This course is Part 2 of the Social Norms, Social Change series. In this course, we will examine social change, the tools we may use to enact change, and put into practice all we have learned in Part 1. See Social Norms, Social Change Part I at this link: https://coursera.org/learn/norms This course covers scripts and schemas, the cognitive structures in which social expectations are embedded, and their relationship with social norms. The course then examines the essentials of norm abandonment, including the relations between personal beliefs and social expectations. We will also evaluate existing intervention strategies, including legal reforms, information campaigns, economic incentives, and group deliberations. Finally, we look at a variety of tools policy makers may use to effect change, highlight the role of trendsetters in social change, and explore the conditions under which they can be successful. The course is a joint Penn-UNICEF project." Please see the following link for a 30% discount on the book that accompanies this course: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780190622053/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6
11.2
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Del curso dictado por University of Pennsylvania
Social Norms, Social Change II
141 calificación
De la lección
Norm Abandonment
This module covers the essentials of norm abandonment, including the relations between personal beliefs and social expectations. It also evaluates existing intervention strategies, including legal reforms, information campaigns, economic incentives, and group deliberations.
Conoce a los instructores
Cristina BicchieriS. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics
Department of Philosophy
[MUSIC]
Let us now a look at the fist necessary element of norm abandonment,
having reason to change behavior.
Individuals must first recognize that there are problems
with a current norm before being willing to abandon it.
There are many possible reasons why a norm is accepted and change resisted.
People may not see the current norm as problematic.
And even if presented with alternative, they may defend their ways as superior.
Another reason is that people may not know that there are alternatives.
Finally, when there is pluralistic ignorance,
individuals may not believe that their practice is positive or even desirable.
But lack of transparent communication and the observation that
the practice is widespread, makes them conclude that it is widely supported.
In this case, reason for change might be present but their not actively voiced.
The interventions that are necessary in each case that should be
adopted to the nature of the reasons for compliance with existing norm.
In the case of pluralistic ignorance,
making transparent what was obscured, what people really believe or
would like to do, may lead to a sudden change in the perception of one's peers.
If people are unaware of alternatives,
presenting feasible alternatives may be a first step in the direction of change.
Finally, in the harder case, in which people value their practice,
highlighting how their personal normative beliefs may conflict
with other important values may induce them to question their practice.
Let me remind you here of the distinction between beliefs along two dimensions.
For the moment, I will only talk of non-social beliefs,
be they factual or normative and how they may change.
Beliefs may be factual.
For example, people may believe that colostrum is dirty and
dangerous for the newborn.
Or that dowry cost increase with the bride's age.
Factual beliefs may be true or false.
The belief that colostrum is damaging to newborn is false,
while the belief about dowry and dowry prices is unfortunately true.
>> There are fears that girls won't get married if they wait too long.
But these fears are based on isolated anecdotes of unmarried women.
The overwhelming social norm in India is for almost all women to get married.
And this is born out by National Statistics, which show that 90% of women
had married before reaching age 30 and 98% by age 40.
>> So when we discuss with the community, actually there's very strong
belief that the traditional beer is not perceived as being alcohol,
like you would compare to beer, or wine or other spirits.
So it's more perceived as being nourishing element than being alcohol.
So there's not this wrong perceptions,
they don't see that they're giving alcohol to the children.
They see that they're giving something which is good, which is sweet, so
it makes pleasure.
It also have this social connotation because usually we drink together.
>> So, how can we change force belief?
A simple answer is to present individuals with direct evidence that
contradicts those beliefs.
For example, those who believe that child vaccinations are dangerous
should be presented with examples of healthy, vaccinated children.
Yet, even observation is biased by preexisting
belief that can explain away challenging evidence.
Skeptics may have a pre-existing theory that vaccination leads to sterility.
Even if they accept that there are indeed healthy vaccinated children out there,
they may still believe that these children may become sterile adults.
However, I believe that we should not dismiss direct observation so quickly.
At least in simple cases where it would be difficult to find
alternative explanations.
When the link between an action and consequence is reasonably clear,
observing successful deviant behavior may catalyze change.
Showing poor Vietnamese communities that some villager fed their children
non-traditional foods, in that case it was sweet potato, greens,
shrimps, and crabs, several times a day.
And that this diet resulted in well-nourished and
healthy children, lead to the progressive change of traditional diet.
The link between the alternative but still local diet and
visible benefits was direct and quite immediate.
This example has discussed in the literature
as a positive deviance model of behavioral change.
People are unlikely to engage or
believe in a practice that they have only been told is effective.
Informing people about the efficacy of a behavior is not nearly as convincing
as showing them examples of successful individuals who practice it.
As one Vietnamese villager noted after a successful positive deviance program
aimed at fighting child malnutrition, a thousand hearing are not worth one seeing.
Being presented with such obvious evidence will enable factual belief
change to occur more easily.
Another way of forming or changing beliefs is through inference by analogy.
The weight of tradition is often glued to the implicit inference that
if it is always been done, it must be good and right for us.
Testimony is another way to form and change beliefs.
Be through the voice of an authority or social proof.
Remember, we discussed social proofs in part one of these lectures.
When I decide to buy a car, I often look at what other buyers report.
If a majority is satisfied,
I feel comfortable with what many testify is good.
Authority is also important.
In Islamic countries, religious leaders played a very important
role in the abandonment of female genital by making it both clear in
public that genital is not mandated by the Islamic faith.
Parents pay a lot of attention to what's going on in their communities.
So in their immediate environment but also to their elders.
Those by whom they were raised,
by whom what they've experienced when they were children.
So their own parents, the immediate family cycle is very important.
Then obviously authorities, be it local authorities,
such as village chiefs or religious authorities.
And also to a certain extent, what they see in the public scene.
So, if there would be a big music star or a big football star, who is
very respectful with his or her children, then this would certainly have influence.
>> Another reason why I belief may be resistant to change
is that those who present the new information must be trusted.
That is, the source of the new information must be recognized expert or
a trusted authority with no obvious ulterior motives.
When thinking about factual belief change,
we have to be very sensitive to the source of the message and how it is presented.
Though the source must be credible and authoritative,
even such a source may lose credibility if people strongly disagree with the message.
Authority, we ask to spread accurate, factual information may refuse
to spread our message out of fear that doing so might undermine their authority.
True factual beliefs are a very different case.
The beliefs that an older girl needs a bigger dowry, or that educated women
have a harder time finding a good husband, may be true in many communities.
To change these beliefs, the facts themselves must be changed.
When facts significantly change, this change may induce a big
shift in people personal normative beliefs and eventually their social expectations.
For example, it has been found that providing villagers with information
about available jobs for girls with high school degrees and
how to get these jobs, led girls to remain in school a longer time.
Marrying much later as a consequence.
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