Social Norms, Social Change (2-part course)

Master 2021/2022

Type: Elective course (Comparative Social Research)

Area of studies: Sociology

Delivered by: School of Sociology

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 2 year, 1 module

Mode of studies: distance learning

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Christian Fröhlich

Master’s programme: Comparative Soсial Research

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 2

Full Syllabus

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. The course teaches how to measure social norms and the expectations that support them, and how to decide whether they cause specific behaviors. The course is a joint Penn-UNICEF project, and it includes many examples of norms that sustain behaviors like child marriage, gender violence and sanitation practices. The course is a Massive Open Online Course delivered at Coursera platform ( 2 courses https://www.coursera.org/learn/norms and https://www.coursera.org/learn/change). Students are required to finish both online courses and take an oral examination at HSE for completing the course. The examination is taken after completion of the course during examination weeks. The full syllabus is published at the course websites. (https://www.coursera.org/learn/norms and https://www.coursera.org/learn/change). The course doesn’t require special previous knowledge and competences

Learning Objectives

Provide students the basic concepts and definitions, such as social expectations and conditional preferences.
Provide students the methods of measure expectations and preferences

Expected Learning Outcomes

examine social change, the tools may be used to enact change
how to measure expectations and preferences
understand the basic concepts and definitions, such as social expectations and conditional preferences

Course Contents

Week 1: Interdependent & Independent Actions + Empirical Expectations
Week 3: Conditional Preferences + Social Norms
Week 4: Pluralistic Ignorance + Measuring Norms
Week 5: Honors Lesson: Scripts and Schemas
Week 6: Norm Creation
Week 7: Norm Abandonment
Week 8: Trendsetters and Social Change
Week 2: Normative Expectations + Personal Normative Beliefs

Assessment Elements

After attending the MOOC it is required to present the final results (certificate/another document).
oral group exam
After attending the MOOC it is required to present the final results (certificate/another document).
oral group exam

Interim Assessment

2021/2022 1st module
After attending the MOOC it is required to present the final results (certificate or another document - C). The document has to be submitted to the study office immediately after completion of the course. After successful completion of the course an examination is undertaken. Prerequisite for attending the examination is submission of the certificate to the study office. The examination grade (E) is the final grade for the course. Final control: oral group exam. The overall course grade (G) (10-point scale) is calculated as a sum of G = C*0.7+ E*0.3

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Ulrike Schuerkens. (2017). Social changes in a global world / Ulrike Schuerkens. Post-Print. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.hal.journl.hal.01833018
Zolotoy, L., O’Sullivan, D., & Martin, G. P. (2018). The social context of compensation design: Social norms and the impact of equity incentives. Human Resource Management, 57(5), 1233–1250. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21897

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
Verónica Sevillano, & Pablo Olivos. (2019). Social Behavior and Environment: The Influence of Social Norms on Environmental Behavior. Papeles Del Psicólogo, (3), 182. https://doi.org/10.23923/pap.psicol2019.2898

Course Syllabus