Social Norms

<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">People whose work involves behavior change, often use theories that incorporate the concept of social norms. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">However, because a person believes something to be normal (common or routine) doesn't mean that it is.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We often base our ideas about behavior outcomes and behavior frequency on what is happening in our personal  world (our view or frame).</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Consider the 16 year old smoker.  He may have started smoking because his friends smoke or <u>chose</u> his friends because they smoke.  Either way, he is surrounded by 16 year olds who smoke.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now I ask him, "What percent of 16 year olds smoke cigarettes?"  and his answer is, "60 to 70%"</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The true number is closer to 20%.  The teenager is basing his truth about the world based on what he sees in his circle of friends. He thinks almost ALL teenagers smoke.   He is mistaken.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So when you hear about heart attacks, dementia cases and other diseases that are related to poor diets and being overweight and say, "well -  my grandmother ate fried foods every day and lived to be a 100."  or "I know people who are overweight and eat whatever they want and they are just fine."  You should recall the mistaken perceptions of the teenage smoker.  Just because the three or four people you know did the wrong things and didn't get sick, doesn't mean those things don't make people sick.</span></span>

Social Norms

People whose work involves behavior change, often use theories that incorporate the concept of social norms.  However, because a person bel...

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