give you the tools to understand, measure, and change collective practices. This module focuses on two of the basic building blocks the theory of social norms is built on: the distinction between interdependent and independent behavior, and empirical expectations.
Normative Expectations + Personal Normative Beliefs
This module adds two more of the basic building blocks of the theory: normative expectations and personal normative beliefs. Although both are "normative" — that is, both have a component dealing with a "should" — there are important differences between normative expectations and personal normative beliefs.
Conditional Preferences + Social Norms
In this module we cover two topics: conditional preferences and social norms. Conditional preferences are the final basic building block of the theory of social norms. After studying all these building blocks, we can finally assemble them to understand what it means for a collective practice to be a social norm.
Pluralistic Ignorance + Measuring Norms
This module covers two important topics: pluralistic ignorance and norm measurement. Sometimes individuals endorse their social norms, but sometimes they do not. Knowing when a norm is endorsed is crucial for intervention. But how do we know we are dealing with a social norm or whether it's endorsed? Measurement answers that question.

Assessment Elements

Quiz 1: Independent and Interdependent Behavior
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 2: Empirical Expectations
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 3: Normative Expectations
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 4: Personal Normative Beliefs
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 5: Conditional Preferences
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 6: Social Norms
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 7: Pluralistic Ignorance
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 8A: Measuring Norms, Part 1
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points
Quiz 8B: Measuring Norms, Part 2
96 - 100% - 10 points 86 - 95% - 9 points 76% -85% - 8 points 75% -70% - 7 points 0 - 69% - 0 points

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (2 module)
0.12 * Quiz 1: Independent and Interdependent Behavior + 0.11 * Quiz 2: Empirical Expectations + 0.11 * Quiz 3: Normative Expectations + 0.11 * Quiz 4: Personal Normative Beliefs + 0.11 * Quiz 5: Conditional Preferences + 0.11 * Quiz 6: Social Norms + 0.11 * Quiz 7: Pluralistic Ignorance + 0.11 * Quiz 8A: Measuring Norms, Part 1 + 0.11 * Quiz 8B: Measuring Norms, Part 2

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Yuliya Kryukova, Юлия Крюкова Евгеньевна, & Галина Сорина Вениаминовна. (2018). Social norms in society as the integral factor of formation and estimation of reputation of the individual ; Социальные нормы в обществе как неотъемлемый фактор формирования и оценки репутации индивида. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.5D620F70

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Elinor Ostrom. (2000). Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms. Journal of Economic Perspectives, (3), 137. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.14.3.137

Bachelor’s Programme 'Psychology'

Social Norms, Social Change I

Course Syllabus